Aerial Pipelines for Clean and Affordable Water
Summary
SHOFCO’s aerial pipelines supply clean, affordable water to residents of Kibera at a fraction of the cost and of a higher quality than water purchased from private vendors. Aerial pipelines enable access to safe and affordable water in informal urban settlements where formal water connections and traditional underground piping are either not feasible or are part of a major logistical hurdle of getting water to residents.
The growing demand for water services in Kibera, one of the largest urban informal settlements in Kenya, has forced residents to buy water of untested quality from private vendors at high rates in the absence of formal water connections. These vendors often obtain this water through illegal taps in the existing water supply. This practice has resulted in low-income residents over-paying for their water, sometimes up to 50 times more than in the city’s most affluent areas, in addition to the consequences of consuming water through tampered pipes that are potentially contaminated (Wesangula, 2016).
Intervention
Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a local NGO, launched their aerial pipeline system in 2016, the first of its kind in Africa. Pentair, a multinational industrial company, provided initial funding. SHOFCO has since worked with Safaricom (Kenya’s largest telecommunications company), the Heineken Foundation, and the US African Development Fund to provide access to clean and safe water across Kibera (Lijadu, 2018).
As the growing population in Kibera has made it difficult for the government to provide formal water connections for all households, the aerial pipeline initiative established a way to distribute water across the settlement cost-effectively. SHOFCO’s intervention ensures water access and affordability for Kibera residents. No Kibera resident has to walk more than eight minutes to access a water point where they can access safe and affordable water (i.e., a fixed rate of 2 shillings for 20 liters versus a fluctuating rate of between 5 to 20 shillings for 20 liters from a private vendor) (SHOFCO, 2020).
SHOFCO sets up water towers around Kibera with an overhead piping system connected to various water kiosks; the community determines where the kiosks should be located (Wesangula, 2016). Water is retrieved from boreholes and is pumped to a treatment center, then into the overhead tanks, and finally through the pipes to the various water points around Kibera (Wesangula, 2016). Presently, efforts are underway to establish connections to the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company’s main lines to complement the boreholes. As of August 2020, SHOFCO has constructed 3.4km of aerial piping within Kibera, connected to 25 water kiosks, in addition to 47 community latrines (Kisia & Awich, 2020).
SHOFCO’s innovative intervention aims to crack down on the vandalism and theft of pipes by creating an aerial system of pipes connecting to water kiosks. For years, water cartels in Kibera made it next to impossible to supply affordable water via underground pipes, as they would uproot pipes laid by suppliers or otherwise tamper with the infrastructure, which would increase the possibility of water contamination (Kisia & Awich, 2020). The supply of water in the aerial pipeline is reliable and safe, and maintenance is affordable (Kisia & Awich, 2020). Moreover, the Centre for Disease Control Kenya and the Kenyan Medical Research Institute conduct research to further inform methods to improve the quality and acceptability of water within the system (Kisia & Awich, 2020).
In addition to the aerial pipeline system, SHOFCO is also involved in WASH education, facilitated by community health workers, to increase hygiene education, healthcare, and girls’ education (SHOFCO, 2020).
Challenges
Presently, a significant challenge to SHOFCO’s aerial pipeline system is its scalability considering potential resource constraints. More water kiosks, requiring extensive logistical system planning, are needed to keep up with the growing population’s increased demand for water. However, SHOFCO remains dependent on donors to fund and therefore to expand the reach of the project. Moreover, limited data is available on the aerial pipeline system’s impacts on the community, making it difficult to judge its social, economic, political, and environmental effects on the Kibera community it serves.
So far, qualitative and quantitative research focusing on water quality and acceptability has been carried out by the Kenyan medical community; this research has enabled SHOFCO to make improvements to its system. For example, testing revealed that the water does not have enough chlorine when it reaches the kiosks (USAID, 2020). These are important considerations as SHOFCO looks to expand its innovative system, which has received positive feedback from community residents. As such, aerial pipelines are a viable method to adapt and use within other urban informal settlements.
Outcomes
SHOFCO’s affordable water supply system has provided clean water and basic sanitation to over 9,500 residents in Kibera at a fraction of the cost (SHOFCO, 2020). By eliminating the role of private water vendors, households, many of whom live on less than USD 1 per day, can purchase safe, affordable water from reliable pipes at fixed rates. With the provision of clean water and hygiene education, the incidence rate of waterborne diseases has decreased. There are also plans to scale up the initiative to benefit more people; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed progress.
SHOFCO has also partnered with Safaricom to give Kibera residents an identity card to load using a mobile money platform, M-Pesa. They swipe to release water from the system (Think America Radio, 2019). As the water kiosks are located in central areas, residents do not need to walk very far to fetch water, especially benefitting women and girls, who tend to bear the responsibility for water collection.
References
Aerial Pipelines for Clean and Affordable Water
Summary
SHOFCO’s aerial pipelines supply clean, affordable water to residents of Kibera at a fraction of the cost and of a higher quality than water purchased from private vendors. Aerial pipelines enable access to safe and affordable water in informal urban settlements where formal water connections and traditional underground piping are either not feasible or are part of a major logistical hurdle of getting water to residents.
The growing demand for water services in Kibera, one of the largest urban informal settlements in Kenya, has forced residents to buy water of untested quality from private vendors at high rates in the absence of formal water connections. These vendors often obtain this water through illegal taps in the existing water supply. This practice has resulted in low-income residents over-paying for their water, sometimes up to 50 times more than in the city’s most affluent areas, in addition to the consequences of consuming water through tampered pipes that are potentially contaminated (Wesangula, 2016).
