Tanzania - Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project environmental assessment
World Bank /

The project will improve the existing water supply, and sanitation schemes in rural areas, focusing on improved environment, sanitation, and hygiene conditions, with particular attention to HIV/AIDS prevention. While the project will improve health conditions due to accessible clean water decreasing the incidence of waterborne diseases, will improve income due to temporary employment opportunities, and will improve operational, and managerial skills resulting from training provision to the community, potential environmental concerns are associated with construction, community activities, and water resource uses. Environmental impacts, and the respective mitigating measures follow. Construction, and transportation of equipment will cause vegetation destruction, and soil erosion, thus, the use of labor-intensive technology, and, activities confined - as possible - to on-site locations should reduce adversity, while vegetative propagation, and tree replanting will restore land degradation. Construction spoils, and waste residues will be removed, and properly disposed of at selected sites. Loss of agricultural land, and/or crops will be minimized as possible, through adequate engineering design, and location of pipeline and well/borehole sites, in addition, compensation will be provided as necessary. Water sources contamination, will be reduced by appropriate water treatment, and chlorination. Encroachment of well sites, and water sources will be reduced, by fencing, and demarcating well site boundaries, declaring sites a protected area under village by-laws.