Solar desalination project supplies clean water to 4,000 people in Madagascar
A solar-powered desalination system installed in the remote community of Anja-Belitsaka, Madagascar, produces 30,000 litres of high-quality fresh water per day using salt water and sunshine.
The freshwater is distributed through a piped water supply network and a water kiosk at a modest rate that covers operational expenses and ensures a sustainable business model. In doing so, the project also provides opportunities for local economic development.
The village of Anja-Belitsaka is located on the south-west coast of Madagascar and has a population of about 4,000 people who lack access to clean and safe drinking water. The community depended on wells and a borehole fitted with human-powered pumps that supplied poor quality, turbid, and non-potable water.
The dependence on local brackish water, tested as of poor bacteriological quality and below WHO standards, presents an urgent health problem. The population – and children in particular – frequently risks contracting water-borne diseases from drinking unsafe water. Furthermore, the distance to water sources and the time spent collecting water (often two to three times a day) makes the supply of water a daily challenge that disproportionately affects women and children, who are responsible for securing the household water, hindering their rights to health, education, and self-development.
To help overcome water stress in the area, an international consortium consisting of two Dutch companies, namely Elemental Water Makers and Feedback Company, and the French Trans-Mad’Développement NGO, have joined forces. The project was funded by the Elemental Water Foundation.
Applying desalination for drinking water
The climate of Madagascar’s southwest is arid with very low annual rainfall. The region of Tsifota in particular, where Anja-Belitsaka is located, only receives about 300 millimetres of rainfall a year and endures long dry spells lasting six to eight months, which is exacerbated by climate change. These long droughts threaten subsistence farming and the overall way of life.
The project partners were able to desalinate the seawater to produce clean drinking water. A further benefit was that the sunny weather in the region meant that the desalination process, which requires a significant amount of pressure and thus energy, could be powered by solar energy.
The project also created opportunities for accelerating the economic development of the community as local operators were trained to operate and maintain the desalination system.
The clean water generated will be distributed at water kiosks and cost six ariary, which equals only 0,13 cents per liter. This is far cheaper than the unsafe transported water or bottled water. This small contribution is meant to cover the operational costs of the desalination system and stimulate socio-economic progress.
Advancing multiple Sustainable Development Goals
The water impact created by the project means a step closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: clean water and sanitation as 4,000 people in a remote community gained access to a clean water supply. Water scarcity is preventing millions of people from having access to clean water and sanitation. Yet, this project demonstrates that solar desalination is a viable solution to providing sanitation and clean water, especially in remote places with severe water stress.
As water is central to achieving almost all the SDGs, this project also contributes to SDG 3: good health and well-being, and SDG 11: sustainable cities and communities. How does it do this? One, the desalination technology installed in Anja-Belitsaka filters out dangerous substances, improving the health of its 4,000 community members; and, two, deploying a sustainable solution that only uses the sea and sun to produce clean water enhances the community’s resilience to increasing droughts in the future.
