Project Overview
After a decade of conflict, Yemen faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis: 4 million IDPs and 20 million people needing aid. The city of Aden has ballooned from 1 million to 5 million residents as families flee the front lines in northern and central governorates. Yet the municipal network now delivers barely 0.25 litres per person per day—1⁄60 of the international minimum.
The Heracles Group (THG), together with municipal engineers and global WASH partners, is launching a rapid-impact program to drill new emergency wells, solar-retrofit key pumping stations, and overhaul leaking distribution mains. A community-managed maintenance fund will keep the system running long after the conflict ends.
The problem
Aden’s aged water system—bomb-scarred pipes, salt-ingressed wells, power-starved pumps—cannot meet surging demand. Women and children now queue 4–6 hours daily at trucked-water points; diarrhoeal disease and cholera risk climb with every hot season.
Our Solution — “Pump. Purify. Provide.”
- Emergency groundwater: drill 6 solar-powered boreholes (≈ 700 m³/day total) in high-IDP districts.
- Network triage: replace 12 km of corroded iron mains with HDPE and install leak-detector sensors.
- Solar resilience: equip three pump stations with 400 kW of rooftop PV + batteries, cutting diesel use 50 %.
- Community WASH Corps: train 80 local technicians & volunteers in pump upkeep, chlorination and hygiene outreach.
Impact — “Water Restored, Dignity Returned.”
- +300,000 people reach at least 15 L/person/day within 36 months.
- 45 % reduction in waterborne-illness reports at targeted clinics.
- 600 IDP households employed short-term on pipe-laying and well fencing.
- CO₂ savings: 1,200 t/year avoided through solar pumping.
Future Needs — “Greening the Grid, Scaling the Flow.”
- Citywide scale-up: rehabilitate four additional wellfields (Aden West, Dar Saad, Sheikh Othman, Al-Buraiqa) to secure 1 million m³/year.
- Smart metering: deploy 20,000 prepaid meters to curb losses and fund O&M.
- Waste-to-Water pilot: convert sludge from Al-Hiswa WWTP into biogas, powering chlorine generators.
- Water-Equity Fund: seed $3 M to subsidise tariffs for IDP and ultra-poor families during the first three years.
Funding Status & Call for Support
- Budget: $450,000 secured (well-drilling rigs, first PV set-up) · $2.6 M still needed for full pipe replacement, solar arrays, metering, and community fund.
- Your role: sponsor a borehole, adopt a solar array, or underwrite the Water-Equity Fund—every drop counts.
