22 March is World Water Day, an annual event where the United Nations’ agencies raise awareness about the importance of freshwater and the challenges faced by the 2.2 billion people who still live without access to safe water. While the first World Water Day took place in 1993, in recent years efforts have been refocused around Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, and for this year’s edition the theme is ‘Groundwater: Making the invisible visible’.
On the occasion of World Water Day 2022, read on to learn about a current AETS project which is working to improve access to clean water across Togo.
In November 2021, a major water supply project began its activities across 13 prefectural capitals in the West African country. Financed by the Agence Française de Développement, this year-long project is led by Hydroconseil in consortium with Seureca and AZ Consult. AETS participates as a subcontractor to Hydroconseil and Roland Dudek, the head of our Infrastructure Unit, serves as Team Leader.
Despite progress in recent years, many of Togo’s citizens currently lack access to public water supply systems. Therefore, the project will carry out a study on a water supply master plan for 13 prefectural capitals spanning the country from North to South. Furthermore, this study will set out a 20-year roadmap of actions for Togo’s SP-Eau (Société de Patrimoine Eau et Assainissement en Milieu Urbain) to significantly improve access to clean water in these 13 cities and towns. Following the kick-off meeting in Lomé on 10 November 2022 the project team carried out their first field visits at facilities including water intake points, reservoirs, and treatment plants across the country.
To learn more about the activities of World Water Day and Togo’s specific water and sanitation context, check out the following links:
World Water Day 2022 Groundwater - Making the Invisible Visible [official website]
SDG 6 snapshot in Togo [UN Water]
UN World Water Development Report 2022 [UN Water]