Since October 2013, BTC’s Water Supply Gaza project has been successfully improving access to drinkable water in rural areas of the Gaza Province, Mozambique. This relatively dry region is characterized by remote and widely dispersed communities, that rely on few and often salty water sources. Despite these challenges, the project has installed and updated many water and sanitation facilities in the region, improving the lives of over 15.000 local residents and their livestock. For 2017-2018, the project aims to reach another 40.000.

Thanks to its expertise in this field, BTC is considered one of the leading organisations active in water development in Mozambique. In this light, BTC Mozambique recently participated in an experience sharing event (PRONASAR) which was organised by the Mozambican National Water Directorate to lay out the roadmap for the country’s water program 2017-2030. The event was attended by around 160 participants, consisting of other donors, local government officials from the provinces, private sector actors, ministers, civil society actors, university staff, and press. During this event, BTC presented the problems it has encountered, and the “lessons learned” of working in the Gaza region for past few years. In particular, BTC proposed its solutions to provide access to water in remote areas where most water sources are too salty to drink safely. To overcome this challenge, BTC focuses on a variety of possible solutions:

Firstly, it is important to move away from manual pumps, since these can only be installed directly above drinkable water sources. In the Gaza province, fresh water sources are often located outside of communities, and not easily accessible to people living in the area. Therefore, BTC often relies on electric pumps: the project has successfully installed multiple electric solar pumps at boreholes containing drinkable water, which then pump water into reservoirs of nearby communities from a distance. Pumping the drinkable water directly into the communities greatly improves easy access to water.

Secondly, it is important to invest in new water detection techniques to assess the quality and saltiness of the water in boreholes. In the Gaza region, many pockets of groundwater consist of different layers of water – some drinkable, and some not drinkable. After digging a borehole, this simple technology detects which layers of water could be tapped into in order to provide the population with fresh, drinkable water, and which water layers should be avoided. This technique ensures the most efficient exploitation of fresh water from a borehole, even if it contains both salty and drinkable water.

Thirdly, in case no fresh water can be found within the groundwater in a particular area, investment in desalination installations should be made. BTC already has plans to construct several desalination installations in 2017-2018 in the region.

Lastly, BTC is digitizing the rural water sector in the Gaza Province by providing local technicians with Akvo Flow Database software. This digital monitoring tool is easy to use, and gives ownership to the local population as it enables them to monitor their water installations and the water quality in the region independently. Thanks to the Akvo Flow Database, Mozambique's National Water Directorate can efficiently monitor the water situation in Gaza province. This is essential for planning effective, long-term development strategies.

Indeed, the Belgian Cooperation’s extensive experience in improving access to water in rural Mozambique has not gone unnoticed. During and after the PRONASAR event, Belgium was praised for its innovative approach, and contacted by other donors and international organisations to obtain more information about BTC’s work. Also the Akvo Flow Database received quite a bit of attention, as the Gaza province is now recognised as the first province in the whole of Mozambique with a complete and reliable database on water infrastructures. Impressed by this result, different stakeholders have reached out to BTC with the idea to apply the same methodology in the other Provinces. In addition, BTC’s successes are greatly appreciated by the local population of the Gaza province and by the national Mozambican partners, including President Filipe Nyusi, who paid a special visit to the projects’ offices to learn more about BTC’s work.

For 2017-2018, the BTC Water Supply Gaza project will continue its efforts to improve access to water in rural areas, and will continue to use its expertise to lead the way in water development in Mozambique.