SustAgua Cape Verde

The initial situation

Ten municipal sewage treatment plants are currently available throughout Cape Verde for the treatment of domestic wastewater. The Ribeira da Vinha sewage treatment plant on the island of São Vicente was put into operation in 1987 and is the oldest facility in the archipelago. It primarily treats wastewater from the city of Mindelo. In 2007, the sewage treatment plant was expanded to a maximum capacity of 5,000 m³ per day in order to better cover the needs of the city.

The Cape Verdean waste and wastewater authority ANAS is currently facing the decision of whether to modernise the existing sewage treatment plant or build a new one in São Vicente.

The approach

The central issue here was the development of an appropriate basis for decision-making which accounted for aspects such as dimensioning, economic viability, technology applied and efficiency. Furthermore, focussing on sustainability in the value creation of sewage and (waste)water treatment was, for example, enabled by sharpening the awareness of farmers to make better use of treated wastewater in their agricultural activities. This results in the potential strengthening of the local economy.

The objectives and measures

The objective of the multi-stage project was to establish the fundamentals for an efficient plant for sewage treatment on the island of São Vicente that fulfils the requirements of the regional population. This comprised the involvement of German expertise to conduct a feasibility study that serves as the basis for decision-making for the economic and technological modernisation or new construction of the plant. Close coordination with local political and economic stakeholders was essential here.

Apart from the presentation of the feasibility study, modern and efficient wastewater technology was also discussed as part of a workshop with local decision-makers. This served not only to promote the potential use of German environmental technology but also to open up export potential for German companies.

Additionally, a capacity-building and awareness-raising measure for farmers was implemented at the proposal of the local authorities. The objective here was to illustrate the potential of recycling treated wastewater in the context of the future modernisation of or new construction of the sewage treatment plant. It also underlined the sustainable added value of the circular economy principle.

The developed solutions also serve as a basis for the transfer to other island regions with comparable challenges.