CONAKRY:Sanitation Status
Sanitation provision in Conakry (the capital of Guinea) is grossly deficient, as in most cities in sub-Saharan Africa: most people do not have access to a hygienic toilet; large amounts of faecal waste are discharged to the environment without adequate treatment; this is likely to have major impacts on infectious disease burden and quality of life (Hutton et al. 2007). This article briefly summarizes the current sanitation situation in Conakry.
This page is part of the fully editable open-access reference source on the sanitation status of all major cities in sub-Saharan Africa. The resource considers the 40 urban agglomerations in sub-Saharan Africa with a current population of 1 million or more. To read some of the other 40 country profiles, go back tothe resource Homepage.
N.B These pages should be considered as incomplete provisional drafts, and contributions are actively requested from specialists with expert local knowledge of each specific city
Table of Contents
- Background information
- Water resources and supply: overview
- Sanitation access
- Sewerage system
- Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
- Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
- Sanitation in low-income districts
- Responsibility
- Sanitation masterplan?
- Sanitation financing
- Major investments and donor interventions
- Sources and further reading
- References
- Other City Profiles
Background information
Conakry is an urban agglomeration with a population of about 1.7 million people (Brinkhoff 2010). It is a port city built on a small island and the adjoining peninsula; it is largely flat; substrates are hard rock, creating engineering difficulties (World Bank 2006). Climate is tropical monsoon (Köppen classification Am). Flooding is frequent and severe in districts including Dabondy (IRIN 2009). Industrial activity includes food-processing, textiles, and metal, wood and plastics. There is probably significant agricultural activity within the urban area, though we have no specific information on this. A large proportion of the population lives in low-income settlements, including very poor informal settlements.
Water resources and supply: overview
Water is obtained mainly from the Grandes Chutes reservoir located about 60 km from the city, and capable of producing over 500,000 m3/day; groundwater resources in Conakry are highly polluted and not widely used (Menard & Clarke 2000). The World Bank (2001) states that, prior to the Third Water Supply and Sanitation Project, about 30% of the population have household piped water, 40% get piped water from their neighbour’s, and 30% get water from community standpipes, water vendors, or wells. The World Bank (2006) states that this project provided household connections for about 700,000 people, which would suggest that about 70% of the population now has household piped water. However, the quality of water services are reported to have steadily declined during the project (World Bank 2006): service interruptions are frequent, and unaccounted-for water (UFW) is very high.
Sanitation access
According to national survey data from 2002 (EIBEP 2005, cited in UNDP 2006), about 9% of the population of Conakry have flush toilets, 88% latrines, and 1% no toilet. The World Bank (2001) states that “a large number of plots are equipped with traditional and vault latrines, [but] these facilities are under-designed, poorly built and badly maintained. According to the World Bank (2006), following the Third Water Supply and Sanitation Project, about 12% of the population have flush toilets connected to the sewerage system; this may be an over-estimate.
Sewerage system
A large sewerage system serving the centre of Conakry was constructed with World Bank funding between 1996 and 2005 under the Third Water Supply and Sanitation Project; according to the World Bank’s ex-post evaluation (World Bank 2006) a total of 200,000 people are connected to the network. We are not aware of any independent evaluation of current function, nor do we know whether the system’s wastewater treatment plant is currently operational.
Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
See next section; no further information available.
Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
Conakry reportedly has two lagoon-based faecal sludge treatment plants, at Sonfonia (draining to the River Botari) and Yimbaya (draining to the sea) (STRATHEG 2005); this document is a utilization and maintenance manual for these two plants. The two plants are presumably the two septage treatment facilities reportedly constructed under the Third Water Supply and Sanitation Project (see below). However, we do not have any further information about these plants or their function.
Sanitation in low-income districts
The Third Water Supply and Sanitation Project (see below) reportedly constructed 2,500 household latrines and public facilities “in five of the poorest districts of Conakry”; no further information is available. We are not aware of any detailed mapping of high-sanitation-need districts, or of any specific policy for sanitation improvement in informal settlements.
Responsibility
Responsibility for sewerage and sewage treatment lies with the Direction de l'Aménagement du Territoire et de l'Urbanisme (Directorate of Land Development and Housing); in 2005 a services contract was signed with the private company Poubelles de Conakry (see WUP 2001) for operation and maintenance of the sewerage system; as noted below, it is not clear whether this contract remains extant. We do not whether any state institution takes any sort of responsibility for onsite sanitation. [Information on responsibility for water supply is given in World Bank (2003); see also Menard & Clarke’s (2000) very interesting analysis of the institutional reforms introduced in Guinea’s water supply sector in the 1990s.]
