Clean Congo Water

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has more water sources than any other country in Africa, yet millions of its people go without clean drinking water every day. Government agencies and charitable organizations from across the world have come together to implement clean water initiatives across the DR Congo, yet many entire communities are still completely without safe, clean water. The contaminations in the waters of the DR Congo have caused sickness, and even death, in many people and it is critical that this issue be resolved in order for the country and its citizens to be able to survive and grow.

According to the CIA’s World Factbook, in 2008 fifty four percent of the population of the DR Congo is living with “unimproved” drinking water. This means that over half of the people in the country obtain their drinking water from unfiltered, potentially unsafe sources (Congo). In July of 2010 the General Assembly of the United Nations held a vote and came to the conclusion that access to clean water and sanitation is a human right. In a press release put out by the United Nations after this meeting it is stated that the General Assembly has adopted “a resolution calling on States and international organizations to provide financial resources, build capacity and transfer technology, particularly to developing countries, in scaling up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all” (General Assembly). Despite this and other efforts by large and influential organizations, there is still a dire need for clean drinking water in the DR Congo and other developing countries.

According to a report written by the United Nations’ Environmental Program in January 2011, only twenty six percent of the population in the DR Congo has access to clean drinking water (UNEP). These figures indicate that between 2008 and 2011, before and after the UN’s decision to make access to clean water a human right, the percentage of the population of the DR Congo without access to safe, clean drinking water rose from fifty four percent to seventy four percent. While there is a positive side in the fact that these numbers have since improved and seem as though they will continue to improve, it is still a devastating truth that millions of people are living without access to clean drinking water in the DR Congo and elsewhere in the world.

Currently, the majority people living in rural areas (and even numerous people living in urban areas) of the DR Congo have only natural water sources available to obtain drinking water. Many of these bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers and streams, are largely contaminated with chemicals and biological pollution. Because there is a lack of proper sewage systems, immeasurable amounts of sewage are dumped directly in to bodies of water. As the United Nations Environmental Program stated in their “Water Issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo” technical report: “Waste from septic tanks and pit latrines are typically openly dumped in the environment including in canals and water bodies. Random open defecation in peri-urban and rural areas is common, thereby exposing water sources to potential contamination” (UNEP). Realizing the actual causes of the water contamination in the DR Congo makes the problem even more obvious and crucial.

The portion of the population that has access to clean drinking water in the DR Congo is disproportionately in the urban areas of the country. Out of the twenty six percent of population that has clean water, more than two thirds of them (roughly seventy percent) live in urban areas. Statistically speaking, approximately one in every three urban residents of the DR Congo have access to clean drinking water, while only about one in six rural residents have this access (UNEP). These numbers show how drastically more severe this problem is in rural areas compared to the urban cities. This is why more efforts currently need to be made to increase the availability of clean water in the rural areas as opposed to the urban areas.

While it is obvious that the entirety of the DR Congo needs access to clean water, the recorded numbers indicate that the rural areas of the country are in an even more desperate need for current assistance. One effective way to do this would be to delegate the responsibility of installing and maintaining clean water sources such as hand pumps and spring boxes to small communities. Community based projects have been implemented in the past and have been very effective in providing clean water for large rural populations (UNEP).

In 2005 Engineers Without Borders started a project to provide clean water for the province of Mambasa in the DR Congo. During the planning process of this project they performed a survey with the local hospital and found that 173 people were seen for water-related illnesses (Ramirez). The volunteers used the local people’s help in building slow filtration systems for groups of various sizes. By allowing the local people to help in building and operating the new technologies for clean water, they begin to accept and understand the techniques and become able to sustain the new systems. As the benefits of these systems over the natural water sources become apparent to the people in these groups, they became more inclined to maintain these techniques. The keys to implementing and sustaining new, clean water sources for the people of the DR Congo according to this experience are “acceptance, proper and adequate management by user, ease of understanding, use and maintenance” (Ramirez).

With a donation of sixty thousand euros, approximately seventy eight thousand US dollars, Engineers Without Borders was able to train ten technicians to construct and maintain several different types of water sources and bring knowledge and awareness of sanitation to five hundred homes. Six wells were constructed, five of which the local residents constructed themselves, and the wells that provide water to the general hospital were redeveloped. Because of these six wells approximately ten thousand more people have access to clean drinking water (Ramirez). Because of the knowledge the people of Mambasa have gained they will be able to continue building more wells and water sources which will allow the number of people reached by this project to continuously grow.

