Aptech Africa completes desalination project in Somaliland
5 May 2022 – ARE Member Aptech Africa recently commissioned a solar powered reverse osmosis water treatment plant in Caynabo, Somaliland. This project was funded by UNDP and used a reverse osmosis system supplied by ARE Member Genius Water.
The system has a nominal flow is 6m3/s. The flexotank capacity is 45m3/s which can fill at least 4 trucks daily, while four distribution taps are operational. The photovoltaic power supply is 41.08 kWp. The water is extracted by pumps through piping to the hydraulic container. A series of valves were also installed to insure right operation of the pump.
The site for this project was site was selected because of its nearness to the well and because of its location at the center of Caynabo. Trucks come to pick water, and there are water troughs for the camels, so the local authorities helped to select the site.
Before the system was installed, the Ministry of Water Project Coordinator, Mr. Abdullahi Mohammed, reported that people suffered poor hygiene because of lack of clean drinking water, but now thanks to this system, people don’t need to travel a long distance to get water. “This facility serves the total population of Caynabo with about 7,000 people, as well as around 3,000 people from neighbouring villages”.
Before the system was installed, the Ministry of Water Project Coordinator, Mr. Abdullahi Mohammed, reported that people used to suffer from kidney stones as a result of not taking enough water because most households could not access even 5 litres of water per day. It was also very expensive to buy drinking water for the whole family with bottled water costing USD 0.45 per litre. Prior to the system, people had to drive to Burco town which is about 130 km away from Caynabo. This is too expensive for some so they resorted to drinking the well water that has a high saline level and is not safe for drinking.
There is a water crisis in Caynabo and the Sahara region at large, Thanks to Aptech Africa’s team, those living in Caynabo and around are now able to access clean and safe drinking water from the plant on a daily basis.
https://aptechafrica.com/desalination-project-in-somaliland/