Sanitation masterplan?
As far as we are aware, Conakry has neither a sanitation masterplan nor any more general strategic planning document.
Sanitation financing
See next section regarding reported difficulties with sewerage tariffs.
Major investments and donor interventions
Third Water Supply and Sanitation Project [Troisième Projet et Eau et Assainissement] (1999 – 2006), World Bank P001075; see Implementation Completion Report 36083-GUI. This project initially included a sanitation component of 8.4m US$ for sewerage rehabilitation, but this was greatly expanded to 40.2m US$, for construction of a) a new sewerage system including 5 pumping stations, 4 km of sewer mains, 40 km of local sewers, about 7,700 household connections, and a wastewater treatment plant; plus b) 2,500 household latrines and public facilities in five of the poorest districts of Conakry, c) two septage treatment facilities for the population living in the areas not covered by the sewerage system, and d) five small autonomous wastewater treatment plants for the University of Conakry and the Donka Hospital (World Bank 2006). About 200,000 people in the central Kaloum district are reported to be connected to the city (World Bank 2006). At the time of the World Bank evaluation, however, the WWTP had not been completed, so that all sewage was discharged to sea without treatment; we do not know whether this WWTP is currently functional. The evaluation also raised serious concerns about financial sustainability: sanitation charges were initially to be collected with water bills, but the government froze water tariffs, leading to a dramatic decline in revenues. In view of these problems, a Guinean contractor was selected to operate and maintain the sewerage system, with financing from a specific household sanitation tax (as opposed to a sewerage surcharge assessed on water consumption); appropriate legislation was passed, but this system was not in effect as at 2006. We do not have more recent information on the status of the Conakry sewerage system: it would certainly be of interest to have an independent evaluation of outcome and current status. Other projects listed by UNDP (2006) are Programme d’Appui au Développement Urbain (1987 – 1992), Deuxième Projet Urbain (1990 – 1998), Programme d’Amélioration de l’Environnement Urbain et de l’Assainissement de la Ville de Conakry (PADEULAC (1992–1993), and Troisième Projet Urbain (PDU3).
Sources and further reading
No specific information.
References
Brinkhoff T (2010) City Population. http://www.citypopulation.de
Hutton G, Haller L & Bartram J (2007) Economic and health effects of increasing coverage of low cost household drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to countries off-track to meet MDG target 10. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. http://www.irc.nl/page/38443
IRIN (2009) "Flood-hit residents of Conakry cry SOS." News report 10 Aug 2009. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=85660
Menard C & Clarke G (2000) A transitory regime: water supply in Conakry, Guinea. World Bank, Development Research Group, Policy Research Working Papers. http://go.worldbank.org/Q98QPSPN10
STRATHEG (2005) Guide assainissement autonome et site de depotage. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTWAT/Resources/4602122-1215104787836/FSM_Guide_Assainissement_Autonome_Depotage_Guinee.pdf
UNEP/GRID-Arendal (2002) Water availability in Africa. UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library. http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/water_availability_in_africa.
UNDP (2006) Évaluation des besoins et costing pour l’atteinte des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement: Phase I. Diagnostic de la situation assainissement et gestion de l’environnement urbain. http://www.gn.undp.org/Docs/omd/Diagn-Ass-OMD-Guinée2006.pdf
World Bank (2001) Project Information Document: Guinea - Third Water Supply and Sanitation Project - Supplemental Credit. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2001/01/10/000094946_01011005493515/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdf
World Bank (2006) Implementation Completion Report: Third Water Supply and Sanitation Project (ICR 36083-GUI). http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/07/26/000090341_20060726092636/Rendered/PDF/36083.pdf
WUP (2001) A sanitation enterprise: Conakry - Guinee. http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/waterandsanitation/resources/examples-pdf/SanitationEnterpriseGuinee.pdf
Other City Profiles
4) ANTANANARIVO (Madagascar) 3
7) BRAZZAVILLE (Republic of Congo) 3
12) DAR ES SALAAM (Tanzania) 3
14) DURBAN THEKWINI (South Africa) 3
18) JOHANNESBURG-EKURHULENI (South Africa) 3
23) KINSHASA (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
27) LUBUMBASHI (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
31) MBUJI-MAYI (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) 3
35) OUGADOUGOU (Burkina Faso) 3
36) PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa) 3
