Repairing water boreholes in Eritrea
Context
One in nine people around the world do not have access to clean water close to home, and 60% of the world’s population live in areas of water stress, where the water supply cannot or will not continue to meet demand.
Eritrea is a small coastal country in northeast Africa, in which only 19% of the population have access to clean water close to home. Others must travel many miles to find water, or rely on unsafe surface water sources such as rivers or open wells. This lack of clean water and sanitation has profound health impacts, and is the second biggest driver of death and disability in the country. Years of persistent drought conditions in the region has further restricted access to water resources, compounding the problem and putting strains on local communities.
Project
This Zoba Debub Community Boreholes project will provide long term access to safe and clean drinking water to hundreds of households within the Zoba Debub district in Eritrea, using borehole technology.
Boreholes are used to access safe clean water from underground. Holes as deep as 100m are drilled into the ground, and drilling pipes are installed. A hand pump is then fitted meaning that water can be pumped out by hand.
Many existing boreholes in Eritrea have fallen into disrepair because maintenance programmes have been poorly managed, or proven too expensive leaving people without access to clean water. This project works to identify broken down boreholes, renovate them and supply a maintenance programme to ensure that clean, safe water is delivered.
Zoba Debub is a largely rural district in which many local people typically use wood fuel on inefficient stone fires to purify their drinking, cleaning and washing water. This process results in the release of greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of wood. By providing safe water this project ensures that households consume less firewood during the process of water purification and therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion process.
This project also supplies the local community with a source of clean, safe, drinking water, helping to improve health and relieve poverty.
Verification
This project is verified by the Gold Standard. You can view it on the Gold Standard registry here.
Climate solution #71
Water distribution efficiency
Project Drawdown defines water distribution as: reducing water leakage or oversupply of regional water, which reduces pumping and pressurization electricity and associated greenhouse gas emissions. This solution replaces conventional water system management with no specific leak detection program.
Water utilities are among the biggest consumers of electricity globally, corresponding to about 1% of total electricity use in the world. Up to 80 percent of that energy is used for pumping alone. However, a significant amount of water is lost in the distribution network (e.g. by pipe leakage, meter error, and unauthorized consumption): the global average loss is estimated at 35 percent.
This has a direct impact on the production cost of water, as well as on the available quantity of potable water. Saving just half of these losses would supply water to an additional 100 million people.
Photos
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The 'Zoba Debub Community Boreholes' project aligns with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Read more about the Sustainable Development Goals
