Stemming the flow
Every year, Côte d'Ivoire is faced with increasingly intense rainfall. The country is responding by investing heavily in sanitation infrastructure. But is this enough to cope with increasingly frequent seasonal downpours?
More and more, the onset of Côte d'Ivoire's rainy season fills people with dread. ‘It seems like it gets worse every year,’ complains Sylvie, a trader at the market in Palmeraie, one of the districts worst hit by flooding. This was a fact confirmed by President Alassane Ouattara in his State of the Nation address on 18 June: "The rainfall is four times higher than average. People have been killed and injured, and property has been damaged. This is the impact of climate change. It has consequences for our lives and for the country's development." President Ouattara went on to announce the launch of an IMF (International Monetary Fund) programme to anticipate and mitigate the damage, continue cleaning up the country and move people away from high-risk areas. It's David against Goliath. The sanitation work undertaken over the last few years by Bouaké Fofana, the Minister for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, is colossal. And costly. But more is always needed. And every year, as the rainy season approaches, he goes to great lengths to raise public awareness amongst the people and sometimes even chastise them, urging them to leave high-risk areas, not to throw rubbish into the drainage gutters, and to take care of their immediate living environment. But those who live in these high-risk areas often don't know where to go. The authorities are therefore forced to move people out every year to save lives.
In 2018, recognising that Abidjan is increasingly vulnerable to flooding, coastal erosion and the risk of landslides, the government, with the support of development partners such as the World Bank, drew up an ‘Urban Resilience in Abidjan’ scheme. This involves investments to reduce the risk of flooding and improve drainage systems and waste management. Under this scheme, 220,000 buildings have been digitised, urban mapping of Abidjan has been initiated, and an Atlas of Abidjan's neighbourhoods has been produced.
Investing in better sanitation
Major investments have been made in sanitation and drainage, particularly in Abidjan, such as the construction of rainwater drainage works in Abobo (one of Abidjan's most populated suburbs) at a cost of 155 billion CFA francs. An investment of 55 billion CFA francs will see the construction of 32 kilometres of pipes in Cocody and Yopougon (two other large districts in Abidjan) by 2021.
At an estimated cost of 245 billion CFA francs, the Gourou Integrated Watershed Management Project will cover the municipalities of Adjamé, Abobo, Cocody and Plateau, with the construction of drainage works and the building or rehabilitation of seven flood control dams. There is also the over 40 billion CFA franc Abidjan Sanitation and Living Environment Improvement Project, which will contribute to the development of ‘sustainable and innovative’ sanitation services in the Autonomous District of Abidjan. The project involves upgrading the wastewater drainage network in six sub-neighbourhoods, rehabilitating the existing sewerage networks and maintaining the collector system. This project, an extension of the Gourou catchment area works, will also see the construction of 16.15 kilometres of rainwater drainage channels.
Another programme to sustainably improve the sanitation and drainage situation in the economic capital covers the areas of Cocody, Yopougon, Abobo, Adjamé, Anyama, Koumassi, Marcory and Treichville, at a cost of 55 billion CFA francs. Ultimately, it should enable the wastewater management for at least 10,000 households.
These major works, aimed at improving safety, draining rainwater and, above all, reducing flooding in the Pearl of the Lagoons, demonstrate the government's determination. However, climate change, coupled with age-old habits of haphazard construction, are not working in their favour.