Guajimía Canal: Runoff and Wastewater Treatment

“This assignment gave us the chance to get to know the people benefitting from our work. This unique project presented several technical challenges, but what will always stand out in our memories is the local population and the look on their faces when they saw their new homes.”

Frédéric Faustin, who oversaw the social studies aspect of the project

Located in the western part of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, the lower basin of the Guajimía Valley is characterized by its numerous waterways and dense ramshackle housing. The area’s 300,000 residents do not have access to basic sanitation services. Consequently, garbage is thrown into local streams and rivers, which are also used as open sewers. The resulting blockages as well as seasonal flooding and high levels of pollution pose a serious threat to human health while significantly damaging Guajimía’s environment.

In an effort to control runoff, improve quality of life in the area and foster urban development, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) contracted Dessau to carry out a technical feasibility study, including environmental and social studies, for a project to rehabilitate the storm and sanitation drainage networks in the Guajimía Canal. The 2003 feasibility study recommended moving ahead with this project as a response to “an acute need in the region to clean up its environment and improve public health.”

By 2004, the project was underway, focusing primarily on replacing the open-air canals and treating wastewater. It also entailed the construction of a 50-km sewage, runoff and drinking water system, as well as a new housing complex (856 units), a road network, sanitation infrastructure, green spaces and pedestrian areas.

In order to move forward with this socially responsible undertaking – which would be the most complete and ambitious project to improve local living conditions in the Dominican Republic’s history – more than 800 families from the affected area had to be relocated. What’s more, their new homes had to offer living conditions that were equivalent or superior to what they had before. To accomplish this, the Dessau team devised and implemented a relocation plan that complied with World Bank guidelines. Most notably, it provided for the creation of follow-up committees and a series of activities to ensure a smooth transition to the new housing facilities. An aid office was also set up so that families could meet with project representatives and obtain information about the phases of the work.

The project presented the Dessau team with several challenges. In addition to selecting a location for the new housing units that was both appropriate and in the same region, they had to align the construction schedule with the families’ moving schedule, manage the expectations of local residents and provide them with information about their new homes.

Dessau is proud to have contributed to this unique socio-environmental project, which was carried out in cooperation with the local community and encouraged the participation of Dominican firms.