Lake Victoria Region: Helping Water Utilities Plan for Climate Change

Nairobi, Kenya, March 30, 2011 — Lake Victoria, East Africa’s massive freshwater lake, offers tropical vistas, a colorful variety of wildlife and sustenance for 35 million people in surrounding Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. But the effects of climate change – in the form of drought and other effects – could endanger those who depend on the lake for food, income and even hydroelectric generation.

Delivering water is energy intensive, and areas hit with natural disasters like droughts need to expend a lot more energy to move water from remote water sources to the people.

To help Africa’s developing countries prepare for the potential effects of climate change, the Alliance is working with U.N.-Habitat and water utilities in the Lake Victoria region.

• Photo: Submersible pumps in Lake Victoria supply water to pump stations in Bukoba, Tanzania

Getting Climate Change Adaption Guidance to Utilities

Last year, the Alliance’s Africa team produced a guidebook to help water utilities proactively adapt to the impacts of climate change, lower greenhouse gas emissions and save energy along the way. In August 2010, they used the guidebook to conduct workshops for three utilities in Kisii, Kenya; Masaka, Uganda; and Bukoba, Tanzania; and in February 2011, the Alliance met with the utilities and used the guidebook’s exercises to start assessing risks and identifying solutions to formulate a climate change adaptation plan.

“Through this project, these utilities are in a better position to plan for climate change,” said Alliance team member Guy Price of Re-Solve Consulting, who is helping to train utilities in Uganda. “In addition to building resilience to climate change, the utilities are improving their ability to attract money from funders who have prioritized climate change projects."

The Alliance’s Africa team is currently working one-on-one with the utilities to finalize their climate change adaptation plans.

• Photo: The Alliance team at Water Treatment Works in Kisii, Kenya

Forming an Adaptation Plan

The Alliance’s “Climate Change Vulnerability and Assessment Guidebook for Small-Scale Utilities,” includes lessons on topics such as hydrological modelling and water demand management. Using the guidebook, the Alliance’s Africa team is taking water and wastewater utilities step-by-step through the process of:

• Assessing risks to operations
• Identifying adaptation and mitigation measures to counteract climate change’s impact
• Implementing mitigation measures, including low- and no-cost efficiency interventions
• Monitoring performance
• Evaluating outcomes

For More Information

To learn more, contact Arlene Fetizanan afetizanan@ase.org. This project began in 2009 and is being administered with a number of partners. Read an account from one of our partners, the University of Johns Hopkins.