The goal of USAID’s $30 million Liberia Municipal Water Project (LWMP) is to extend access to improved drinking water to 90 percent of the population of three cities: Sanniquellie, Voinjama, and Robertsport.
Before major infrastructure rehabilitation begins, USAID is supporting "quick impact projects" to provide immediate improvements to water access. One such project has been the installation of a small interim water treatment facility just outside of Robertsport on the site of the defunct municipal water treatment plant. In cooperation with the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, USAID installed a simple clarification and disinfection system and hygienic public water collection point.
Residents currently have to carry jerry cans to the facility and pay approximately 5 Liberian Dollars (LRD) per can. Or they buy water within their community from sellers who have purchased water from the water treatment plant and sell it for a profit for 25 LRD per jerry can.
The water treatment plant receives its water from a spring located within the forest on the hillside above the plant. USAID’s Global Water Coordinator Chris Holmes recently visited the spring, which appears to be well protected. Concrete structures facilitate the collection and movement of water into an intake point. Over the long term, it will be critical to protect the watershed from farming and development to ensure the sustainability and purity of the water supply.
The second phase of the Robertsport project will extend a pipeline from the water treatment facility into the local community. Ambassador Malac and Mr. Holmes participated in a ceremony breaking ground build this pipeline installation, an important initial step in the overall effort to bring a larger piped water system to Robertsport.
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