eWATER smart tap installation in Tanzania

Project summary

The RSK Tanzania and eWATERservices joint venture forms part of the Accelerating Solar Water Pumping via Innovative Financing project (ASWPIF), funded by the TIB Development Bank and supported by the World Bank. It saw solar-powered eWATER smart taps installed in 72 villages across Singida and Dodoma provinces, the largest programme of its type on the African continent.

The background

Access to clean water in rural Tanzania is often reliant on scarce or non-existent public distribution points, leaving many people without access to clean water. Some 40% of rural water systems in sub-Saharan Africa fail within two years.

eWATER is aiming to tackle this by using solar-powered eWATER Smart Taps that send vital data to eWATER’s dashboard, including revenue collection and water distribution metrics. This can also detect faults such as solar or battery issues, enabling technicians to receive immediate notifications and promptly address problems, ensuring clean water is always flowing.

With direct, secure payment systems and 100% transparent revenue collection, the eWATER model does not require the continuous donation of funds to work – something that has been an issue affecting many prior clean water projects in Africa. Revenue is collected and distributed to the relevant parties to pay for maintenance of the eWATER Smart Taps, maintenance of other key infrastructure such as pumps, tanks and pipework, treatment of the water and payment of technicians and resellers.

RSK Tanzania provided the engineers and labour force that carried out all construction and installation of the smart taps in Singida and Dodoma during this phase of the eWATER project.

The challenges

In order to install the eWATER smart taps, existing water distribution points had to be converted into concrete plinths. Once installed, the dispensing systems had to be properly calibrated to the correct water flow rates, valve response, and meter accuracy. Local representatives would need to take over the basic operation and maintenance practices after installation.

The solutions

RSK Tanzania’s engineering team worked with local workers in the villages to construct and install the smart water taps, providing employment and community benefits, and trained local caretakers and Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) representatives on the basic operations and maintenance practices to keep the taps running.

The impact

The installation of the eWATER smart taps has brought sustainable clean water to large swaths of rural Singida and Dodoma provinces, with over 326 million litres of clean water being dispensed since the taps were installed.