POUL DUE JENSEN FOUNDATION WATER Safe water for Tanzania refugee camps The Nyarugusu refugee camp, located in western Tanzania was built in 1996 to host 50,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The total population is today 315,000 when counting in the nearby refugee camps of Nduta and Mtendeli. Now the American NGO, Water Mission, is upgrading the water supply system to be the worlds largest solar based system in a refugee camp. In addition to Nyarugusu, the western Tanzanian refugee camps of Nduta and Mtendeli, have been supporting the continued influx of new arrivals and new births. The total population in the camps is approximately 315,000 with expectations for continued growth of refugees especially from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Thereby the size of the camps is very dynamic. For those living in the camps, access to improved water and adequate sanitation required constant effort and attention to provide for the rapidly increasing refugee population. Much of the existing water systems are very old and under dimensioned, and does not fit with the existing needs in the camp. The purpose with project, agreed between Water Mission and Poul Due Jensen Foundation, is to replace the diesel driven water systems by renewable pumping technology: Water systems based on solar power. The reliable solar powered systems run almost 100 percent of the time, and thereby, they decrease the need for diesel, which will also lower the costs significantly, both in terms of diesel payment, repairs and spareparts. No other refugee camps in the world is based on solar power to this extent. The project is hence a landmark project rising far above anything done before in the developing world. The project is currently in phase II with a slight project delay, due to technical challenges (design issues). The work with local authorities has also taken more time than expected. The project's five phases: Phase 1 Concept plan, field assessment etc. 2016-17 Phase 2 Master plan design 2017 Phase 3-4 Two stage implementation 2017-2018 Phase 5 Operation and research studies - 2018 Project statistics The three refugee camps Nyarugusu, Nduta, and Mtendeli are located in Tanzania's northwest Kigoma province along the border neighboring Burundi. Estimated project statistics: • Providing 5 million litres of safe water per day • Automated water treat- ment to ensure all water is safe • Additional water sources to replace problematic surface water sources • Provide solar power solutions for all water sources in three camps • Satellite based remote monitoring of borehole water level, water pumped, and basic water quality The water project in Nyarugusu and the adjacent camps are funded by Poul Due Jensen Foundation and implemented by our partner: US NGO Water Mission in cooperation with UNHCR and the Government of Tanzania. 16
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