Both small-scale and large-scale water and sanitation projects are needed to cater for the short-term needs of a community and to guarantee sustainable and reliable distribution of clean water for the future. UNOPS has the capacity and the expertise to undertake large-scale water treatment projects, a key element of any long term recovery.

The most appropriate solution in these situations is one that is tailored to local environmental conditions, projected future demand and available resources. However, sustainability and climate-proofing studies are rarely carried out in developing contexts. UNOPS has the unique ability to partner with the United Nations Environment Programme Risø Centre for Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development to create impartial feasibility studies. A comprehensive environmental assessment can result in a project brief and design that will be durable, ecologically sound and cost effective.

Training, commissioning, handover and developing long-term maintenance plans are key components of successful public infrastructure projects and UNOPS has extensive experience in all these areas. Locations where UNOPS has carried out successful water treatment projects include Iraq, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Peru.

Iraq

One of the largest water treatment developments involving UNOPS in Iraq is the water treatment plant at Hai Al Hussain which provides clean, drinkable water to the city of Kerbala. The city is one of the holiest and most important for Shia Muslims and every year during the Ashura pilgrimage the city’s population expands from 400,000 to 1.5 million people. This puts considerable stress on a water network that has already suffered nearly three decades of neglect and the rehabilitation of the plant was made a high priority project by the Iraqi Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works. The successful rehabilitation of the system at this plant has guaranteed the supply of clean water and reduced the risk of contagious disease for the pilgrimage crowds for the first time in twenty years.

See also - Six Water Networks project in Iraq

Myanmar

The United Nations Development Program launched the Community Development for Remote Townships Project in March 2002, one of six projects under phase IV of its Human Development Initiative programme in Myanmar. Due to run until 2010, the project targets the households in the most impoverished villages in the 26 townships of the five border states of Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Mon and Rakhine. UNOPS implemented a component by constructing and renovating water systems which provided over 100,000 households with access to safe drinking water significantly improving the lives of many women and children.

Sri Lanka

Following the 2004 India Ocean tsunami disaster, the flood affected coastal regions of Sri Lanka were in need of a significant water supply rehabilitation project. With donations from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and in partnership with the National Water Supply and Drainage Board of Sri Lanka (NWSDB), UNOPS has designed and implemented two piped water schemes with the expected output of providing safe drinking water to  127,305  people by 2025. The scheme also expects to enhance the capacity of the NWSDB through training field staff in the operation and maintenance of the new water treatment infrastructure that has been designed to the highest international standards.

Peru

In the La Libertad region of north western Peru, UNOPS is involved in a project to construct a water treatment plant in the town of La Tayabamba. The main objective of this project is to improve the locality’s drinking water supply in order to reduce the incidence of contagious and parasitic diseases among the population as part of a rural development programme by the Government of Peru. The new water treatment plant will produce clean water for 3,850 people in the region and the project is due for completion early next year with a budget of $1.5 million dollars.