R O A D S A N D T R A N S P O R T Transportation of Water: Schemes for “Needy” Communities

AUTHOR: David Junias Researcher@RDJConsulting

The maxim that “water is life” will never get old!

So, even though we require access to water every day, it is unlikely that all of the accessible water is safe to drink. This then adds to the challenge of bringing the world closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) "clean water and sanitation for all". Today, nearly 1 billion people in the developing world don't have access to clean and safe drinking water according to the Water Project Inc

In South Africa, due to a lack of water infrastructure in rural settlements, rural communities are dependent upon groundwater that is sourced from local wells and pumps. As a result, in 2022, 19% of the rural population still lacks access to a reliable water supply and 33% do not have basic sanitation services In Namibia, approximately 13% of rural households do not access potable water as indicated by the Namibian Prime Minister, Right Hon.Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila during the recent UN 2023 Water Conference. Despite Namibia doing significantly better when it comes to water access, subSaharan Africa at large continues to face challenges

Rural people in the sub-Saharan region normally meet their water needs from unsafe open water sources such as rivers, dams, and canals Research indicates that twothirds of sub-Saharan Africa rely mostly or completely on surface water. Despite the threat of horrendous diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis A which increasingly spreads due to people's linkage to using unsafe water or the lack of it, it also comes with other economical challenges

Such economical challenges generally include family members traveling long distances to fetch water from various sources Instead, if safe drinking water was availed closer to their homes, lives could be improved, and people would save time to spend on economically stimulating activities such as farming or running of small businesses.

Water transportation schemes

While water infrastructures such as water pipelines are not available in some places then other water transportation schemes aimed towards clean and safe water access help deprived communities and give everyone hope Many major transport corridors have been constructed side-by-side with water and electricity distribution systems Collaborative planning across these sectors could have lowered the costs and optimized economic and social benefits.

According to a World Resources Institute (WRI) study, the market for water trucking is booming in the world's most water-stressed regions: much of South Asia and parts of the Middle East, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa. The study shows data from extreme situations; for example,overthepasttenyears,inKarachi,Pakistan,the water tanker fleet has doubled, and in Lagos, Nigeria, it hasquadrupled.

Shipping drinking water: Ports can be used to deliver drinking water from other countries. Even in the same country, a port may receive potable water from either a municipal or a private supply and usually has special arrangementsformanagingthiswaterafterithasentered the port to transport this water to offshore needy communities

From agriculture to water and energy supply, there are many sectors and industries that could gain from higher, smarter investment in sustainable transport and systems Often, there are missed opportunities in joint action Even new actions such as desalination can provide water thatcouldbetransportedtoneedycommunities

This means that active transport infrastructure is needed as a means to solve the lack of safe water in water-needy areas through water transportation schemes such as:

Bulk water carriage: Vehicles can be used to transport drinking water in bulk to communities However, vehicles that can be used to transport drinking water should meet the requirements such as: being maintained at all times to a standard befitting the drinking-water industry, being marked clearly with the company name and nature of b

Whatotherwaysdoyouknow,tohelpsafedrinkingwater reach needy communities? The conversation continues at briefing@rdjpublishing.africa

Readings: https://cms my na/assets/documents/NIDS 2016 pdf https://thewaterproject.org/community/profile/samiha-yusof https://www rainharvest co za/2012/05/bulk-water-transport-asolution-to-water-scarcity/ https://www ncbi nlm nih gov/books/NBK310823/ https://www nmdhb govt nz/assets/Uploads/Guidelines-for-safecarriage-drinking-water-jun-2008 pdf https://mg co za/news/2022-08-02-basic-water-services-in-southafrica-are-in-decay-after-years-ofprogress/#: :text=Current%20coverage%20of%20access%20to,adv ancement%20of%20the%20white%20minority https://www wearewater org/en/when-water-travels-bytruck 353291 https://na usembassy gov/handover-water-tanker-trucks/