Palma water phase two: pumps, towers and fountains through 2023
The second phase of our Palma water programme is drawing to a close. Working with an international energy company and its partners, we have spent 2023 repairing and extending the water system that serves Palma town and the villages around it. The work sits under the Eezi Maasi Water System Rehabilitation project.
Palma's water problems date from the 2021 attacks, which destroyed or damaged many sources just as displaced families began returning home. When we assessed the situation, people were collecting water as late as 10 pm from distant and unsafe points. The repair work since then has been steady rather than spectacular: 50 pumps installed or repaired, 31 of them new; five water towers rehabilitated; four solar water towers, one new and three repaired; and 12 public fountains across the district.
Local people have done much of the work themselves. 150 residents joined our cash-for-work teams, laying pipes, pouring concrete and painting fountains in neighbourhoods like Quilawa. Every water point is left in the care of a local water committee. On the current count, the systems serve about 20,500 people.
Phase two closes early in 2024. We are already in discussion about what comes next.
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