Water for three States, Sudan

In Eastern Sudan, rainfall is very low and droughts are a common occurrence. Moreover, due to recent conflicts the pressure on water availability has increased enormously. These factors have caused the initiation of the ‘Water for Three States’ project. In this project, Acacia Water is working with the Aqua4East Partnership to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation in the three Sudanese states of Kassala, Gedaref and Red Sea.

Acacia Water has identified the largest opportunities for improvement of the water supply for five pilot catchments. Using field data, GIS and hydrological expertise, maps were produced as the one below, called a 3R-map. 3R is an abbreviation for ‘Recharge, Retention and Re-use’, depicting the main driving principles of the 3R tool, developed by Acacia Water. Such maps, combined with an extensive elaboration on 3R practices, form the base of decision-making for water management interventions. This way, the Aqua4East Partner can improve the water supply as effectively as possible and make a large impact on the population of this dry area.