Siera Grass-roots Agency (SIGA)

Gravity-Fed Clean Water Supply Scheme

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Introduction. 

 

In the fight against poverty and to achieve the Millennium goals set by the UN, the provision of safe drinking water to the teeming population of the World is among the most pressing challenges. It is common knowledge that water is life. This adage is even more relevant today as the high demand for potable water is aggravated by the increasing population, excessive urbanization and environmental degradation. In Sierra Leone with the highest level of poverty in the World and where approximately 70% of the population is living below the poverty line, the population is growing rapidly. From the environmental and water supply perspective, FAO reports that about 30,000 hectares out of a total of  about 3 million hectares is being deforested annually with negative impact on water supplies. It is estimated that only 57% of the population has access to safe drinking water

In the Moyamba town  community,  potable water is currently and largely obtained from polluted sources.Attempts to revive an old pipe borne water supply scheme by pumping, has not succeeded largely due to the high pumping cost....Fortunately, there is a source of water that can be supplied by gravity, 7 miles outside Moyamba  town.This project, designed to exploit that water and supply it by gravity to the population through the existing supply net-work offers the most viable alternative..

 

Background.

 

Moyamba Town is the administrative headquarter of Moyamba District.It has a population of about 18,000 contributed by about 20 schools including; kindergarten;  primary; secondary and boarding schools.There are also, the District Council, Government Hospital and all other Sierra Leone Government offices including  the police and military barracks.The 11 years of rebel war destroyed what little infrastructure there was before the war to provide water to the population .Since the end of the war in 2002, the Moyamba District Council with the support of the World Bank has attempted to rehabilitate the old pumping station and the net-work of water supply lines in the township but the prohibitive cost of pumping water cannot be paid for by an imporverished  population..Therefore, water supplied through this improvement cannot be sustained.

 

For about 15 years now, the Moyamba population has depended on polluted water from streams and shallow hand dug wells.The impact of this practice on the population is devastating on the health of the population and longevity.The International NGO, CARE has rendered considerable assistance to the Moyamba District as a whole and has principally, over the years assisted village communities in the district to construct 350 concrete lined wells that serves approximately one-third of the population.Unfortunately, as a policy, Moyamba town, being a major township, did not benefit from this programme.However, these improved wells of an average depth of about 10 metres, are estimated  by contractors to  each cost  currently  about Le,24,000,000 or about US$8,000  .The Ministry of Energy and Power in the face of the high cost of pumped water, the high cost of improved wells and the limited access that the wells  provide to the population, has introduced a gravity-fed scheme for areas with gravity water sources. However, the demands are high and the financial resources limited particularly to meet the Millennium goal.  With decentralization now in force, the policy encourages the District Councils and Communities to seek for funds to improve on old schemes or implement new ones. This project is an attempt by the Kaiyamba Chiefdom to provide clean water to its people in the chiefdom headquarter.

 

Vision. 

 

A district where safe drinking water is available and within reach of every family .

 

Justification

 

According to the UN Human Development Report, Sierra Leone has been the poorest country in the World for over 10 years now. Approximately 70 % national average of the population is living below the national poverty line of less than $1 US per day. According to a World Bank House Hold Survey report(2005) the poverty line in Moyamba as a rural town is about 79%..Above all, life expectancy in Sierra Leone is the lowest in the world at 40.2 years. Similarly infant  and maternal mortalities are the highest in the world. Thus life is not only intolerable in the country, the environment is such that life cannot be lived to the full by the average man or  for one to productively contribute to the development of the country. .Poor drinking water greatly contributes to this deplorable situation.

 

Good quality drinking water is a basic daily necessity to life. In Moyamba town pipe- borne water went into disuse during the war and greater part of the population  have depended on water from hand dug shallow wells for drinking and other purposes .Shallow wells dry up at the height of the dry season and during the wet season are easily polluted by infiltration water. Under the circumstance diseases such as diarrhea; cholera and typhoid are common. These diseases and others take a large toll on life particularly of children.  About 17% of the population are under 5 and 53 % are women. There is one inadequately equipped government hospital which cannot cope with the load of  cases. The  Government and the World Bank have been assisting to rehabilitate an old electrical pumping station together with the distribution net-work. Unfortunately after expensive rehabilitation, it is not economically practicable to run the machines  at 7 gallons of diesel per hour to supply the water. The community is expected to pay the running cost. The population of Moyamba town is growing and there is intensive pressure to provide potable water at reasonable cost. The Millennium Development Goals have laid down  self sufficiency in potable water by the year 2015. Gravity water supply if available, where properly harnessed, treated and supplied to poor. Communities is the best solution to the water problem.

