Water Supply and Flooding: AfWASA and GWP Organized a Workshop in Abidjan
The African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA), in partnership with German Water Partnership (GWP), organized a technical workshop on resilient water supply during floods from 25 to 26 August in Abidjan. The event brought together 30 participants from public administrations, local authorities, water utilities, civil society, and security forces.
The workshop aimed to strengthen the capacities of Ivorian stakeholders in flood risk management and to introduce practical methodologies for planning emergency water supply. Presentations by Professor Kouamé Martin Lecturer-Researcher, CAMES Senior Lecturer at Université Jean LOROUGNON GUEDE (Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire) and Dr.-Ing. Manuel Krauss, Head of the Africa Regional Section at GWP, provided an overview of Abidjan’s vulnerabilities and shared international standards, including the WHO guideline of 15–20 liters of safe water per person per day in emergency situations.
Dialogues and practical exercises
Roundtable discussions highlighted the operational and institutional challenges stakeholders are facing. Participants stressed the need to strengthen logistical and emergency response capacities, improve access to affected areas, clarify roles and responsibilities through a clear mapping of actors, and regularly update contingency plans. In the afternoon, a simulation exercise led by Dr.-Ing. Krauss guided participants in identifying three reception sites for displaced persons and estimating the water needs for each. This exercise brought theory into practice, taking into account potential relocation sites such as schools, universities, and places of worship, as well as essential health services.
Results and outcomes
The workshop strengthened the skills of the 30 participants and adapted an international emergency water supply planning methodology to the Ivorian context. It also helped identify key challenges, including limited access to affected areas, the need to build local capacities, and improved inter-institutional coordination. Beyond the acquisition of new knowledge, the workshop fostered genuine multi-stakeholder dialogue, paving the way for better governance of water-related risks during floods.
Towards more robust systems
At the closing session, AfWASA and GWP reaffirmed their commitment to supporting African cities in building more resilient and sustainable water supply systems. This workshop highlighted the importance of an integrated, participatory, and forward-looking approach, as the only effective way to address the climate and demographic challenges facing Africa’s major urban centers.
