The new water purification facility has the capacity to purify 18,000 cubic meters of Nile River water per day. Water can now be purchased at 120 new public taps and 8 water truck water stations throughout the city, giving an estimated 400,000 residents access to clean and safe water, more than 10 times the number before the water purification plant was completed.
Citizens bring 20-liter yellow polyethylene tanks called jerry cans to fetch water from public taps. The price is 25 SSP (South Sudanese pounds) per tank, or about 4 Japanese yen. This is less than half the price of existing water purification facilities, and people are welcoming the availability of cheap, clean water close at hand. It is also expected to reduce outbreaks of infectious diseases caused by inadequately purified water, and Mr. Yoshifumi Yamanaka of JICA’s South Sudan office says, “The water is so clean that you can drink it directly from the taps. Until now, mothers and other women have had to spend an hour in the middle of the night boiling water for the next day’s use in order to obtain safe water, but now they will be freed from this habit and will be able to use their time more effectively.
Currently, the water purification facility is in full operation, but due to its popularity, water is sold out by mid-morning. The public water taps are open from 6:00 am. Citizens began arriving one after another to purchase water as soon as they started, and by around 10:00 the water tanks were empty. The business is suspended to store water, and sales are resumed around 2:00 p.m. and remain open until 6:00 p.m. In order to meet the ever-increasing demand, the city is now considering the construction of water supply facilities in other areas of the city where public taps are not yet in place.
© Source JICA