 

Objective.

 

To enhance healthy life and increased life-span among village communities in the Moyamba District, Sierra Leone through the supply of safe drinking water.To make  available at least 8 gallons of pure water  per head of the population .per day.

 

 

Previous Activities..

 

Up to the 1980s the Moyamba town was served by two electrical generators each 125 KVA not only to supply electricity but also to pump water from the Yambatwee river with an electrical pump. The water is treated before it is pumped into a 250,000 gallon reservoir .It takes 8 hours. to fill the reservoir and  the engine consumes 7 gallons of diesel per hour, i.e; it will cost approximately Le1,000,000 or US$350 per day. The water was served to the population free of charge.The increasing fuel cost; frequent maintenance cost of the engines and the decline in the economy forced the government to either privatize the service or transfer its management to the local community They chose the latter. Within the present cost structure and the earning capacity of the population being below US$1 per day, all  attempts to revive the system have failed. It is now realized that the development of a gravity-fed water supply scheme is the best solution to this problem.

 

Main Project Activities

 

These will form the main activities of the project;

 

(i) survey the area for the suitable location of the dam and water pipes from Nyadehun to Moyamba, a distance of 7 miles;

(ii) construct the collection reservoir at the water source;

(iii) arrange for the  treatment and purification of the water for safe drinking before supply to the population;

(iv) excavate the pipe line and bury the pipes to make them safe from damage and the  delivery of the water from Nyadehun to the reservoir  in Moymba town;

(v) ensure the safe delivery of pure water by gravity, through the pipes to the Nyadehun; Congowo and Moyamba populations and stored in the 250,000 gallons existing reservoir.

vi) collaborate with the Moyamba District Council for the synchronization of water supply to the Moyamba township through the existing network; establish routine management for regular and equitable distribution of the clean water to the population and the charging,  collection and accounting for the water rates.. . 

 

 

Project Structure and Implementation.

                                 

The project will be implemented by the Kaiyamba Chiefdom Development Committee with the cooperation and support of the Moyamba District Council and the full participation of the staff of the Water Works Department in Moyamba..The Kaiyamba Chiefdom Development Committee is made up of representatives from the seven sections in the Chiefdom with serving men, women and youths. The body is the development executive of the chiefdom. The Chairman is normally nominated by the Paramount Chief and approved by the Committee The Paramount Chief himself attends the meetings of the Committee where development plans are discussed and sub-committees submit progress reports.. There is a total membership of about 20.The Committee has specialised standing sub-committees which normally execute the functions of the Committee and report to the parent body The Moyamba District Council through 4 chiefdom district councillors is also a member of the Committee.In this project,.the  Energy and Power sub-committee together with other professionals, nominated by  the main Committee will supervise the contractor and will be responsible for the implementation of the project on.behalf of the Chiefdom committee.

 

 

 

 Chiefdom Development Committee.  Cross-section of the Chiefdom Development Committee  Membership and Leadership of Sub-committees.;                                                                                                      .          

      Mr. Las Lamin (Retired Inspector of Schools)   .. Ag. Paramount  Chief

    . Dr. Harry Will (Retired Agriculturist)                   Chairman

    . Mr. Simeon Jonjo (Justice of Peace)                   .  Finance

      Mrs. Theresa Lamin (Sec. Sch. Principal)          .. Education

     .Mr.  Benson Kobba  ( District Councillor)            Health

     .Mr. M.S. Janneh       (Politician/Farmer)               Infrastructure 

     .Mr. M.Y. Benya    (Electrical Engineer)              Power and Energy 

     .Mr. Frederick Sesay (District Councillor)           Agriculture

     .Mr. Foday Gulama   (Chairman Civil Society)

      Md. Tangabe  Soluku (Section Chief}

      Mr D.K. Lansana (Farmer)

      Mr. Augustin Brima (Landuse Surveyor)             Youths 

 

Professional members who are not members of the Development Committee but who will  participate in the technical sub-committee for this project are key workers at the Water Works Department; viz; Mr. Maxwell Bangura – Manager; Mr. Francis Genda – Head Plumber;Mr. John Macauley – Head Mason and Mr. Ibrahim Kamara – Plumber.

Town committees will also be organised at the two villages involved; i.e; Nyandehun and Congowo for the smooth running of the project. The Paramount Chief will authorize the Section Chiefs to provide community labour as required by the project.

 

The committee will tender and make award for the construction of the collecting and purification dam and also the laying down and construction of the pipe work as a single contract..The Chiefdom people, through their committee will  assist with brush work of the construction and piping sites and also assist with the collection of stones and sand.

for construction work.                                     

