The Lake Tanganyika Water Management – LATAWAMA – project is laying the foundations for better management of the wastewater collection network in the city of Bujumbura in support of the public operator in charge of wastewater treatment in the country’s main cities, OBUHA “Office Burundais de l’Urbanisme, de l’Habitat et de la Construction”. Digitizing the wastewater collection network was entrusted to the SHER consultancy firm (Namur, Belgium). This mission includes the inventory and an evaluation of the physical state of the current network, involving archival research and fieldwork. A complete asset database and a GIS application will be developed to provide OBUHA with the means to significantly improve the management of the network’s assets, with priority given to its maintenance and rehabilitation. This is a prerequisite for possible extension works of the collection network.
The training of technicians in using these new asset management tools is essential and will be provided by the project.
The digitization project will be complemented by organizational and technical support from SPGE (Société Publique de Gestion de l’eau, Namur, Belgium) to strengthen OBUHA’s capacities to manage, plan and finance Bujumbura’s urban wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure.
The project is grateful to our colleagues from the SHER consultancy @Inge Melotte and @Michel Goffin for their involvement and technical support.
The LATAWAMA project is funded by the EU and implemented by Enabel.