The project to draw water was the Shire River near Liwonde Barrage
* After field assessments, the final report identified, predicted and evaluated environmental and social impact
* Provides information on the environmental consequences for decision making and promotes environmentally sound and sustainable development
* Through the identification of appropriate alternatives and mitigation measures which SRWB has since adopted and engaged affected stakeholders and community members along the distribution network
Analysis by Duncan Mlanjira
In order to find long-lasting solutions serious water supply challenges people of Liwonde and Balaka were facing over the past recent years, Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) engaged itself with the government to upgrade and extend its Liwonde supply system to cover up to Balaka Township.
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The planning part involved:
* construction of a new intake at the Shire Rivera new water treatment plant, pumping facilities for delivery of the treated water to Liwonde as well as Balaka Town;
* construction of water storage tanks as well as distribution networks in both towns and provision of materials to house connections and communal water points.
And to deliver this, SRWB first involved expert consultants to carry out a robust environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) in accordance with the requirements of the Environment Management Act (2017) — which mandates that an ESIA should be conducted before implementation of certain prescribed projects.
Malawi’s ‘Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment’ of 1997 stipulates that all water supply projects involving water withdraws from rivers, lakes and reservoirs and construction of major water pipelines requires an ESIA.
The consultants carried out intensive field assessments that involved stakeholder consultations, which were conducted using face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions with community leaders and administering semi-structured questionnaire, among others.
Stakeholder consultations
The relevant stakeholders were consulted during the ESIA process that included district councils of Machinga, Balaka, civil society organisations (CSOs), Mpira-Balaka Water Supply Trust, Department of Water Resources and Department of Water Supply & Sanitation.
The consultants’ final report, which was drafted by Water, Waste & Environment Consultants (WWEC) and revised by Hydrogeo-Env Consultants, identified, predicted and evaluated environmental and social impact — providing information on the environmental consequences for decision-making and promotes environmentally sound and sustainable development.
Through the identification of appropriate alternatives and mitigation measures, which SRWB has since adopted, the process of engagements with stakeholders and community members along the distribution network continues ahead of the project’s proposed implemention targeted to complete in 18 months starting from November 2025.
It is sturdy project which will involve:
* construction of the new intake near the Liwonde Barrage close to where the old intake is located to be set up outside Liwonde National Park;
* construction of new water treatment plant upgraded with pumping facilities for delivery of the treated water to Liwonde, Chiendausiku, Sosola, Balaka Town and Chingeni.
* New water storage tanks as well as distribution networks will be constructed for efficient distribution to both towns;
* the storage tanks will be at Sosola with a capacity 1.5 million litres; at Chiyendausiku (500,000 litres) and Chingeni (250,000 litres);
* communal water points are also planned to be installed and materials to necessitate more household connections will be supplied; and
* the project is being designed to have its civil structures capable of supplying the water demands for the next 25 years for both towns of Liwonde and Balaka.
To meet this solidly-planned project, the ESIA report has identified its significant environmental and social impacts, which highlights its benefits — to help SRWB address some of challenges it was facing in its operations “because of inadequate water supply and old infrastructure, resulting in failure to meet the increased water demand for social and economic development”.
The ESIA includes a summary of the existing SRWB structures, indicating that Liwonde Town water supply system was designed to meet water demand for a 2010 population — and thus the current Liwonde water supply system “has outlived its design life, leading to people in the town facing water shortages”.
“Balaka water supply system is also under the Liwonde Management Zone and supplies to communities in Balaka Town,” says the ESIA’s summary report. “The Balaka system draws most of its water (over 85%) from Mpira Dam in Ntcheu District where SRWB buys the water from the Mpira-Balaka Water Trust — a Malawi government agency which runs the Mpira-Balaka Rural water supply system.
“The remaining proportion of water for the Balaka system is supplied through motorised boreholes. The total population in the two towns of Balaka and Liwonde is fast growing and is currently estimated to be at around 70,000 and is projected to grow to about 100,000 in the next 10 years.
“Currently, the SRWB is able to supply only about 45% of the total population in both towns with safe drinking water. The Balaka water supply system is also presently challenged with inadequate water supply source from the Mpira Dam — which is facing a problem of drying up due to climatic change factors, catchment degradation as well as a significant increase in the rural and urban populations it serves.