 

 

SIGA, the NGO will represent the donors at the committee and will be responsible for the   coordination ,disbursement and procurement for all project activities. SIGA will be also responsible for arranging for evaluation, monitoring and reporting..

At all levels of operation, the SIGA representative will be involved to guide operations and to assist in providing details for evaluation and reporting.

 

The proposed Gravity Water Supply will originate from the Nyadehun Hills about 100ft above and 7 miles from Moyamba town. A small dam and treatment unit will be built on the hill in Nyadehun to temporarily hold the water and treated before the  pure drinking water is supplied through Nyadehun and Congowo to Moyamba.. The  population of about 700 persons in Nyandehun village  and about 300 persons in the  Congowo village, enroute to Moyamba will have pipe stands for them to benefit from the water.. Before supply to the Moyamba community of about 18,000 persons   the water  will be delivered to an existing and recently rehabilitated tank from the western part of the town with  250,000 gallons capacity .The use of the dam through an electrical pump  from the Yambatwee river about 2 kilometers downhill has proved to be expensive and untenable..as reported above.

 

 

 

Project Beneficiaries

 

 The Population.  This project is owned by the chiefdom people of Kaiymba Chiefdom, Moyamba District,The most direct beneficiaries constitute the populations in Nyandehun village of about 700 persons; Congowo village of about 300 persons and Moyamba town with about 18,000 persons.i,e; a total of about 19,000 people. The  beneficiaries fall into the following categories;

 

        Direct beneficiaries Under 5     --- 16.8 %

                                        Under 18  ---   27.8 %

                                        Adult           23.1 %

           Indirect beneficiaries     ….         12.3  %               

                                

The share of the population is 47.2%  men and 52.8 % women.

 

 

 

.Water Consumption.  Consumption allowance is 8 gallons per person per day

Total daily demand is 19,000 x 8   =152,000 gallons

Main Reservoir capacity = 250,000 gallons.

Therefore there is considerable scope for expansion.during the period when the flow of the stream is optimum; i.e; during and immediately after the rainy season (June –January).The flow of the stream is reduced during the dry season and  water may have to be rationed during this period.

The Chiefdom Development Committee in cooperation with the Moyamba District Council will work out an operation and maintenance service for sustainable supply of water and to establish the water rate in consultation with the community.

 

During the period of rationing when the water flow is low;  a period of 3-4 months,the District Council will be encouraged to supplement the supply through pumping from the Yambatwee River under the old scheme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Implementation Plan

 

No.

Activity

Time/Period

Responsible

1.

Inaugural Chiefdom meeting on donor approval

1st  Week of approval

Paramount Chief & Chairman, Chiefdom Dev. Committee

2.

Workshop for implementation

2nd week

Chairman Chiefdom Development Committee and Community

3.

Advertise Tender on local radio

2nd week

Committee/SIGA

4.

Community collection-sand &stones

3rd week

Chairman, Chiefdom Dev. Committee

5.

Evaluate tender and procurement of construction materials

4th week

Chiefdom Committee/SIGA/Consultant

6.

Award Tender

4th week

Committee/SIGA

7.

Start of contract;survey traverse for pipes laying and dam begins

6th week

Contractor

8.

Prepare survey maps also community brushing

7th week

Contractor,Committee/.Community

9.

Monitor &evaluate progress also community brushing

7th week

Contractor/Committee/SIGA

 

Contractor/Committee/Community

10.

Construction  of dam   begins

7th week

Contractor/Committee

11.

Digging for pipe laying begins

8th week

Contractor

12,

Monitoring % evaluation

11th week

Contractor/Committee/SIGA

13.

Dam construction ends

15th week

Contractor/Committee

14.

Laying of pipes begins

15th week

Contractor/Committee

15.

Monitoring and evaluation

15th week

Contractor/Committee /SIGA

16.

Laying of pipes ends

17st week

/Contractor/Committee/SIGA

17.

Connecting pipes

18st week

Contractor/Committee

18.

Monitoring and evaluation

19nd week

Contractor/Committee/SIGA/

19.

Test run

19nd week

Contractor/Committee/SIGA

20.

Water management workshop

20th week

Consultant/Committee/Contractor/Beneficiaries

21.

Handing over ceremony

22nd week

Paramount Chief; Chairman District Council; Contractor; Development Committee; SIGA and Beneficiaries

 

 

 

 

.

   Note. Suitable period for implementation is during the dry season ( December-April)     

             Effective period of implementation is 16 weeks; first 6 weeks were part of

             Community contribution.

