Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene August 2018 | Page 7

NEWS in brief
Around Africa
supply for two years in the next 20 years, and a 25% chance
we will need it for between three to five years in this time.” 500,000 permanent residents, but those currently covered
under the Auwsa water services are 325,000.
Tanzania The new scheme will see the number of beneficiaries
double to 600,000, which means almost every person in
the city will be served.
Govt Signs Tsh 40 billion Contract to Improve Arusha
City Sewage Drainage System
The government has signed a Tsh 40 billion contract to
improve a sewage drainage system and expand its network
in Arusha City.
Zambia
Designing, Testing & implementing improvements
to sanitation & water supply
Lusaka is the capital and largest city in Zambia, and one of
the fastest developing cities in Africa.
It is home to nearly 2.4 million people, with around 65%
living in low-income communities.
Access to improved sanitation in the city has actually fallen
over the last 15 years and nearly half the population has
no access at all.
The contract was signed between the Arusha Urban Water
Supply and Sewage Management Authority (Auwsa) and
the Beijing Construction Engineering Group of China at
$17m.
The Minister for Water and Irrigation, Prof Makame
Mbarawa, said the project to improve sanitation in Arusha
City and its environs was being implemented through a
soft grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The project is expected to address waste water and the
sewerage drainage system by increasing an effluent removal
network covering up to 276km from 46km.
Most of those living in low-income communities lack
access to sewers, so residents use pit latrines and septic
tanks. If these aren’t emptied regularly then waste flows
into the groundwater which contaminates the environment
and nearby water supplies.
Challenges to improving water and sanitation services in
Lusaka include problems with infrastructure, as supply
of basic services struggle to keep up with demand. Other
challenges include water loss, limited investments and risks
to groundwater in the city.
According to Auwsa Managing Director Ruth Koya,
through the AfDB grant, Arusha Sustainable Urban Water
and Sanitation Delivery Project will be implemented at
US$234 million (about 0.5trn). Previously, the project was
planned to be completed by next year, but the time has
been extended to 2020.
Through the project, water production for Arusha City is
expected to almost triple from the current 40,000 cubic
metres to over 105 cubic metres per day, while the service
coverage is to be boosted from 44 per cent to over 80 per
cent.
The current clean water pipes network measures just
312km in total, but the new project will cover about 580km
of service lines.
The amount of water loss, especially through daily leaking,
will also be reduced from 40 to 20 per cent.
Arusha City with its environs has slightly more than
What are we doing to help?
Since 2008, Water & Sanitation for Urban Poor (WSUP)
have been working with the city’s water utility, the Lusaka
Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC), to manage water
and sanitation services for low-income residents.
Through this, water supply networks have been extended
in many low-income communities including Chainda,
Chazanga, Bauleni, Linda, Kanyama, Mtendere East, John
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