Drinking water supply and sanitation in Benin has been subject to considerable progress since the 1990s, in particular in rural areas, where coverage is higher than in many other African countries, and almost all development partners follow a national demand-responsive strategy, which has been adopted in 1992., p. 106 New strategies to increase water supply in rural and urban areas have been adopted in 2005 and 2006., p. 12-13 Tariffs in urban and rural areas are usually high enough to cover the costs for operation and maintenance.
However, challenges remain. A coherent institutional framework has been developed for rural areas and projects have been implemented with strong help by external donors. Responsibilities in water supply have been defined in a national strategy in 2007 and the national utility SONEB receives significant support in terms of investment and technical assistance. Sanitation receives less attention. Wastewater treatment hardly exists., p. 21
In order to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) concerning water and sanitation, the Ministry of Economic and Financial Development estimates that US$80 million and US$22 million, respectively are needed per year from 2006 to 2015., p. 17-18, p. 241 CFA Franc BCEAO = US$0.002093 (2006-12-31); source: http://oanda.com For the sake of comparison, less than US$ 10m per year have been invested in water supply and sanitation in rural areas where 55% of the population of Benin lives. No figures are available on actual investments in urban areas. Most likely, investments would have to increase manifold in order to reach the MDGs.
Access
In 2015, in Benin 78% of the population had access to "improved" water, 85% and 72%, in urban and rural areas, respectively. In 2015, there were still around 2 million lacking access to "improved" water. Regarding sanitation, 20% of the population had access to "improved" sanitation, 36% and 7%, in urban and rural areas, respectively.WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation
According to the Joint Monitoring Program of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, three quarters of the Beninese population had access to an improved water source in 2008, whereas 12% had access to improved sanitation. The share rose from 63% concerning water and from 5% concerning sanitation in 1990. Coverage in urban areas is considerably higher than in rural areas.
Access to water and sanitation in Benin (2008) Urban(41% of the population) Rural(59% of the population) TotalWater Improved water source 84% 69% 75% Piped on premises 26% 2% 12% Sanitation Improved sanitation 24% 4% 12%
Significant differences in water supply coverage were found among regions. The situation depends on the accessibility to ground water, the geographic orientation of donor investment programs and the effective demand of the inhabitants of a community or region., p. 113 In urban areas, lack of access to safe water is mostly concentrated in the outskirts of cities., p. 52
The national government uses another definition of access,In rural and semi-urban areas, the water supply coverage rate represents the share of population covered by water supply points, which serve up to 250 inhabitants on the basis of 20 liters per day and capita (l/p/d) at a distance of not more than 500 meters from the place of consumption. The following sources are recognized as water points: A borehole equipped with a hand pump corresponds to one water point A modern well corresponds to one water point A public stand post in a rural water supply scheme corresponds to two water points An autonomouos water stand post (Poste d'Eau Autonome) corresponds to four water points
In urban and peri-urban areas, access is defined as connection to the urban water supply network. One connection provides water to on average twelve persons (two households with six persons per household). Source: , p. 15-16 under which water supply coverage was 50% in urban and peri-urban areas and 41% in rural and semi-urban areas in 2005. The annual water sector review for the financial year 2009 indicated 55,1% access for rural and 57% for urban areas.Personal communication with sector practitioners, April 2011 In order to reach the MDGs, the national government's strategy is to increase coverage to 75% in urban and peri-urban areas and 67.5% in rural and semi-urban areas by 2015., p. 5 Concerning sanitation, the Ministry of Economic and Financial Development reported that in 2003 67% of the population did not have adequate facilities for the disposal of excrements., p. 9 The annual sector review indicated an access of households to sanitation facilities of 39,4% and 71,6%, of school children, in 2009.
Definition of urban and rural areas Like in other countries, the Beninese water supply sector is divided into an urban and a rural sector and then is sent over to the poor. However, in the documents rural areas include semi-urban areas and urban areas include peri-urban areas. In 2002, rural and semi-urban areas were defined as settlements with less than 10,000 inhabitants and 22 secondary towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants,, p. 104 whereas the remaining areas were called urban and peri-urban.
Service quality
Continuity of supply Substantial investments in the Greater Cotonou Area have not been effected since 1991. The fast-growing water demand (6 – 8% p.a.) is exceeding the actual design capacity of the well fields, two treatment plants and the distribution system. This results in low water pressure, which often limits the consumption in peripheral areas. Water supply in Cotonou is generally available for 24 hours per day, the system, however is badly affected by power cuts of the Beninese Society of Electricity and Water public energy utility. About 50% of the power demand of pump sets can be provided through generator sets to fill the pipeline system and its water towers. Frequent power failures reduce the reliability of the system. However, substantial extension works are financed and programmed since 2007/2008 with support of major donors (West African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, KfW Entwicklungsbank, Netherlands). Implementation is ongoing (see below).
