General

The programme has been designed to deliver an integrated package of interventions in water supply, sanitation, solid waste management and capacity building. With immediate interventions now completed in 7 towns, over 143,000 persons have already benefited from improved water supplies and 40,000 from improved sanitation. A special solid waste management system for small towns has been designed and the equipment delivered. Training and systems development to operationalize the solid waste management systems are in progress.

Residents of Shauri Yako slum in Homa Bay town draw water from a water kiosk  constructed by UN-HABITAT and managed by a local women's group.

Implementation activities are now focused on long term interventions which have already started in 3 towns, as well as a comprehensive programme of training and capacity building. In addition, a sanitation micro-credit scheme has been launched in 9 towns and aims to provide credit to enable poor and women-headed households to improve household sanitation. The scheme is expected to provide access to basic sanitation for over 45,000 persons living mostly in the peri-urban areas of the towns. A project which was piloted in Uganda to provide safe drinking water for orphan-headed households is also being scaled up with project activities now underway in 3 towns in Tanzania. This project has already provided safe drinking water to over 2,000 vulnerable persons, comprising mainly HIV/AIDS Orphans.

Kenya

In Kisii, the main source of water at Kegati has been rehabilitated resulting in a 70% increase in water production. Other completed works include a 10km distribution pipeline, 10 public water kiosks and another 10 VIP latrines in public institutions. The rehabilitation of sewer lines has also been completed with funds provided from the Government’s counterpart contribution.

In Homa Bay town rehabilitation of both the old and new intakes has been successfully completed, and new pumps installed, resulting in a doubling of water production. Immediate works to reduce leaks and rehabilitate the treatment works at Makongeni have helped to reduce unaccounted-for-water from 65% to the present level of 41%. Additional works include the laying of approx 1 km of PVC pipeline, installation of 10 tipping bins and 4 waste transfer stations, construction of 10 VIP latrines in selected schools and public areas and a number of water kiosks in low income settlements.

Work is also in progress to improve water and sanitation conditions at the prisons in Kisii and Homa Bay. These works will provide improve access to safe water and sanitation for over 3,000 persons.

Tanzania

In Bukoba, the rehabilitation of the main water source at the Customs Intake has been completed, resulting in a doubling of the water production capacity. The construction of 25 domestic water points and sanitation facilities have also been completed and are operational. The rehabilitation of 3 Water Storage Tanks and 3 Septic Tanks at the Prison has also been completed.

In Muleba, where access to safe water was less than 10% at the start of the project, the focus has been on the construction of a new water system based on the Ihako Springs located about 11 km from the town. The project, which comprises the rehabilitation of the spring intake, installation of about 11 km of new water mains and construction of a 680 cubic metre storage reservoir, is now substantially completed and is undergoing final acceptance tests. In addition, an existing borehole at Magata is being improved and 15 domestic water points and 10 public VIP sanitation facilities constructed.

Uganda

In Uganda, the immediate interventions have mainly addressed sanitation improvements in the towns of Kyotera and Nyendo Ssenyange. These facilities have now been completed and put into operation. They comprise 20 sanitation blocks at Orphanages, Schools and Public Buildings. The construction of an improved water scheme to serve Kyotera, a town with a population of 12,000, has also been completed. In the border town of Mutukula work has commenced on the construction of a water supply system which will provide safe water to this rapidly growing border town of over 10,000 inhabitants.

Capacity Building

A Fast-track Capacity Building Programme for water utilities has been completed in four (4) towns: Kisii and Homa Bay in Kenya and Bukoba and Muleba in Tanzania and a second phase has now started started for another 4 towns (Bondo, Bunda, Kyotera and Mutukula). The overall objective of the fast track capacity building programme for utilities is to support the financial and operational sustainability of the capital investments being provided under the LVWATSAN Initiative. The issue of sustainable revenue generation was identified as a priority in this regard. Over 214 staff of the utility companies and regulatory agencies have been trained and assistance is being provided to the utility companies in improving their operational systems, including billing and revenue collection, water demand management, customer care and mapping.

The immediate interventions, including the training and capacity building, have already resulted in a significant improvement in the performance of the water utilities in the project towns. For example, unaccounted-for-water has been reduced from an average of 56% of water produced to 42%. Revenues have increased by an average of 65%. As more water has become available, the Utilities are now making efforts to increase the number of water connections. In fact, under their respective performance improvement programmes, an aggressive connection policy has been launched. Over 1,560 new water connections have been made since the start of the programme and 112 new sewer connections. Three (3) of the participating utilities (in Kisii, Homa Bay and Bukoba) continue to make progress in achieving 100% cost recovery in operational and maintenance expenditure.

A broader programme of training and capacity building has been designed and Cooperation Agreements have been signed with four International Partners – UNESCO-IHE, the Netherlands Development Corporation (SNV), Gender Water Alliance (GWA) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). The programme will focus on utility management, urban catchment management, governance, local economic development and gender and vulnerable groups. Implementation will start in September, 2009.

Solid Waste Management

A special solid waste management system appropriate for small towns has been designed and the equipment has been delivered and is undergoing registration formalities. The Training of operations and maintenance staff will start in August and it is expected that the systems will be fully operational by October, 2009. It should be noted that the system has also been designed to facilitate recycling, thus contributing to sustainable livelihoods and this aspect of the system will be promoted during the implementation of the training and capacity building programme on local economic development.