Water Supply and Wastewater Management: Illustrative Work

•  Needs assessments.  Chemonics Egypt has conducted water/wastewater sector needs assessments at national, district, and village levels.  These assessments identify levels of service, the extent of the gap between current and planned service levels, the condition of facilities, and the structure and effectiveness of operation and maintenance activities, and then propose capital and management solutions for various planning horizons.  Chemonics Egypt has developed database structures which facilitate analysis of complex interactions between water/wastewater system variables.

• Feasibility studies.  Chemonics Egypt prepared a complete feasibility study and final design for the Esna city wastewater collection and treatment system.

•  Water and sewer system engineering.  Chemonics Egypt has conducted full sewer system evaluations in Suez and Port Said, including flow measurement, groundwater investigations, sewer mapping/GIS, closed-circuit TV inspection, infiltration/inflow surveys, hydraulic analysis, and cost-effectiveness analysis of sewer rehabilitation projects, and has provided selected sewer evaluation services in Ismailia and Alexandria.  In Suez, Chemonics Egypt served as the design-build engineer for the subsequent sewer rehabilitation program.

   

  In Minya city, Chemonics Egypt conducted a topographic survey for pipeline routings, and then provided preliminary and final design services (design, plans, profiles, and details) for water distribution improvements, new gravity sewers, and force mains.

   

  In Naga Hammadi in southern Egypt and in several low-income areas of Cairo, Chemonics Egypt has provided conceptual and detailed engineering design and construction management services for village and district level sewer systems.  In the cities of Luxor, Aswan, and Mansura, Chemonics Egypt is mapping the water distribution systems on GIS, performing hydraulic analyses of system structure, and designing more reliable and efficient networks.  Working closely with community groups and local councils in three rural governorates, Chemonics Egypt is developing plans and conceptual designs for low-cost, appropriate water and wastewater systems in unserved villages.

• Utility operations and management.  Chemonics Egypt has participated in major utility capacity-building projects, in Alexandria, Beni Suef, and the USAID “Secondary Cities” governorates of Aswan, Luxor, Daqahliya, and South Sinai.  Chemonics Egypt assists water/wastewater utility managers and supervisors to improve the quality of service and control O&M costs.  Chemonics Egypt works with utility managements to develop performance improvement program plans and provides technical assistance in implementation.  Chemonics Egypt prepares standard operating procedures and systematic preventive maintenance programs, trains operators, and assists utilities in O&M planning and budgeting.  Chemonics Egypt develops manuals, training materials, and lesson plans which address all areas of utility operations, maintenance, and administration and cover all types of facility and equipment found in the local utilities.

• Technology transfer.  Chemonics Egypt is a leader in appropriate water and sanitation technology transfer and testing.  In the 1980s, Chemonics Egypt experts---working then for Chemonics International Inc on the USAID Basic Village Services and Local Development II Projects---designed, implemented, and evaluated five appropriate wastewater treatment technologies in 17 villages in Egypt’s first rural wastewater technology demonstration program.  In its Suez and Port Said sewer system evaluations, Chemonics Egypt pioneered an original approach to infiltration measurement using seawater as a trace element; this approach proved more accurate and far less expensive than conventional measurement methods.  Chemonics Egypt has studied the applicability and performance of non-conventional sewerage (such as small-bore systems) in Egypt, and has cooperated with the Beheira Water Company in developing effective and low-cost technology for removal of iron and manganese from groundwater supplies.

• Institutional development.  Chemonics Egypt understands that sound engineering and improved management capacity are unlikely to guarantee the sustainability of utility services if utility managers lack the autonomy and incentive to run their organizations according to best business practices.  Under the two phases of the USAID-funded Legal, Institutional, and Regulatory Reform (LIRR) Project, Chemonics Egypt advisors played important roles in building nationwide consensus for sector reform, crafting more market-based legal and regulatory frameworks, and developing action plans for national and local level restructuring.  Chemonics Egypt also participated in preparation and delivery of a nationwide training program on best practices in utility corporatization, private sector participation, and regulation.