Drinking water quality There has been no broad assessment about water quality in Benin. Under the framework of a study which analyzed water supply in peri-urban areas of Cotonou, water samples were collected from water kiosks, a water seller, a communal well and Lake Nokoue in the peri-urban Cotonouan districts of Ladji and Vossa. The study concludes that the samples from the water kiosks and the water seller were of good quality. Private water sellers connected to the SONEB utility network are widespread in urban areas, serving households not yet connected to the grid. The Ministry in charge of water and SONEB have fixed a special ‘pro-poor’ tariff for water resale to regulate this phenomenon, in July 2009. Implementation is ongoing in cooperation with local government.
Saltwater intrusion has been reported close to Cotonou, where drinking water is withdrawn., p. 11
Wastewater treatment Wastewater treatment is extremely rare in Benin. In most cases, wastewater is not even disposed appropriately. According to a 2001 national health survey, in the cities of Cotonou, Parakou and Porto-Novo, only two out of 1,000 households dispose their wastewater in a correct way, while most of them discharge it directly into the nature or drains. This leads to pollution and can cause water-borne diseases like malaria and typhoid fever., cited in:
According to a 2004 article, Cotonou is the only town in Benin which has a functioning wastewater treatment plant, where sludge from septic tanks and latrines is treated. Another article reports that the treatment plant, operated by the private Industrial Society of Urban Equipment and Sanitation (SIBEAU) treats about 240–300 m³ per day. The company charges tariffs for treating the sludge from septic tank truckers. The wastewater receives primary and secondary treatment and is afterwards dumped into the ocean., p. 124 In addition, some local institutions like a hospital and hotels operate their own water treatment facilities.
Water resources
It is estimated that the available water resources in Benin are sufficient to meet the current and future demand, even if agricultural and industrial consumption are included. The current water use is about 1% of the available resources., p. 3 The total amount of renewable water resources in the country is estimated at 3,954 m³ per person and year, an amount whereby water shortages only occur irregularly or locally according to a definition of Falkenmark and Widstrand. 2000 km² or 1.8% of the total surface area of Benin (112,620 km²) is covered by water. Rainfall averages 1,039 mm per year, but varies considerably among region and season., p. 2
In 2021, the European Investment Bank provided a €50 million loan to help Cotonou in improving stormwater management, specifically by upgrading stormwater drainage to capture plastic. The initiative will lessen floods near buildings, benefiting 187,000 people in and around Cotonou while also reducing plastic and other pollutants in the Gulf of Guinea.
Water use A study published in 2005 indicates an average consumption of 17 liters per capita and day (L/c/d) in rural areas and 29 L/c/d in cities. The authors explain the very low water use in rural areas with a lack of water sources, long distances from villages to wells and limited resources in dry seasons. In the outskirts of the town areas, they found situations similar to those in rural areas. They expect an increasing water demand due to urbanization and increasing living standards. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations indicates that in 2001, 32% of the total water withdrawal was used for domestic purposes, while 45% was used for agriculture and 23% by the industry.
In 2021, heavy rain in Benin caused widespread flooding, causing significant damage to water resources and financial losses. Because heavy rains have continued to fall in the area, large volumes of plastics and other debris are being released into Lake Nokoué and the Gulf of Guinea via open drains, making water resources scarce.
History and recent developments
History Souterrains dated from 17th–19th century were built by the Kingdom of Dahomey for different functions including water storage or to serve as seasonal cisterns.
Rural areas: Under the framework of the United Nations International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981–1990), Benin launched a campaign and installed 5,350 water points. The result of these efforts revealed some weaknesses within the strategy, i.e. (i) lack of user participation in the installation of water points; (ii) lack of health and hygiene education; (iii) lack of investments in hygiene and sanitation; (iv) lack of community inclusion in the administration and operation of the water points; and (v) poor rate of functioning water points.
Since these efforts and investments in the sector had proved to be little sustainable, a new demand-responsive strategy for rural water supply and sanitation was prepared with the help of the World Bank and adopted in 1992. The strategy is based on the four principles of Decentralization of decision making Financial contribution of the communities to the initial investments (about 3-10% of the total costs, p. 7) Search for cost-cutting measures concerning operation and maintenance of facilities Privatization of construction and operation activities Furthermore, the strategy contains two more basic principles, which are not explicitly mentioned as such: Integration of hygiene education in rural water programs Redefinition of the role of the General Water Authority (DGEau), which becomes the sector regulator and facilitator