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Rainwater harvesting is promoted and implemented in
urban areas for a variety of reasons. In Port Harcourt, water
supplies have been diminishing due to limited capacity by
the central government. This has spurred house-owners to
invest in rainwater harvesting for household consumption.
The increased use of rainwater harvesting provides additional
water supply and reduces pressures of demand on surrounding
surface and groundwater resources.
Access to groundwater through boreholes is widespread but
largely unmonitored in Africa. In Nairobi, there is a growing
demand for groundwater, which is tapped through boreholes.
Desalinisation is not widely used as an alternative source of
water. Algeria, through the Hamma Seawater Desalination
Plant, is one country that uses desalinised water (Ondrey 2008).
CASE STUDIES
Africa’s cities are highly diverse, and as such they face unique
challenges in as far as access to improved drinking water and
sanitation are concerned. As the case studies in this publication
demonstrate, the following are some common water and
sanitation issues in African cities:
• Cities are depending more on external ecosystems for their
water supplies;
• Alternative sources of water such as rainwater harvesting and
groundwater are growing in use and importance;
• There is a growing role by the private sector in complementing
government efforts in the delivery of urban water supply and
sanitation;
• Management of urban water is being reformed in view
of changes in economic development and growing
environmental awareness; and
• The plight of the urban poor is known, but there are few
pro-poor initiatives to improve their access to water and
sanitation service.
The case studies present urban water challenges in African
cities, and highlight approaches adopted to reduce the
impacts of urbanisation on water and ecosystems. The case
studies discuss urbanisation characteristics of their respective
cities, state and trends of water withdrawals and demand,
environmental impacts of bulk water supply and wastewater
discharge, and lessons for policy.