Water supply in rural environment
HYDROCONSEIL has experience of more than a decade in the field of rural water. To supply rural areas, scattered or sparsely populated, there is a wide variety of technical options: tapping sources, boreholes with hand pumps, boreholes with small solar pumps, modern digging wells, small networks connecting to existing PWS (potable water supply) , etc.. But in terms of operating the service, the constraints are often the same: the challenge is to set up a semi-voluntary or private operator, who can ensure the daily management without incurring excessive overheads.
HYDROCONSEIL's force is to ensure good coordination between the technical choices of developers and local and national implementation of the project in terms of social engineering.
The advantages of HYDROCONSEIL
HYDROCONSEIL offers a consistent service to the client :
• Complete feasibility study: demand analysis, technical scenarios, institutional feasibility, cost estimates, impact assessments, risk analysis, logical framework;
• Exploration of water resources: study of geological and hydrogeological characteristics of aquifers, geomorphological analysis and photo interpretation, achievement of geophysics works;
• The definition of technical standards for the achievement of catchment works, the equipment through drainage systems, etc.. ;
• The realization of preliminary and detailed projects;
• Preparation of tender dossiers;
• Monitoring and quality control of works (realization of the boreholes, pumping equipment or surface infrastructure); supports the project owner for the proposal and the selection of contractors and procurement of work;
• The diagnostic study of maintenance works sectors, identification of local artisans who are capable of providing the service;
• The legal, institutional and economic feasibility study, in order to define a management system (associative operator or small private entrepreneur);
• The ex-post evaluation of rural water projects.
HYDROCONSEIL interventions in this area often involve training, networking and capacity buildings (seminars, publications). HYDROCONSEIL also multiplies partnerships with national consultants and national utilities in charge of water and sanitation.
Mauritania: evaluation of a rural water supply program
In 1999, the French Development Agency (AFD) tasks HYDROCONSEIL with the ex-post evaluation of the program "Improvement of Rural Water Services" (ASHYR), implemented by the GRET. ASHYR is a rural water project that includes several components: rehabilitation and maintenance of manual pumping systems, support for the networks dealers, construction of wells, definition of a business model that ensures the viability of systems, especially financially.
HYDROCONSEIL's work focused on:
• The analysis of completed works and their quality, as well as of the decision making process in terms of engineering and quality control achievements;
• The analysis of the institutional context of the program, its implementation and its performance in terms of the commitment of funds;
• The proposals' development (ToR and tender proposals) for the feasibility study of a new village water supply program and smaller centers in Mauritania, to fund shortly by AFD.
Mali : hydraulic in Kayes region
The operational platform of CFSI in Kayes (Mali) is an initiative that brings together five French ISOs, all members of CFSI. This project focuses mainly on the problem of drinking water supply (DWS) and the management of infrastructures. In DWS, the challenge is clearly to establish methodological principles, which allows to respond appropriately to the requests for assistance, whether they are from local organizations which represent the future users or migrants.
On behalf of an NGO member of the platform, Engineers Without Borders (EWB), HYDROCONSEIL led, in 1999-2000, an analysis of the NGOs' interventions on drinking water in the region of Kayes. The results of this study were widely disseminated to improve the coordination of stakeholders in the rural water sector in Kayes region, starting with other members of the platform CFSI.
