Hargeisa Water Agency (HWA) strives to satisfy the water needs of the residents of Hargeisa with the provision of affordable, accessible, safe and sufficient water on a sustainable basis. HWA envisions that every single resident of Hargeisa city has permanent and consistent access to clean, affordable and safe water. The target population of HWA is urban residents, sub-urban residents, private and public organizations, industry and commerce.
HWA ccontinuously improves water management plan that is comprehensive in scope and guides effective water resources management and customers relations. Working in partnership within the public, private sectors and UN and International Organizations, HWA strives to increase the volume of water that Hargeisa city receives from 9 Million liters a day to 40 million liters. Explore specific areas of HWA’s focus below.
- Water production System
Water is supplied to the town from a series of boreholes located 23km to the north of the town. The water source area is situated 300 meters below the altitude of Hargeisa in sediment of antique river courses of Udan, Anayo and Horohadleh rivers which cover 12km2 and on the average, there is one well per km2. According to the date from the prospecting wells, rough assessment of static water reserve is 190,000,000m3, and the availability yield of water is about 19,000,000m3. Seasonal rainfall, floods, and base rock water around recharge the water source area. This shows that dry-up extracting will not happen.
The system in its entirety consists of 16 boreholes of which only thirteen are currently operational. The combined output of these eight boreholes is 10,000m3/day and is connected to two reinforced concrete sump tanks with a combined capacity of 475m3 located at a central pumping station at the well site.
Water from the tanks is boosted through 10km of 300mm diameter steel pipe to similar size concrete sump tanks at a secondary booster station (Biyo Khadar). The secondary booster pumping station then delivers the water to reservoirs in Hargeisa town through 13km of similar pipe size and dimension. Each borehole in the system is connected to a centralized power supply system. The pumping stations have two parallel generators each.
- Exploring of new water sources
In order fill the gap for the current city water volume scarcity, five potential sources are identified. These potential sources of water as well as their production capacity are presented below:
Geed Deeble 12, Horehaadley 2.5, Jaleelo 3.5, Xaraf Aaluvium 1,Butoch Dam 60. All these figures are million meter cubic per day
- Increasing the water available to Hargeisa: More boreholes drilled and connected
In 2006, another well field known as Hora Haadley was discovered 3.5 kilometres north of Ged Deeble. Exploratory drilling in 2007 suggested that the yield from three new boreholes could be as much as 2.5 million litres per day. Under the HUWSUP project, there is funding allocated to the drilling of these boreholes. it is expected that Somaliland Development fund also finance the resources needed to connect them to the Ged Deeble pumping station.
- Rehabilitating the existing well fields
Hargeisa Water Agency has 13 bore holes. Most of these bores holes a are quite old and needs rehabilitation.
- Replacement of Pipeline System From Geed Deeble to Storage Facilities.
The principal water infrastructure for Hargeisa was constructed in the 1970s to supply what was then a city of 180,000 inhabitants. Since the latest system upgrade in 1988, when additional boreholes were drilled at the city’s Ged Deeble wellfield (some 23 kilometres north of the city), and a second pumping main installed to boost the supply, there has been no further increase in the volume of water, despite a tripling of demand over the last twenty-five years.
Following rapid urbanisation and resettlement, the estimated population of the city is now over 800,000 people, while the daily supply from the existing water system is just 9 million litres – the same as it was in 1988, with only about a quarter of the current population. Hargeisa needs at least 24 million litres a day to sustain its growth. The lack of water is only half the story. The 23 kilometres of pumping mains installed in 1974 and 1988 are heavily deteriorated and regularly burst, leaving the city without piped water, creating serious inconveniences to the urban population. Every day this ageing system remains in place, Hargeisa is at risk of losing its main source of water supply.
- Urban Water Distribution System
HWA distributes the water through:
i. Public Kiosks:
Kiosks are the major channel for distributing water to the consumers. During the last ten years the share of water delivered through the kiosks was more than 30% percent of the total amount delivered. Today there are more than 500 public kiosks in operation all over the city. The bulky of the kiosks are found in the poor settlements which are densely populated residential areas. A substantial proportion of the kiosks are also located in the sub-urban settlements, i.e. the parts of the city occupied by low-income families. This is intended to give the opportunity to collect water at a reasonable price.
- House Connections:
Household connections are the major source of water consumption. Nearly 40% of the total permanent residential, commercial and government buildings are connected with piped water. There are more than 24,5000 houses with connected through household connection.
iii. Stand Pipes:
HWA has only one standpipe that delivers about one percentage of the consumption. Tanks collect daily water from the standpipe and delivery to the residents living in and around Hargeisa.
7. Extension of the Urban Distribution System
In 2015/16, the bulk water supply into Hargeisa will increase by between 40 – 60% (2.5 – 4.5 million litres) with the completion of the EU funded Hargeisa Urban Water Supply Upgrading Project (HUWSUP). The urban distribution network cannot equitably distribute this water to all parts of the city. Therefore in order to ensure that this new water is shared evenly throughout the city, new trunk mains and service reservoirs need to be built in advance of the completion of the new pipeline otherwise the extra water will only go to existing customers. There will be at least five trunk mains within the city of Hargeisa. These main trunks are; 1. New 4.6km long, 300mm ductile iron pipe between Sheedaha Reservoir and Madarasa Al-Huda Reservoir 2.
- CHALLENGES
In spite of the significant achievements made, HWA is not in a position to have its vision fully realized. The populations living in and around Hargeisa do not have access to sufficient water; the current production is 60% below the demand level at minimum urban consumption level of 35 liters per day per capita.
- The main problem-causing factors include
- Absence of sufficient number of bore holes;
• Frequent machinery breakdown;
• Old transmission line with frequent leakage and break down;
• Semi centralized power supply system that demand very high operational and maintenance costs;
• Expansion of the city above the elevation line of water storage tanks;
• Non-availability of funds to cope with the existing problems.
• Non-availability of transmission & distribution lines