How Groundbreaking scheme improves water supply in Pulka Community
A conflict-affected community in northeast Nigeria receives relief from water insecurity through the innovative Small-Town Water Scheme.
There have been many challenging moments in the life of Idris Yalade, a 48-year-old plumber resident in Pulka, northeast Nigeria. But a couple of them stand out.
"I am severely affected by insecurity. But some of my most challenging periods include when I had to push water carriages to Ngoshe, 3km to fetch water. I also remember trekking to Gwoza, 22 kilometres away, to fetch water for my family. This is water that will not even last us a week. It was pure hell. We had a few boreholes in Pulka, but they were not functioning. You could queue for water for days at the few functioning ones and still go home with empty containers."
For years, the town of Pulka, plagued by armed conflict and home to thousands of displaced people, struggled to find safe water. The unfriendly terrain of the town had also rendered the construction of boreholes equally challenging.
Ngoshe and Gwoza, also communities reeling from the effects of conflict, used to be destinations for anyone in desperate need of water.
To improve water security in Pulka and preserve the lives of vulnerable families and children from water-borne diseases, UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies have relied on frequent water trucking to the town for several years. But this had proven unsustainable and expensive. It also limited the amount of safe water available to individuals for sanitation and hygiene purposes.
In 2022, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Borno State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), developed an innovative water master plan model for Pulka. A small-town water scheme to abolish the costly method of water trucking and improve water security in the town was launched as a pilot project. Funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA), the innovative water master plan involved ground water studies in Pulka, Damboa, and Dikwa communities to improve drilling success rates and expand existing reticulation capacity. In Pulka, the ground water study was complemented with the rehabilitation of 14 solar-powered boreholes and the upgrade of 8 underutilised boreholes. The Borno State Government also constructed 10 new boreholes and reticulated a 10-kilometre pipe network in Pulka as part of the master plan.
We integrated these innovative and climate-friendly water supply network alternatives into a water farm field to ensure sustainable water services. At full implementation, families affected by conflict will be able to connect water pipes from their homes to the community network of boreholes and pipelines.
The new water scheme instantly eliminated the expensive water trucking approach, increased daily water production from 300 cu.m./day to 450 cu.m./day, and improved access to safe water from 9 to 15 litres per person per day. A community-based servicing team, called the Village-Level Operation and Maintenance (VLOM) team, comprising plumbers, mechanics, and other artisans for the maintenance of the water scheme, was also established.
To facilitate sustainability and community ownership, UNICEF, with support from local partner Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), trained members of the team and supplied them with toolkits. The VLOMs were trained on the basic operation and maintenance of water pipes, as well as record-keeping. The trained volunteers will form part of the technical arm of the Water Scheme Management Team. Idris is one of them.
“The water scheme has solved a huge part of our problem,’’ says Idris. “Being a member of the maintenance team is voluntary. I am not paid, but it is an honour to repair water pipes and fix solar panels whenever there is a need for them. I am doing it on behalf of the community. I believe that I am contributing my part to the growth of my community,’’
The water scheme has also upgraded investments made by the government for sustainability and climate friendliness. For instance, the 750 m3 ground tank and the 500 m3 overhead tank provided by the government to run on a generator were redesigned to work fully on solar power to eliminate noise and fume pollution as well as the additional cost of diesel.
“I would not have believed that we would one day have a solar water farm in Pulka. We really suffered from the lack of water, and it affected everybody. Hopefully, that is over forever,”
