Otak worked closely with Solidarites International staff and the Mae La refugee camp ‘water committee’ to evaluate all existing water sources, storage and supply assets and develop a maintenance plan to improve water supply operations to all camp residents. Evaluated alternatives for a new water source to augment the supply during the dry season to increase drought resilience of the water supply system. These alternatives included additional springs, deep bores, a shallow alluvial aquifer, and an adjacent river. A dry season river flow assessment was undertaken and was deemed the most appropriate new water source. A new river intake 5km upstream of the camp and associated gravity-fed infrastructure was specified, including detailed costing and BOQ.
Regions: International
Abaiang Drought Management Plan
Otak developed a community drought management and response plan for the Island of Abaiang. This required detailed consultation with local government and community stakeholders to develop a pragmatic plan to prepare for, respond to, and manage the impacts of drought at village and island level. National level consultations were held with Ministry of Public Works and Utilities, Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the Disaster Risk Management Unit (advisers to Cabinet) to align with national policies and ensure an effectively streamlined communication plan – including when and how national emergency assistance will be coordinated. With Kiribati Met Service, we developed a simple method for triggering three warning levels of drought risk, including drought declaration. We provided capacity-building training to appropriate parties at a national and island level.