Halcrow Foundation funds bring a spring back to life, creating a sustainable water supply for Ethiopian village
Residents of Entoto, a hillside village near Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, will have safe and sustainable access to clean drinking water thanks to funding by the Halcrow Foundation.
The village, which is home to around 2,000 people, already has a spring but it’s been out of action for decades as a result of soil subsidence. Without clean water for drinking and washing, and by sharing water sources with livestock, the residents are susceptible to waterborne diseases. This prevents people from going to school and work and impacts on local education and productivity, pushing them further into poverty. Without local clean drinking, washing and hand washing water, women and girls must travel to surrounding forests which also puts them at risk of sexual harassment and attack.
The Halcrow Foundation is working with Environmentalists Development Association-Ethiopia (EDA-E), a non-government organisation, to supply Entoto with a sustainable source of clean drinking water. The project involves developing the spring, constructing a collecting chamber, installing a pump, connecting the pump site to an electrical grid, constructing a reservoir with four water points and laying water pipes.
EDA-E will also train villagers to repair and maintain the system, and help them form a committee to manage the water supply and regulate a water pricing and payment scheme, enabling the project to be sustainable in the long term.
Andrew Lowe, Project lead said, “The project will have a huge impact on the villagers’ quality of life, particularly for women and children. Not only will it reduce health risks, it will allow people to be more productive, create more jobs, and reduce violence and harassment against women and girls who collect water from springs in the forests”.
Entoto attracts a large number of visitors every day who seek traditional healing in the local churches, and the high altitude makes the area popular for elite athlete training. A safe, sustainable water supply system would enable local entrepreneurs to open restaurants, cafes and other services aimed at visitors and tourists, further improving life opportunities for people living in Entoto.
About EDA-E
EDA-E was established in 2006 and focuses improving the livelihood of people in rural Ethiopia through general environmental protection tasks and improved natural resource management. It has worked on 23 water supply projects which benefit over 45,000 people, including the Halcrow Foundation funded-project in Tullu Nacha, Ethiopia
