Water treatment in Cambodia, Jordan and Colombia
The sustainable use of resources – water in particular – is especially important in areas where water is scarce or polluted.
Cambodia – safe drinking water for a floating village
Due to the year-round tropical weather conditions, Tonle Sap Lake is regarded as the world’s most abundant freshwater lake. The aim of the pilot project (2020-22) on Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, which is supported jointly by the Wilo-Foundation and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is to help the floating village of Phat Sanday become a clean, environmentally friendly, participatory and resilient community that is able to manage its fish stocks sustainably and diversify its sources of income.
Key elements of the project are the establishment of a village committee on waste management and drinking water, the installation of a system for the separation and collection of solid waste, and securing the drinking water supply for at least 1,000 villagers by means of a floating water kiosk. Another aim of the project is to improve other important conditions so as to promote the development of ecotourism activities, which provide an alternative source of income for local inhabitants.
Jordan – a pilot project for wastewater management and solar energy
The aim of the project in Jordan (2018-20) is to stabilise the fluctuating treatment capacity of the Tal-Al-Mantah wastewater treatment plant to ensure that sufficient purified water is available for irrigation of agricultural land in the Jordan Valley. This pilot wastewater and solar power project will see the first solar-powered treatment plant established in the region, which will improve the water and sanitation situation in the Jordan Valley with a population of 130,000.
The project supported by the Wilo-Foundation also includes the construction of wetlands in the nearby visitor centre of the Sharhabil Bin Hassneh (SHE) EcoPark project. In the future, these wetlands will purify the wastewater produced by the park and the visitor centre. In 2016 and 2017, SHE EcoPark was nominated as one of the Top 100 Green Destinations.
Colombia – safe drinking water in rural areas
In Colombia, the Wilo-Foundation has so far supported two projects implemented by the Global Nature Fund in collaboration with its local partner Fundacion Humedales. A pilot project (2016) was implemented in San Miguel de Sema in Colombia, which has long dry spells. Using a simple but highly effective water purification method (ultrafiltration technology) has given some 30 households (approx. 250 inhabitants), an elementary school, a secondary school (approx. 200 pupils) and a church community access to safe drinking water.
In the period 2018-2019, a project aimed at rehabilitating and expanding the existing drinking water supply was implemented in rural communities of Bocas del Carare, and new infrastructure was built in a district of Puerto Parra, improving the drinking water supply for around 800 people.
