Data-assisted automated water distribution and treatment systems
Challenge
In and around Tongogara Refugee Settlement, more than 15,000 residents and 1,500 host community members get water from solar pumping systems connected to reticulation networks. Expansions of the networks over the past decade and manual handling of valves result in unoptimized water distribution, posing a risk of infectious disease.
Solution
Procuring hardware for an automated distribution and treatment system (PLC automated valves, automated chlorination system, pumping rate controllers, water quality monitoring devices, water flow meters, pressure sensors) and developing algorithms to control this system.
Impact
The automated distribution and treatment of water provided to residents, as well as an online monitoring dashboard to provide oversight of this system. Improved population health and more equitable water access, as well as local capacity building to maintain the system.
Project impact
Other information
Tongogara Refugee Settlement in Zimbabwe is in a drought-prone region where unequal water distribution across zones was driving repeated community complaints and increasing the burden on women and girls. Funded by the Data Innovation Fund, the project unlocked impact well beyond the technology itself: a pivot from international suppliers to a locally distributed iGator solution delivered comparable performance with shorter lead times, local after-sales support and significant cost savings against the initial bid. The project also strengthened multi-stakeholder collaboration with World Vision, UNICEF and Government of Zimbabwe stakeholders, trained Water Management Committees and refugee Mobile Data Collectors, and grounded the design in evidence from a WASH KAP survey co-led with the community. Together, these elements turn an infrastructure intervention into a capacity-building, locally-owned and climate-resilient WASH model ready for replication across UNHCR settlements in southern Africa.