OVERVIEW

The Kabul Urban Water Supply (KUWS) activity, implemented by the German Development Bank, KfW, is building water infrastructure to provide drinking water to 87,000 Kabul city residents. The existing distribution system currently supplies water to less than 20 percent of the urban population. KUWS is part of a multi-donor effort to increase access to safe drinking water, improve the water system, reduce health risks, and improve livelihoods for Kabul residents.

KUWS is one component of a four-phase program, of which KfW is the lead financier. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing $20 million for the second phase: constructing and installing new wells, a pumping station, and a drinking water storage reservoir. Contributions include approximately $52 million from KfW and $10 million from the French Development Agency, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Donors signed the financing agreement in March 2014 on the precondition implementation would begin only after the Afghan government passed regulations providing legal protection for the land around the aquifer. The Afghan government passed these regulations in October 2015. Construction is expected be completed in 2020.

ACTIVITIES

• Construct and install new wells and a pumping station at the Logar II wellfield, one of several major sources of Kabul’s water
• Construct a new 5,000 cubic meter capacity water storage reservoir, including the installation of the tanks, piping, valves, and electrical systems
• Install water transmission pipes and a pump station for water distribution

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Approximately 87,000 additional Kabul residents have access to clean, reliable drinking water.
• Improved the water quality and water supply availability to 24 hours per day (previously, many people had no water or water for only a few hours per day), resulting in reduced health risks and improved livelihoods.
• Designated water protection zones and adopted protection measures for the Logar wellfield drainage area.