 

 

.

 

Summary Budget and Cost Sharing  - Le.’000

 

No.

Item

Total

Donor

Beneficiary

SIGA

1

Main supply line

462,000

462,000

-

-

2.

Connectors

702,230

702,230

-

-

3.

Materials for dam

  10,500

  10,500

-

-

4

Labour and workmanship

  31,520

  25,216

6,304

-

5.

Transporattion

  10,000

  10,000

-

-

6.

Tools

    3,030

    3,030

-

-

7.

Contractor’s fee

  16,000

  16,000

-

-

8.

Community input

    7,720

-

7,720

 

9.

SIGA  Project officer

    4,000

-

-

4,000

10.

SIGA facilities

    2,000

-

-

2,000

11.Miscellaneous(5%total)

 

    62,450

61,449

  701

   300

12.Management & supervision cost(5% total)

 

    62,450

61,449

  701

   300

                                               US$                     464,360       456,250        5,206         2,227

 

                                           Exchange Rate.  IUS$ = Le.2.963

 

Project  Output

1.Infrastructure consisting of a collecting dam and water treatment unit and 7 miles of piping delivers purified and safe drinking water to the 250,000 gallons reservoir in Moyamba town.

 

2. The whole population in the district headquarter of Moyamba town, Nyandehun and Congowo villages totaling 19,000 persons begin to receive pure gravity fed water through existing and new pipes constructed in the three communities.

 

3. The Kaiyamba Chiefdom and the Moyamba District Council reach an agreement for the daily care and management of the new service network by the staff of the Water Works Department, Ministry of Energy and Power in Moyamba.

 

4. The Kaiyamba Chiefdom; Moyamba District Council; Water Works Department of the Ministry of Energy and Power agree on a maintenance and service schedule that would make the scheme sustainable... including  collection and accounting for water dues.

 

5. The regular supply of pure drinking water to the local population begins to improve and so also, the health and well being of the local population Of particular note, the incidence of water-borne diseases such as cholera; diarrhoea and typhoid diminish greatly..This will have the strongest impact on the 1,500 under five children and 10, 000  women.    

 

 

Sustainability.

 

1.This water supply scheme will be sustainable because;

   

(i)                  The community will  appoint  and train about 2 care takers for the security and cleaning of the dam in Nyadehum and also for regular treatment of the water.. the cost of chemicals is Le,8,800,000 for every six months. If each care taker is paid Le.200,000 per month, the yearly direct cost of running the scheme will be Le.22,400,000.Assuming that the water rate is Le.1,500 per house hold per month as charged in other places in the country; total collection per year will be about Le.54,000,000 for the Moyamba township of about 3,000 house holds.

(ii)                The collection made can be partly invested into supporting the pumping system during the height of the dry season when the water flow from the Nyadehun dam is low.

(iii)               Staff at the Water Works will be available for the daily supervision and maintenance of the scheme without additional cost to the Moyamba population.

(iv)              The population will gladly pay the  water rate equivalent to US$0.5 per month and save themselves from the problem of seeking for domestic water. There will be improvements in their health.; which is also a big incentive.

(v)                When ever the pumping machine is turned on, electricity will be made available to the township. Thus this scheme will serve as an incentive for the community to return to at least a limited supply of electricity which also is in desperate demand.   

 

Monitoring and Evaluation                                       

The Chiefdom Development Committee will setup a technical sub-committe that will monitor and evaluate the project.The subcommittee will be composed of persons with technical background in the key areas of activity –viz; plumbing; masonery; binding wire skill ; surveying; water treatment and sanitation;dam construction and maintenance; gravity water schemes; distribution and delivery of water to consumers through a net-work; community management and  collection of dues.; financial management etc.The membership of the sub-committee may be drawn from outside the Development Committee .The team will use as guideline the bench marks that are set in the plan of implementation.

Project targets will be pursued; record of meetings, major activities;  input supplied and how utilized and other project bench marks and im aware of these information and others to be able to recognize the importance of this exercise. The technical committee and the contractor will make monthly monitoring assessment of the project activities.At the higher and integrated level, SIGA will lead a team of evaluators including the technical sub-committee and the contractor and beneficiaries for a mid-term review and a final review before the handing over ceremony. They will examine previous monitoring reports against progress made and also evaluate performance against the plan of implementation.The SIGA Accountant will prepare monthly  balance sheet of expenditure and present it during the mid-term and final review meetings.
 

Email: sigasl@hotmail.com; sieragrassrootsagency@gmail.com Tel +23276603491