| Project Detail |
This project concerns the installation and implementation of a seawater desalination unit for human consumption on the island of Brava. The unit will operate 100% on solar energy. The project is part of the component of improving access to water in disadvantaged areas and also of the intention to put the island of Brava 100% on energy from from renewable sources.
With a resident population of 5,521 inhabitants and an average age of 31.4 years, of which 50.9% are women, the island of Brava has 2,128 households. 99.5% of the population has access to electricity and 94.6% to water via the public network. Although these statistics show a high access to drinking water via the public network, most households however do not have continuous and sufficient access.
In Brava, the supply of fresh water is provided by a source, called the Nascente do Encontro, which currently supplies the entire network. Following recent seismic phenomena which affected the islands of Fogo and Brava, considerable groundwater losses were noted and the availability of fresh water increased from 700 m³ / day to 300 m³ / day. Also, the water tariff in Brava remains very high (given the pumping of water by fossil fuels), ranging between 267 ECV / m³ (i.e. 2.42 EUR / m³) for consumption below 6 m³ and 385 ECV / m³, (3.5 EUR / m³) for consumption above 10 m³.
The new desalination unit, located in the Furna area, will have a production capacity of between 250 and 300 m3 / day. This will increase the coverage of access to drinking water in continuous form, it will ultimately guarantee the production and distribution of water at affordable prices and will also ensure the total absence of CO2 emissions once the unit is operational.
Faced with water shortages, the serious consequences for the health of the population, but also for the agriculture and economic activity of the island, the government of Cabo Verde, the municipality of Brava and the intermunicipal water company of the islands of Fogo and Brava, Aguabrava, agreed on the urgency of equipping the island of Bava with a desalination unit, asking for the support of Luxembourg Cooperation.
The project will therefore install a desalination unit operated 100% by solar energy, including pumping and water storage. In order to access the site, the construction of a 1 km road from the Furna reservoir to the site of the desalination unit is necessary. This road will ensure access to carry out the site, operations and maintenance thereafter. Currently there is no track or access.
The impact of this intervention concerns the entire population of Brava, guaranteeing universal and continuous access to drinking water through sustainable production and distribution with the total absence of CO2 emissions. Intermediate beneficiaries will be the municipality of Brava and the intermunicipal company Aguabrava through capacity building and skills in the operationalization and maintenance of the unit and the system as a whole. |
