Water supply in Sierra Leone is characterized by limited access to safe drinking water. Despite efforts by the government and numerous non-governmental organizations, access has not much improved since the end of the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2002, stagnating at about 50% and even declining in rural areas. In the capital Freetown, taps often run dry. It is hoped that a new dam in Orugu, for which China committed financing in 2009, will alleviate water scarcity. With a new decentralization policy, embodied in the Local Government Act of 2004, responsibility for water supply in areas outside the capital was passed from the central government to local councils. In Freetown the Guma Valley Water Company remains in charge of water supply. A 2005 report says that wide-scale corruption is a major problem in the sector. It continues to say that there is a lack of trust between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the public water company Salwaco, which was "suspicious to NGOs". A decision by Salwaco to use only German Kardia hand pumps was controversial, since they are more than twice as expensive as the India Mark II pumps preferred by many NGOs.
Access According to the numbers released by JMP in 2017, 58% of the population has access to at least basic water and 15% of the population has access to at least basic sanitation. However, estimating the number of people with access to safe drinking water in a developing country is a challenging task. Since drinking water quality is typically not tested regularly for a representative sample of households through the entire country, there are no reliable data on the share of drinking water that is safe. National household surveys typically ask questions about the type of water source used. House connections, yard connections, standpipes and handpumps that are located within 1 km are classified as what is called an improved water source. Open wells, unprotected springs, rivers, lakes and ponds are not considered improved water sources. In Sierra Leone, according to a national survey (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey) carried out in 2006, 84% of the urban population and 32% of the rural population had access to an improved water source. Those with access in rural areas were served almost exclusively by protected wells. The 68% of the rural population without access to an improved water source relied on surface water (50%), unprotected wells (9%) and unprotected springs (9%). 20% of the urban population and 1% of the rural population had access to piped drinking water in their home. Since national household surveys are not carried out on an annual basis, more recent survey data than those of 2006 were not available as of March 2010. Compared to the 2000 survey access has increased in urban areas, but has declined in rural areas, possibly because facilities have broken down because of a lack of maintenance. Access to an improved water source does not give an indication about whether water supply is continuous. For example, in Freetown taps were running dry for most of the year in 2009. People collected water in containers wherever they can and those who can afford it install water tanks on their houses. Even the fire brigade used its trucks to sell drinking water. There were fights between firefighters and employees of the Guma Water Company, responsible for water supply in Freetown, sometimes resulting in deaths.
Water resources Sierra Leone is endowed with abundant water resources, including seven major rivers: the Kolenté (Great Scarcies), Kaba, Rokel, Pampana (Jong), Sewa, Moa, and Mano. There are substantial groundwater resources. However, water is scarce during the dry season: only 11-17 percent of the annual river discharge occurs between December and April, with minimum discharge in April.
Freetown example. The main source of piped water for Greater Freetown, an urban agglomeration of about two million, is the Guma dam located in the Western Area Forest Reserve. It supplies 83 million liters a day entering the city from the West where the more affluent areas are located. A new dam, the Orugu dam, would provide an additional 75 million liters per day in its initial phase, entering the city from the East where the poorest areas are located. According to a study by the consulting firm Atkins and Oxfam the dam “is the answer to the water supply crisis in Freetown”. In 2009 the Chinese government announced it would provide a US$28.8 million concessional loan to build the dam.
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