Senegal: Inauguration of a water system to serve 100,000 households

The Senegalese Prime Minister, Amadou Ba, has inaugurated a 50 km freshwater transfer system in the West African country. The new system transports water from the city of Sadio to Mbacké, both located in the central-western region of Senegal.

Since January 28, 2024, residents of Mbacké in Senegal have been receiving continuous drinking water.

This is thanks to a new freshwater transfer system inaugurated by the Senegalese Prime Minister, Amadou Ba.

The system spans 50 km between the cities of Sadio and Mbacké, both situated in the central-western part of the West African country.

«In Mbacké, underground water is saline, posing risks to human health and agricultural activities», said the National Water Company of Senegal (Sones), which implemented the freshwater transfer system.

Indeed, saline water can be detrimental to plant growth, with negative impacts on the quality and quantity of agricultural yields.

In humans, the main health effect of a diet high in sodium is hypertension, which increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, gastric cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, Ménière’s disease, and kidney disease.

To address these two issues, a pumping station with a capacity of 12,000 m3 per day is used to exploit the groundwater resources from four boreholes (16,000 m3 per day) in Sadio.

The freshwater travels through a 50 km transfer pipeline to Mbacké, where it is stored in a ground reservoir (2,000 m3) and a tower (2,000 m3).

Potable water reaches the residents of Mbacké through a 20 km distribution network. Senegalese authorities plan to connect 100,000 households to the 50 km freshwater route. This will exponentially improve the freshwater supply in Mbacké, currently the most populous city in Senegal with 1,359,757 inhabitants according to the latest 2023 general census results conducted by the National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD). It is followed by the capital Dakar with 1,182,416 inhabitants.

The implementation of the freshwater transfer system from Sadio to Mbacké required an investment of 23 billion CFA francs, a little over 35 million euros, provided by the Senegalese government.”

Titi Keita