Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene September - October 2016 Vol. 11 No.4 | Page 10

NEWS in brief

Global Highlights
Davis & Shirtliff provides water solutions to refugees in Dagahaley Camp
Davis & Shirtliff was tasked with the solarization of 5 existing boreholes . This now means that the boreholes in the camp can provide 2 million litres of water per day and are powered by the energy from the sun .
Gatende said that the Ksh39 million project will benefit about 87,000 people living there who are mostly refugees and also members of the Garissa County .
Scarcity of water , food , insecurity and constant contraction of disease have rocked the Dagahaley camps for years .
Gatende suggests that solar pumping should be taken up to ease the menace .
“ Drilling and equipping boreholes alone is not enough . The high operation and maintenance cost is unsustainable . A long term solution would be to determine the water requirement by the population and explore sustainable methods of meeting the demand .” Gatende says .
Baltimore to Receive $ 1.2 Billion in Sewer Upgrades By 2030
Leading water and energy solutions provider , Davis & Shirtliff , has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ) to provide accessible water to groups of people living in Dagahaley refugee Camp facing acute water shortage .
The project is set to curb scarcity of water in the camp which is located inside Dadaab , dubbed as the world ’ s largest refugee camp and lower the cost of accessing water for Garissa County residents . This comes at a time when the Kenyan Government has said that it will close Dadaab which is 80 km west of the Somali border , citing that it has become a hive for the Al-Shabab armed group that has claimed responsibility for terror attacks in Kenya .
David Gatende , CEO of Davis & Shirtliff said that the project is crucial despite the ongoing repatriation and the water is not only slated to help the refugees but the residents in the community .
“ Repatriation is a long term process . Water will always be a necessity as long as there are people at the camp be it refugees , NGO ’ s or even host community . The project will curb the water shortage and lower the cost of providing water ,” Gatende said .
Residents of Baltimore may finally be able to relax a little when it comes to their beloved city ’ s crumbling sewer system .
Baltimore City has reached an agreement with federal and state environmental agencies to reduce the amount of sewage that overflows in the city in less than five years it has been reported .
The agreement is a modification to the 2002 consent decree between the Department of the Environment , the U . S . EPA , the U . S . Department of Justice , and the city of Baltimore . It would set deadlines for completion of an estimated $ 2 billion in work by the city to improve its sewer system , according to the Maryland Department of the Environment ( MDE ).
The agreement also calls for greater public transparency , including improved public notification by Baltimore of sewage overflows .
8 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • September - October 2016