Freetown Water Supply & Sanitation Priority Investments Project

The majority of Freetown’s drinking water comes from the Guma Dam, which was built in the early 1960s. However, the dam has limited capacity and was originally designed to serve a much smaller population. As a result, the majority of households in Freetown do not have access to an adequate water supply. Water distribution in the city is therefore rationed: some areas have 24-hour access to safe water, while others have limited or no access.

The eastern part of Freetown has almost no access to clean drinking water and relies mainly on boreholes and water delivered by truck. Freetown’s water supply network is prone to leakage, resulting in a high percentage of water loss. Water is sometimes delivered by truck to wealthier households, while certain communities depend on standpipes, shallow wells, rainwater harvesting or illegal cross-connections. However, this is not a sustainable solution. Furthermore, private water tankers often extract water from nearby streams with poor water quality, which poses a significant public health risk.

Similar challenges to those in the potable water sector are faced by the sanitation sector. Freetown’s sewer system is insufficient and is located in the city centre (it collects only 4% of liquid waste), which is then discharged directly into the sea. Most liquid waste is discharged at the Kingtom waste dump site or in other informal areas. The majority of people use pit latrines or practise open defecation. Larger facilities and hotels have septic tanks. Pit latrines, septic tanks and places used for open defecation are often flooded during the wet season. This contaminates nearby streams and bodies of water, which are used by the public as a source of water, creating a significant public health risk.

In addition, the population of Freetown (about 1.2 million people) has considerably increased during and after the civil war. This caused the encroachment of urban construction into the nearby Western Area Peninsula Forest, which captures and stores all of Freetown’s drinking water supply. The present Priority Investment Project (PIP) was originally part of a larger project, the Freetown Master Plan, but was later re-launched and divided into two phases: the PIP and the second phase of the Master Plan.

The overall objective of the PIP was to implement urgent measures to improve water supply and sanitation services in the Western Area/Greater Freetown, while ensuring the sustainability of vital aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in the area. The project was developed using the Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) approach to address the prevailing challenges of the water supply and sanitation system in a holistic and integrated way.

The specific objectives of the project concerned four sectors:

• WASH – Water supply and sanitation
• Solid waste management
• Environmental protection of the watershed
• Capacity building

Description Of Actual Services:

• Preparation of a Technical Feasibility Study

– Existing sewerage system diagnostic
– Establishment of Aquatic Environment Protection Infrastructure
– Establishment of Water Resources Monitoring Infrastructure
– Rehabilitation and Expansion of Water Production and Distribution Infrastructure for 3 sites: Tokeh, Upper Benguima and Baoma Benguima sites, including hydrogeological investigations and hydraulic modelling of the water distribution network (EPANET)
– Construction/rehabilitation of 150 public toilets
– Clearance of 20 illegal waste dump sites and restoration of the original environmental function
– Capacity for IUWM and Livelihood Improvement

• Preparation of an Economic / Financial Feasibility Study
• Elaboration of a Draft Design Report and draft Tender Documents
• Preparation of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), including ESMP
• Elaboration of a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)
• Review of work packages and tender documents prepared by the DFID Consultant, based on the preferences of co-financiers for the Freetown WASH and Aquatic Environment Revamping Project
• Review and finalisation of relevant documents prepared by IMC Worldwide to conform to NEA financing requirements
• Carrying out complementary hydrogeological investigations for groundwater exploitation
• Preparation of Final Design Report and Design & Build Tender Documents

Detailed breakdown of investment components:

• Existing sewerage system diagnostic

– Diagnosis for 4km of sewer lines and 305 manholes: total investment costs 1.13 million US$

• Establishment of Aquatic Environment Protection Infrastructure

– Total investment costs 1.4 million US$
– Securing the entire WAP-NP boundary
– Near-real-time community-based Forest Monitoring System

• Establishment of Water Resources Monitoring Infrastructure

– Total investment costs 0.26 million US$
– Water Quality Monitoring Infrastructure
– Surface water monitoring infrastructure: 25 small manual gauging stations, 3 automatic gauging stations, 10 weather stations

• Rehabilitation and Expansion of Water Production and Distribution Infrastructure for 3 sites: Tokeh, Upper Benguima and Baoma Benguima sites

– Total investment costs 20 million US$
– Dam reservoirs (total 2,500,000 m³)
– Water intakes
– Treatment plants
– Reservoirs
– Distribution network (total 44 km) – design based on a hydraulic model developed with EPANET

• Construction/rehabilitation of 150 public toilets

– Total investment costs 0.22 million US$

• Clearance of 20 illegal waste dump sites and restoration of the original environmental function

– Total investment costs 0.3 million US$

• Capacity for IUWM and Livelihood Improvement

– Total investment costs 8.6 million US$