“There is, therefore, a need to identify another more reliable source to supply water to the people of Balaka Town.”
However, the ESIA projected that the project was “likely going to generate some negative impacts on the biophysical and socio-economic environment” — which were overall assessed to be medium, whose mitigation measures have been proposed and are summarised in the report’s Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP).
“A monitoring plan has also been prepared and will assist SRWB, the contractor and other key stakeholders to effectively monitor the implementation of the ESMP and ensure that key performance indicators are achieved.”
Kamuzu Barrage in Liwonde
Recommendations
Considering that the project will affect some people’s property, the ESIA recommends that a resettlement action plan (RAP) “should be prepared and those affected should be compensated before the implementation of the project”.
SRWB has also adopted the recommendation to set aside required financial resources for the implementation of the environmental & social management and monitoring plans (ESMMP) and has shared the approved copies of the ESIA with Machinga’s and Balaka environmental district officers — “to effectively coordinate the implementation of the ESMMP”.
While the benefits of the project are of huge significance — that include improved water supply to Liwonde and Balaka townships; improved sanitation, hygiene & health; creation of employment opportunities; and skills transfer to local workers through employment — some negative impacts were noted, whose mitigation measures were provided.
They include loss of land and property, whose mitigation measures are to prepare the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for affected community members where avoidance is not possible; develop the grievance redress mechanism that “should be easily be accessible by all the affected persons”.
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The recommendations include minimising potential land acquisition by properly designing infrastructure and adopting a good layout plan of the infrastructure; and to locate transmission and distribution lines within existing road reserves, “as much as possible”.
On land degradation as a negative impact identified, BRWB will ensure that vegetation is cleared and excavations are done as designed to avoid unwarranted clearance of vegetation; to avoid deposits and piling up of loose soils on slopping ground or near drainage channels; and to rehabilitate affected land by tilling the soils to facilitate natural regeneration of vegetation.
Excavated soils will be used to rehabilitate eroded areas while the routing of pipe layouts and access roads will follow areas with as little vegetation as possible — and to minimise the number and length of access roads by using existing roads or tracks.
SRWB shall also provide all structures that shall require effective water drainage; and if crossing of watercourses cannot be avoided, a bridge or a culvert would be erected.
Risk of accidents and occupational safety hazards was also identified which was recommended to rehabilitate all borrow pits that would be created during the upgrading, rehabilitation and expansion of the water supply systems.
All trenches and open pits shall be barricaded and placed with clear signs to protect people and animals from falling into; inform and sensitise the public about all open pits and trenches; and enforce speed limits for moving construction vehicles to minimise the risk of fatal accidents.
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On disruption of water supply, SRWB shall give adequate notice to the public just like it does on its elaborate Facebook social media platform and to provide alternative means of water supply such as temporary by-pass piping or water bowsers where appropriate.
Risk of increase in spread of HIV/AIDS has also been considered, with recommendations to sensitise workers and surrounding communities on the dangers of indulging in unprotected sex; and provide both male and female condoms to workers for appropriate use.
Metal waste has been recommended to be recycled and/or sold to tinsmiths or vendors for reuse or re-sale; to provide solid waste storage bins/skips, which shall be monitored so that they do not become overfilled.
Collected solid waste shall be disposed of in an approved disposal sites while at the same time implementing sensitisation campaigns on consequences of indiscriminate waste disposal.
For anticipated increased pollution from waste water and sludge; the mitigation measures include enforcing proper excreta and wastewater management especially in the town; applying lime treatment to dewatered sludge to suppress pathogens and remove odour; use licensed liquid waste handlers; drying sludge on drying beds before disposing off in a dedicated disposal site; and to prepare and enforce operational guidelines for sludge treatment and management.
SRWB was created in 1996 under the Laws of Malawi Chapter 72:01 to be responsible for the supply of potable water and the disposal of waterborne sanitation in all the urban centers of the Southern Region with the exception of City of Blantyre — which is under the jurisdiction of Blantyre Water Board.
SRWB operates 25 water supply schemes under five management zones for water supply to urban centres. Through the Government of Malawi, SRWB secured financing for the project from European Investment Bank (EIB) at €23,700,000.00 and during construction phase, a minimum of 150 skilled and unskilled workers — 40% of which will be women, are expected to be employed and at its completion, SRWB estimates it will need to employ an additional total of 15 workers for the operation of the new assets.
