Yambio set to get piped water, finally

Water kiosks were constructed in 2013 by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Nagori and Korobiba, two parts of the 40,000 strong settlement, but plans were halted in December 2013 when a struggle for power between President Salva Kiir and his former Vice President Riek Machar turned violent, unleashing ongoing conflict in many parts of the country.

With the signing of the peace agreement in August 2015, GIZ in collaboration with the German Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW), embarked on the second phase of the water project, linking piped water through main source at Ikpiro residential area to the main tank in Korobiba.

The plan is to cover ten square kilometres of the Yambio township, including Ikpiro, Nagori, Korobiba, Hai Bakindo and the main market center of Yambio.

The project is implemented by GIZ through the Yambio Urban Water and Sanitation, an organisation that initially was formed and funded by GIZ in phases one of the project during which two water shops were established in Nagori and Korobiba residential areas.

According to Alice Naumba Gordon the Acting Managing Director of Yambio Urban Water and Sanitation, the aim is to distribute safe drinking water for the general population, which currently relies on pond and borehole water that poses a health risk.

Alice says water pipes will be laid around Yambio, giving everybody close to the pipeline access to the water. “We get our water from the bore hole,” she says, adding that having only one borehole as a source of production is a slow process. “This has caused pressure to rush the Ikpiro project so that we can provide sufficient water to the population,” she adds.

“Right now we are concentrating on laying the pipes in vastly populated areas as quickly as possible so that we can build water distribution kiosks around those areas,” Alice says.

In the future, they plan to connect water to households to help vulnerable groups, like pregnant women and children, and save them from walking long distances to collect water for drinking.

“Despite all our plans, our current capacity is only 2,000 litres per hour that is pumped into our truck for distribution. This capacity is too low for the demand, after all, no one is distributing safe and clean water in Yambio except us,” Alice says.

Alice Gordon says the process is time consuming. They first have to decide where to locate the water kiosks. Normally they use government land, but where the plot is on private property, landowners typically expect compensation. Another problem is electricity as their generator often breaks down, and fuel shortages make water production expensive and sometimes impossible.

However, she remains convinced that the scheme is finally set to bring about change for Yambio households: “Our water is not expensive and we provide delivery services to homes and institutions,” she says.