Organizations usually survey the areas they are interested in working in before implementing their strategies. By surveying the area they are able to find most, if not all, of the natural water sources in each of these areas and can decide which sources will best fit the needs of each of the communities. The local inhabitants tend to be open to these ideas and strategies because they are aware of their dire situation, they just don’t have any way to fix it without outside initiative. The Democratic Republic of Congo holds over half of all Africa’s natural water sources. Using these vast natural resources, slow filtration systems and other water purification systems are helpful in providing safe drinking water for communities all over the DR Congo. This also makes it easier to find sources of water to filter in these communities. Although the country currently has a large need for safe water, once there are more local inhabitants knowledgeable in creating safe water points out of all these natural water sources, the problem will continue to get better. This is why community initiatives are the most important programs currently in operation for providing safe, clean water for the people of the DR Congo (Burt).

Projects like these are the key to steadily increasing the number of people in the DR Congo that have access to clean drinking water and knowledge of hygiene and sanitation. With the knowledge and confidence required to maintain clean water supply systems, the local residents are not only reaching out to the people in their own towns, but also to those in the towns next to and near them. People in the DR Congo recognize that the only way for the country’s continued growth and survival is to keep expanding these clean water projects so that more people may gain access to safe drinking water.

Creating knowledge of how to build these wells and pumps allows the people to be self-sufficient. This is empowering to the local people because they now see that they can continue to improve with or without the help of others. And even without the help of others, not only can they help themselves, but they can bring clean water to their neighbors as well. This allows the people to see the importance of peace-time and cooperation with other groups of people for a common good. In a country where peacetime is very fragile and it is unknown if it will last for a long time, it is important for the people to feel like they can still help themselves and those around them.

In February of 2010 the African Development Bank made the decision to give two-hundred seventy-six million US dollars to increase the amount of water and sanitation expertise in the DR Congo and several other countries in Africa (Oirere). Increasing the knowledge of the people in the DR Congo will continue to be one of the most crucial areas in supplying clean water to the residents. It is important to recognize that there is a need for technology in monitoring water quality, building safe water access points, and maintaining sanitation and hygiene in areas currently suffering from a lack of clean drinking water.

Water access points, both natural and man-made, need to be monitored for the quality of the water people are obtaining from them. Because of the ground pollution in the area, it is important that when wells and springs are dug, they are done so with the proper standards and techniques. If a well is dug and used to obtain water without adhering to proper safe water standards, people could be receiving contaminated groundwater (V. M. Lukanda).

There have also been water treatment centers built in the DR Congo to assist in facilitating safe drinking water to large groups of people in several urban areas. These treatment centers are only very helpful in urban areas, though. This is because they require electricity from power plants to keep them running properly. When one power center lost a generator in the city of Kisangani, the local water treatment center was unable to keep operating. This one center was the source of water to almost six hundred thousand people (ICRC). Although the International Committee of the Red Cross also built 40 wells and water points in the areas of Kisangani that aren’t joined to the water distribution network, most of the people who relied on the water treatment plant were unable to get clean, safe drinking water while this power plant was not in operation.

Water treatment centers are able to reach hundreds of thousands of people, and they should continue to be built and utilized until everyone in the DR Congo has access to clean water, but the grassroots movements which inform and empower the local inhabitants have a great deal of overall benefits above and beyond clean water. Operations like the one performed by Engineers Without Borders will continue to be imperative to the safety of the drinking water for those living in both urban and rural areas throughout the DR Congo. Community initiatives have been and will continue to be phenomenal sources of knowledge, safety, empowerment, and a sense of togetherness for the people in the DR Congo.

Works Cited

Burt, Murray, and Bilha J. Keiru. “Strengthening Post-conflict Peacebuilding through Community Water-resource Management: Case Studies from Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and Liberia.” Water International 32.2 (2011): 232-41. EBSCOhost. Web. 9 Apr. 2012.

“Congo, Democratic Republic of the.” World Factbook. CIA, 5 Apr. 2012. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. .

ICRC. Democratic Republic of the Congo: Electricity and Safe Water for Kisangani.” International Committee of the Red Cross. Red Cross, 31 July 2002. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. .

Oirere, Shem. “Afdb Allocates $276 Million To Improve Water Supply Systems.” Water 21 Magazine Of The International

Ramirez, Maria C., Irene Bengo, Riccardo Merreu, Astrid X. Bejerano, and Juan C. Silva. Participative Methodology for Local Development: The Contribution of Engineers Without Borders from Italy and Colombia: Towards the Improvement of Water Quality in Vulnerable Communities.” System Practice and Action Research Journal 24 (2011). EbscoHost. Web. 9 Apr. 2012.

United Nations. Department of Public Information. General Assembly Adopts Resolution Recognizing Access to Clean Water, Sanitation As Human Right By Recorded Vote of 122 In Favor, None Against, 41 Abstentations. United Nations. United Nations, 28 July 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. .

UNEP. Water Issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Challenges and Opportunities. Tech. 2011.

V. M. Lukanda, et al. “Environmental And Health Concerns Regarding The Quality Of Water In A Poor Suburb Of Kinshasa In The Democratic Republic Of Congo.” Water Science & Technology: Water Supply 11.3 (2011): 266-273. Environment Complete. Web. 9 Apr. 2012.