Issue
Intervention
Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a local NGO, launched their aerial pipeline system in 2016, the first of its kind in Africa. Pentair, a multinational industrial company, provided initial funding. SHOFCO has since worked with Safaricom (Kenya’s largest telecommunications company), the Heineken Foundation, and the US African Development Fund to provide access to clean and safe water across Kibera (Lijadu, 2018).
As the growing population in Kibera has made it difficult for the government to provide formal water connections for all households, the aerial pipeline initiative established a way to distribute water across the settlement cost-effectively. SHOFCO’s intervention ensures water access and affordability for Kibera residents. No Kibera resident has to walk more than eight minutes to access a water point where they can access safe and affordable water (i.e., a fixed rate of 2 shillings for 20 liters versus a fluctuating rate of between 5 to 20 shillings for 20 liters from a private vendor) (SHOFCO, 2020).
SHOFCO sets up water towers around Kibera with an overhead piping system connected to various water kiosks; the community determines where the kiosks should be located (Wesangula, 2016). Water is retrieved from boreholes and is pumped to a treatment center, then into the overhead tanks, and finally through the pipes to the various water points around Kibera (Wesangula, 2016). Presently, efforts are underway to establish connections to the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company’s main lines to complement the boreholes. As of August 2020, SHOFCO has constructed 3.4km of aerial piping within Kibera, connected to 25 water kiosks, in addition to 47 community latrines (Kisia & Awich, 2020).
SHOFCO’s innovative intervention aims to crack down on the vandalism and theft of pipes by creating an aerial system of pipes connecting to water kiosks. For years, water cartels in Kibera made it next to impossible to supply affordable water via underground pipes, as they would uproot pipes laid by suppliers or otherwise tamper with the infrastructure, which would increase the possibility of water contamination (Kisia & Awich, 2020). The supply of water in the aerial pipeline is reliable and safe, and maintenance is affordable (Kisia & Awich, 2020). Moreover, the Centre for Disease Control Kenya and the Kenyan Medical Research Institute conduct research to further inform methods to improve the quality and acceptability of water within the system (Kisia & Awich, 2020).
In addition to the aerial pipeline system, SHOFCO is also involved in WASH education, facilitated by community health workers, to increase hygiene education, healthcare, and girls’ education (SHOFCO, 2020).
Challenges
Presently, a significant challenge to SHOFCO’s aerial pipeline system is its scalability considering potential resource constraints. More water kiosks, requiring extensive logistical system planning, are needed to keep up with the growing population’s increased demand for water. However, SHOFCO remains dependent on donors to fund and therefore to expand the reach of the project. Moreover, limited data is available on the aerial pipeline system’s impacts on the community, making it difficult to judge its social, economic, political, and environmental effects on the Kibera community it serves.
So far, qualitative and quantitative research focusing on water quality and acceptability has been carried out by the Kenyan medical community; this research has enabled SHOFCO to make improvements to its system. For example, testing revealed that the water does not have enough chlorine when it reaches the kiosks (USAID, 2020). These are important considerations as SHOFCO looks to expand its innovative system, which has received positive feedback from community residents. As such, aerial pipelines are a viable method to adapt and use within other urban informal settlements.
Outcomes
SHOFCO’s affordable water supply system has provided clean water and basic sanitation to over 9,500 residents in Kibera at a fraction of the cost (SHOFCO, 2020). By eliminating the role of private water vendors, households, many of whom live on less than USD 1 per day, can purchase safe, affordable water from reliable pipes at fixed rates. With the provision of clean water and hygiene education, the incidence rate of waterborne diseases has decreased. There are also plans to scale up the initiative to benefit more people; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed progress.
SHOFCO has also partnered with Safaricom to give Kibera residents an identity card to load using a mobile money platform, M-Pesa. They swipe to release water from the system (Think America Radio, 2019). As the water kiosks are located in central areas, residents do not need to walk very far to fetch water, especially benefitting women and girls, who tend to bear the responsibility for water collection.
Issues |
|---|
Water Scarcity and Access |
Solutions |
|---|
Affordable & Inclusive Water Access |
References
Kisia, A., & Awich, L. (2020, August 18). Aerial piping changes narrative of water supply woes in Kibera. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/big-read/2020-08-18-aerial-piping-changes-narrative-of-water-supply-woes-in-kibera/
Lijadu, K. (2018, August 24). Winner of world's largest Humanitarian prize is an African nonprofit that BUILDS pipes in the sky. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://qz.com/africa/1368422/the-2018-hilton-prize-went-to-a-kenyan-nonprofit-that-builds-aerial-water-systems-for-slums/
SHOFCO. (2020, July 22). WASH. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://www.shofco.org/approach/wash/
Think America Radio. (2019). Aerial pipes provide clean water to people living in slums. Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://thinkamericaradio.com/project/aerial-pipes-provide-clean-water-to-people-living-in-slums/
USAID. (2020, March). “The Rise of SkyWater” – Challenges of an Aerial Water Distribution System. Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.globalwaters.org/us-global-water-strategy-stories
Wesangula, D. (2016, October 06). Can Africa's first AERIAL water NETWORK beat the cartels' sky high prices? Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/oct/06/aerial-water-cartel-slum-kenya