How Dott Services Limited successfully executed Arua Water Supply & Sanitation Project

The Government of Uganda, represented by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) entered into a 66bn Contract financed through the International Development Agency (IDA) of World Bank and supervised by Fichtner Water & Transportation and M&E Associates with the Joint Venture El-Nasr Company for Civil Works (NCCW) and Dott Services Limited in February 2015 to execute Arua Water Management and Development Project.

The Contract which was concluded successfully in February 2018 was mainly aimed at the long-lasting provision of safe drinking water and sufficient sanitation facilities.

The contractors executed the work with utmost respect and successful finished it without any hustles.

Arua water and sanitation project works commenced on 1st May 2015, with the Contractor tasked to ‘Expand the water supply system’.

The scope of the Construction works comprised of Refurbishment and upgrading of the then water treatment plant, Rehabilitation, upgrading and expansion of the then water supply and distribution systems, increase of the storage capacity for treated water; Construct/ Install two hot pressed steel reservoirs of capacity 1700cu.m each on 10m high tower for storage of the clear water about 3400 m3, Protection of the current and future raw water sources, Development of a borehole water supply system to augment with existing water source, To rehabilitate the Arua hill reservoir and to construct water distribution network of pipe sizes ranging from DN 400mm DI pipe to 160mm upvc pipe approx. 79,000m.

The contractor also constructed a new sanitation system with two sewerage treatment plant systems at prisons site and at DADAMU.

They also Constructed two sewerage lifting stations at Ujio road, DADAMU, Enyav & Idi Amin.

They also built in pipe network to transfer the waste water to the sewerage treatment plants (Sewer reticulation lines), approx. 26,000m, A sewer connections to the various connection points and connect 300 customers to the system was also constructed, Construction of Facae Sludge Treatment Plant and Construction of Sewerage system serving the Central area of ARUA town.

For a long time, the major source of safe water in Arua Municipality was water supplied by NWSC with coverage of 80% (AMDP 2010-2015). Other water sources were seasonal rivers within the municipality that normally dried up during the dry season, protected springs (23No.) and several shallow boreholes (58No.) most of them at risk from contamination by nearby toilet facilities.

The Municipality had no central piped sewerage facilities. The population was mainly served by on-site sanitation facilities like water-borne toilets, VIP latrines and pit latrines. There were 11 No. units of public toilets / latrines of different stance capacities in the municipality. Issues with inadequate sanitation existed mainly in Oli River Division with very few sanitation facilities, generally poor hygienic conditions, poor nutrition patterns, and high poverty levels among the residents.

It is on this background that an Intervention had to be made. The major objectives of the project were implementation of drinking water production and distribution infrastructure as well as sanitation and sewage treatment infrastructure for the population in Arua town.

This was achieved through groundwater resource development, rehabilitation of the town’s water treatment plant, additional clean water storage, water reticulation system, sewer network, a new wastewater and faecal sludge treatment works, a new waste water treatment works, public toilets and accompanying measures.
To meet the priority needs of the population, the project was basically delivered in Arua Municipal Council located in Arua District in the North-Western region of Uganda with the water supply area covering the municipality, parts of Pajulu, Vurra, Manibe, Dadamu and Oluko sub-counties. There are 5 borehole sites (AWSP-003, Dubai (Ajia S/C), AWSP-004, VES 44 in Angufea B, VES 41 in OMBACHI, VES 45 in Kenya) in the Arua WMDP project area, to supplement the existing Enyau River water source.

Dott Services Limited completed this Project Successfully in 2018 with the highest appreciation from National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and one of the proud project Outputs would be the first Sewerage Treatment Plant in Northern Uganda enabling Arua residents to connect to the Sewer directly and avoid septic tanks and soak away pits which are fast becoming a thing of the past.
Since the Successful completion of this project, there has been improved and sustained access to drinking water and sanitation services, and basically, a positive change of attitude and behavior to hygiene and health by most of the population.

The average prevalence rate of water-borne and sanitation-related diseases were also reduced significantly, and the project also generated a plethora of jobs during the implementation phase and after completion through micro-businesses, especially in the sanitation sector.

Drinking water supply and sanitation needs of the population were also addressed and it also contributed to improving the hygiene and health conditions of most of the people.

Dott Services Limited has and continues to remain focused on meeting the needs of its clients by building quality into every project.

They have participated in the delivery of similar projects in Uganda for example in Hoima town, Masindi town as well as the Construction of the Main Sewers in Nakivubo and Kinawataka all with utmost quality.

Dott Services Limited has a proven track record of accomplishment and has always ensured that all projects are done with utmost professionalism using quality materials.

Dott Services moved to accelerate provision of water services within the border town.

Contrary to the past, the area now boasts of the 3.5 million water storage facility at Girigiri and two waste treatment plants in Dadamu subcounty among many other facilities, according to Sowedi Kibuuka a site surveyor with Dott Services.

“I can’t estimate but the population of Arua is close to 700,000 people. Those accessing water might be less, but a good percentage of that, we can take like 60%,” said Kibuuka.

With such successful projects, Dott Services continues to show the capacity to deliver any given project successfully both locally and abroad.