ECED-Sahel: A case of integrated water resources planning and use for drinking water in the crisis-affected Sahel region of Burkina Faso

In the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, only 56% of the population have access to clean water. Limited water is available for economic activities such as pastoralism and small-holder agriculture, fueling poverty and insecurity. Armed conflict and climate stress are further reducing the viability of dryland livelihoods and increasing the number of displaced people into other regions. The objective of the ECED-Sahel project was to integrate water resources management (and resilience) in a cross-cutting way: through water treatment and provision, agricultural livelihoods, and WASH using a social arts approach.

The project tackled key needs for over 75,000 people during a five-year period of rapid decline in the security situation of the country (2015-2020). Specific results include the following:

• Design, procurement and construction in close collaboration with the National Water and Sewerage Authority (ONEA) of a 230 m3/h treatment plant to supply drinking water to more than 60,000 people in the region.
• Construction of more than 1,700 household latrines and 35 community latrine blocks promoting the elimination of open defecation for more than 12,000 people.
• Adoption of good hygiene practices such as handwashing by more than 16,000 people using a combination of the Community Led Total Sanitation and Social Art for Behaviours Change approaches.
• Capacity building and institutionalization of community-based management systems to improve access to drinking water, based on the principles of inclusive governance with 26 water user associations.
• Economic empowerment of women’s associations and farmer’s cooperatives, comprising over 830 people, that saw a 67% increase in their income.

With a total budget of 17.4 million $CA, the project was a collaboration between Cowater International, Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian mining company IAMGOLD, the One Drop Foundation / Cirque du Soleil, the government of Burkina Faso and local authorities. Cowater was responsible for the overall management and delivery of the project in Burkina Faso. In particular, its teams coordinated, supervised and oversaw the procurement and implementation of engineering services (prefeasibility, feasibility and detailed design, construction supervision) as well as the construction of the water infrastructure in a complex multi-stakeholder environment. In the scoping phase, a detailed hydrological study was conducted to confirm water availability at the source, an existing dam with an estimated storage capacity of 26,000,000 m3. Innovative solutions were identified to increase the storage capacity of the dam and the production capacity of the treatment plant in a modular way to serve more communities. In parallel, preliminary hydrological and hydraulic modeling in 2D was also completed to assess potential flood risks in a dam break scenario.

Throughout the project, the principles of government engagement with local and national authorities, gradual handover of responsibilities and an adaptive risk management framework were key for longer term sustainability. Risks associated with the project were many, including significant water scarcity in the Sahelian climate, a deteriorating security situation during implementation, rise of armed conflicts and significant increases in internally displaced populations meaning a rapidly evolving and challenging context for large-scale construction.