Basic engineering could save Somaliland’s water, expert urges

[Hemaal]

A water expert in Los Angeles is warning his former country, the Republic of Somaliland, to perform some basic civil engineering to save its underground water reserves – or face permanent unviability as a place for human habitation.
Simple techniques such as recharge dams and “spreading grounds”, which catch rain when it comes and channel it into depleting aquifers, are needed urgently as the impoverished and drought-ravaged nation intensifies water drilling to cope with urbanisation.

The self-declared republic, home to 3.5 million people, must spend more of its limited budget on engineering works now common in Los Angeles, said Adan Iman, a management consultant at the Los Angeles City public works department and writer on Somaliland.

Along with Yemen, South Sudan and areas of northern Kenya and Nigeria, Somaliland is experiencing famine brought by a prolonged drought. Its government declared a state of drought in August 2015 after experiencing two failed rainy seasons.

The failures, which were associated with an El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean, are particularly serious for Somaliland because it has no permanent rivers or lakes and has an economy that relies largely on the herding of sheep, camels and cattle for export to the Gulf states.

“The bottom line is that the government must do something about it. I want to say to them, you are using the water that is supposed to be used by your great grand kids”– Adan Iman, Los Angeles City public works department

“Drill, drill, drill”

Adan Iman, who grew up there, said the more serious long-term effects of the drought would be to deplete the country’s store of underground water. He urged the government to invest in civil engineering schemes to replenish its aquifers.

He told GCR: “The government has an annual budget of $250m and they have to allocate some of it to water. When Somaliland was under British rule they carried out surveys, and they know where the water is. They should now build spreading grounds and recharge dams where the aquifers are.”

He said that instead, the government’s response was to “drill, drill, drill”, but that increasingly the water table was becoming depleted.

“People are coming into urban centres, and they are building more homes with septic tanks so the per capita consumption of water has increased. But this water is going to end. When I was growing up in the 1960s you could reach water right away; now it’s going deeper and deeper.”

Government could lead

The position of the government is complicated by chronic instability of its surroundings, which means that it spends half of its revenue on security.

There is also a problem with its legal status. The Republic of Somaliland has declared itself to be an independent state, but it is internationally recognised to be an autonomous province of Somalia. That means that all aid from international donors is given to the government of Somalia. In practice, Somaliland receives minimal international support.

Iman argues that if the Somaliland government were to take action the international community would find a way to help it. He said: “There is a business community that has money and the government could increase the budget for the department of water to third after defence and education. If the international community sees they are helping themselves, then they will get assistance to build dams and spreading grounds.”

Spreading grounds are a technique used to replenish underground water stores in low-rainfall areas that experience occasional storms. They are relatively inexpensive in civil engineering terms, and consist of a basin with a porous or permeable subsoil connected to a target aquifer that can be filled by storm drains. The City of Los Angeles has 27 of them.

The dams are similar in effect, in that they prevent the run-off from storms from flowing past the “recharge zone” of an aquifer.

Iman said: “The bottom line is that the government must do something about it. I want to say to them, you are using the water that is supposed to be used by your great grand kids.”

http://www.globalconstructionreview...-engineering-could-sav7e-somalila7nds-wat7er/

 

[waraabe]

The man wasted his valuable time thinking about that hopeless hellhole

 

[Hemaal]

The man wasted his valuable time thinking about that hopeless hellhole

I think we are just starting to get this, better late than never.

 

[waraabe]

I think we are just starting to get this, better late than never.

I hope so bro

 

[Foreman]

 

[Hemaal]

View attachment 15144

Source?

 

[Foreman]

Source?

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g8352bm.gct00214/?sp=15

 

[Prince Abubu]

http://www.globalconstructionreview...-engineering-could-sav7e-somalila7nds-wat7er/

Spoiler

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[Inquisitive_]

This is not even rocket science, send one of those bakhti spoon fed politician's kid for a few months crash course to any none third rate country and your problems are solved, you hit two birds with one stone, solved the water issue + brownie points for that despicable son of yours.

If not get a specialist, it won't even cost you that much money, 1% levy on khaat is enough to cover this, yet lots of brainless people support these wicked politicians up and down the country and god forbid your criticise one of them, a western born so called enlightened but domesticated rat will sequel at you and rebuke you.

 

[Dino]

A country blessed with an enormous coastline and yet has water issues. It's a running joke at the moment

 

[oday1kenobi]

A country blessed with an enormous coastline and yet has water issues. It's a running joke at the moment

Salt water?

 

[Coulombs law]

A country blessed with an enormous coastline and yet has water issues. It's a running joke at the moment

There is something called desalination and water treatment, equipment that cost enormous amounts of money and crazy amounts of maintenance is something Somalis have no hope of obtaining as of right now.

 

[oday1kenobi]

There is something called desalination and water treatment, equipment that cost enormous amounts of money and crazy amounts of maintenance is something Somalis have no hope of obtaining as of right now.

Literally costs billions.

 

[Coulombs law]

Literally costs billions.

I know man, seems like a pipe dream to have it in Somalia

 

[Dino]

Literally costs billions.

Typical desalination plants cost between the 100 to 200 million mark. Not cheap i agree but not worth billions either.

 

[oday1kenobi]

Typical desalination plants cost between the 100 to 200 million mark. Not cheap i agree but not worth billions either.

Good point but what about the infrastructure required(water storage and pipes from Berbera to cities) and post completion maintenance of the plants?

 

[Dino]

Good point but what about the infrastructure required(water storage and pipes from Berbera to cities) and post completion maintenance of the plants?

I am not an expert in this field so i couldnt tell. But honestly hand in heart looking at amount of money that has been wasted for the last 10 years we could have had a couple of desalination plants in the country. Unfortunately we do not have long term thinking. And it's understandable when you havea chaotic country with no visionary leaders around

 

[Prince of Lasanod]

Can somebody tell me what somaliland spends this $250 million budget each year on?

 

[oday1kenobi]

Can somebody tell me what somaliland spends this $250 million budget each year on?

Inb4 khat

I heard security/military takes the lions share as well as infrastructure (mostly repaving important roads) projects.

It's a very small budget so they can't do much with it.