Ziguinchor: Between shortages, questionable quality and high bills, users are calling on Sen'Eau

The issue of drinking water remains a major concern for the residents of Ziguinchor. Gathered for a meeting with Sen'Eau, neighborhood representatives and consumers expressed their worries regarding service quality, difficulties in obtaining subscriptions, and the cost of water consumption. In response to these concerns, the company promised significant investments to sustainably strengthen the city's water supply.

In Ziguinchor, access to quality drinking water remains a major challenge for many households. Aware of the population's expectations, Sen'Eau has initiated a series of local meetings aimed at gathering users' concerns and strengthening dialogue with communities.

According to Oumar Sarr, Sen'Eau's Southeast Regional Director covering the regions of Ziguinchor, Kolda, and Sédhiou, this initiative is part of the company's new strategic direction for the period 2026-2028. One of the pillars of this policy is based on local engagement, an approach that prioritizes direct contact with consumers in order to better understand their needs and improve the quality of services offered.

“We want to reach out to the people, listen to their complaints, their demands and their expectations in order to better address their concerns. Our ambition is to become, by 2029, the most appreciated public service company in Senegal,” the official said.

Among the difficulties raised during the discussions were recurring water pressure problems in certain high-altitude neighborhoods. The Diabir, Kenya, and Kassor Extension areas continue to experience disruptions that complicate regular access to drinking water.

To address these shortcomings, Sen'Eau reports having launched a comprehensive program to strengthen and regulate the network. With the regulation phase already complete, the expansion and reinforcement work continues with the aim of definitively eliminating pressure drops by the end of 2026.

The company is also focusing on major projects designed to significantly increase water production capacity in the region. SONES has thus launched a program that includes drilling new wells capable of producing 200 cubic meters of water per hour, as well as rehabilitating the old Néma plant, which will provide an estimated additional capacity of 150 cubic meters per hour.

In the longer term, an ambitious water transfer project from Yatakunda is planned for 2035. This infrastructure should secure the water supply for Ziguinchor while also serving the villages located along the pipeline route.

But while the investment prospects are encouraging, many immediate concerns remain for the population. Participants specifically raised the issue of the quality of the water distributed in certain neighborhoods.

Several residents still report the occasional appearance of reddish water or water with a strong chlorine odor. According to Sen'Eau, these problems are now limited and generally occur following leak repairs or maintenance work on the networks and storage facilities.

Oumar Sarr assures that the difficulties linked to the high presence of iron in the water, which had marked the first quarter of 2025, have been largely resolved thanks to improvements made to the treatment facilities.

Another cause for concern is the proliferation of private wells and boreholes in several neighborhoods of the city. In response to this phenomenon, Sen'Eau is urging vigilance. The regional director reiterates that no drilling can be carried out without authorization from the relevant authorities and warns of the health risks associated with consuming untested water.

“Water cannot be declared potable without prior analysis. The Ziguinchor aquifer requires specific treatment before consumption,” he insisted, emphasizing the importance of the filtration, iron removal and disinfection processes implemented before distribution to the population.

For residents, expectations extend beyond water quality. Mamadou Cissé, the delegate for the Kandé Alassane district, highlighted the difficulties many families face in obtaining water subscriptions, particularly due to the required administrative documents.

He did, however, welcome the proxy provisions put in place to facilitate procedures for households that do not have all the required documents.

The issue of billing also featured prominently in the discussions. According to the representative of the population, several households, particularly those headed by retirees, struggle to cope with bills they sometimes consider excessive.

Believing that daily life is becoming increasingly difficult, he advocated for more payment facilities and strengthened social connections to enable vulnerable families to access the drinking water network more easily.

At the end of this meeting, one conclusion is inescapable: despite the announced investments and the improvements achieved, the population is still waiting for concrete solutions to their daily concerns. Between equitable access to water, improved service quality, and controlled consumption costs, Sen'Eau is now called upon to translate its commitments into tangible results for the residents of Ziguinchor.