Water and sustainable development |27 March 2015
Water is at the core of sustainable development and is critical for socio-economic development, healthy ecosystems and for human survival itself.
It is vital for reducing the global burden of disease and improving the health, welfare and productivity of populations. It is central to the production and preservation of a host of benefits and services for people. Water is also at the heart of adaptation to climate change, serving as the crucial link between the climate system, human society and the environment.
Water is a finite and irreplaceable resource that is fundamental to human well-being. It is only renewable if well managed. Today, more than 1.7 billion people live in river basins where depletion through use exceeds natural recharge, a trend that will see two-thirds of the world’s population living in water-stressed countries by 2025. Water can pose a serious challenge to sustainable development but managed efficiently and equitably, it can play a key enabling role in strengthening the resilience of social, economic and environmental systems in the light of rapid and unpredictable changes.
Sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations, 1987). As the time limit for the millennium development goals (MDGs) draws to a close in 2015, the global community is taking stock of how it can move towards a sustainable future. The MDG framework did not address the full water and development agenda, nor fully recognise its synergies with other areas and concerns. Emphasis on ‘sustainability’ was not included and human rights and inequalities were also largely ignored in the MDG framework. Subsequently, member states have agreed that human rights, equality and sustainability should form the core of the development agenda and be recognised as critical for true development.
UN-Water’s overarching goal is “Securing Sustainable Water for All”. The water goal and targets directly address the development aims of societies, promote human dignity and ensure achievements are sustainable over the long term leading to the following development outcomes, amongst others:
The Public Utilities’ water division is responsible to:
• Supply, treat and provide potable water to customers
• Operate, maintain and improve distribution network to provide a reliable supply of water
• Collect, analyse and store hydrological data
Facts about the water division:
• The division comprises six sections - water supply, distribution, water quality, electromechanical, desalination and hydrology
• 250 staff
• 26,000 water connections
• 16 treatment plants
• 17 water schemes
• 4 desalination plants on Mahe, 1 on Praslin and 1 on La Digue
• 120 reservoirs
• 80 pumping stations
• The division supplies an average of 14 million m3 of water annually on Mahe, 790,000m3 on Praslin and 465,000m3 on La Digue
PUC’s projects to continuously improve water distribution and supply to consumers on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue are summarised below:
• South Mahé mater pipeline project: treated water transferred from Mare Aux Cochons to Takamaka
• Caiman land lank water supply project: supply of treated water to Caiman Land Bank
• Cayole water supply project: supply of treated water to Cayole Estate
• Upper Mont Plaisir water supply project: extension of network to upper Mont Plaisir Land Bank. Tank and pump house construction and new water tank at Capucin
• Improvement of Rochon treatment works: increase production capacity of treated water by 2,600m3/d by installing new pressure filters
• Upgrading of Quatre Bornes treatment works: increase production by 300 m3 capacity of treated water by upgrading existing pressure filters
• Improvement of Grand Anse water supply zone (Islette): increase production capacity of treated water by 2,000m3, upgrading existing pressure filters and filter house. Construction of new barrage and pipe works.
• Upgrading of Anse Boileau treatment works: increase production capacity of treated water by 1000m3, upgrading existing pressure filters
• St Louis (Curio Road) non-performing pipeline replacement project: replacement of non-performing pipeline
• Improvement of water supply system at Pointe Au Sel - Phase 1: network extension to supply treated water to consumers at Pointe Au Sel
• Improvement of water supply system at Pointe Au Sel - Phase 2: network extension to supply treated water to consumers at Pointe Au Sel Upper (Cap Bon Jean)
• Improvement of water supply system at St Roch: network extension to supply treated water to consumers at St Roch
• Improvement of water supply system at Green Estate: network extension to supply treated water to consumers at Green Estate
• New water scheme for North East Point Land Bank: network extension to supply treated water to consumers at North East Point
• Pipeline replacement from NEP to Machabée: non-performing pipeline replacement
• Machabée water supply scheme: network extension to supply treated water to consumers at upper Machabée
• New pipeline from Desalination plant Bel Ombre to Danzille: improving reliability of water supply in the Bel Ombre area.
• Mare Aux Cochons water abstraction project: transferring of raw water from Mare aux Cochons to La Gogue dam
• Anse Major water abstraction project: transferring raw water from 4 rivers in Bel Ombre to supply water to Bel Ombre residents
• Les Mamelles pumping scheme: transfering water from Cascade to Bassin Bleu
• Fond Boffay GRP tank (Praslin): construction of 2,000m3 GRP treated water tank at Fond Boffay, Praslin
• Fond Boffay to Eve Island pipeline project (Praslin): pipeline to transfer treated water from Eve Island to Fond Boffay
• Vilaz Rose (Praslin): supply of treated water to Vilaz Roz land bank
• Belle Vue water supply project (La Digue): construction of 150m3 treated water tank
• Reverse Osmosis (RO) Skid: installation and commissioning of RO skid on Mahé and Praslin
About the integrated water resource management demonstration project of La Digue:
The main objectives of the IWRM (integrated water resource management) demonstration project are two-fold and intertwined in each other:
1) to protect the ground freshwater aquifers from unsuitable management and
2) to demonstrate tangible benefits of IWRM adoption and implementation.
The ultimate aim is to provide appeal for the relevance of IWRM at local, national and regional levels.
The accompanying photos show the different projects PUC has been working on.
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Contributed by PUC