The Unique Case of Dakar, Senegal

Earlier on in this blog I spoke about the implications of rapid urbanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa, and how, on the one hand, it is a process which provides urban spaces with the stimulant they need to grow, yet, on the other hand, it is a phenomenon which inflicts significant challenges for the development of improved safe water sources and sanitation facilities. Now, as this blog has developed, I want to inform this debate by providing an in-depth example of how rapid population growth in an urban area can exaggerate problems of access to safe water and sanitation facilities.

This post is going to look at the anthropic pressure put on water resources in the region of Dakar, Senegal. The city of Dakar is the capital of Senegal, and is the most populated area in the country. The unregulated growth of the coastal population in recent years has exaggerated problems of access to safe water and sanitation services, becoming a major source of concern for both water supply and quality control (Re et al., 2010).

The public supply of water in the region of Dakar is derived from a combination of sources, including groundwater and water piped from the Senegal River (Figure 1). However, an assortment of challenges is preventing the effective supply of safe water and sanitation services in the city and region. The most stressing issue revolves around the contamination of groundwater sources.

An outflow pipe in the city of Dakar, Senegal. Source: Getty Images

Contrary to many other regions within Africa, where groundwater has been labelled as a viable option to increase the supply of safe water (Döll et al., 2012; Taylor et al. 2009), the situation in the Dakar region is much different. In countless cities and regions across Africa, groundwater is in abundance, it is relatively clean and does not require any chemical treatment, and, according to Taylor et al. (2013), might grow in supply irrespective of the driving forces of climate change. In Dakar, there are numerous issues with their groundwater source, relating mainly to its quality.

In 2002, an early warning bulletin on groundwater quality for Dakar was released by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP, 2002). This report highlighted the fact that the aquifers in Dakar were beginning to become contaminated beyond an acceptable level, stating: ‘Widespread contamination of the aquifer by nitrates is imminent.’ However, in 2016, the situation has only worsened (Richard Taylor, UCL Geography Lecture, 2016). This is partially down to contamination from faecal matter and partially attributable to the intrusion of salt water due to Dakar’s coastal location and high water table.

This makes me question the applicability of groundwater stores as one of the main supplies of drinking water for the population of Dakar. Luckily, the authorities have had similar provisions. In recent years, members working with France’s Eranove subsidiary (Senegalaise des Eaux) have been looking into the provision of desalination plants to provide clean and abundant water. The development of a desalination plant in Dakar will, supposedly, provide an additional 100,000 cubic meters of water per day (CR 2014). However, this approach to increase the provision of fresh water is still very expensive. Current methods of desalination still require lots of energy. Perhaps a more viable approach would be to re-construct and extend wastewater networks so that groundwater is not contaminated in the first place.

The city of Dakar is a classic example of poor water supply and management. Regardless of the (questionably) innovative management agendas affecting Dakar, more needs to be done to improve the situation off access to safe water and sanitation facilities.