By Mohamed Fofanah
Sierra Leone Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission (SLEWRC) on Tuesday validated the benchmark ‘Sierra Leone Water Code’ which prescribes best practice for design and construction of water supply networks to deal with the transition, distribution and reticulation in the sector.
The Code focuses on technical requirements for design and construction of water infrastructure and purchase specifications for infrastructure products, according to the Director of Water at EWRC.
Michael Kargbo said the Interim Water Code covers the planning, design and construction of transmission/trunk, distribution and reticulation of drinking water and service pipes from 15mm (½ inch) upwards.
He said the Interim Code is expected to facilitate ready acquisition from different suppliers of assets of a recognized acceptable quality; assure assets have acceptable levels of construction ability, operability and maintainability; facilitate efficient design and construction; limit risk exposure of the principal stakeholders and suppliers of products and material; and facilitate quality assurance and inspection.
Speaking during the validation workshop at the Atlantic Hotel in Freetown yesterday, the Director General of EWRC, Emmanuel Mannah said the Code is expected to serve as a guide to private sector players to ply their trade in the water sector, which, also, will be available for engineers to personalize it in order to enhance easy implementation.
He stressed that the mandatory standard document should be available to all consultants across the sector as a guide for them to facilitate their work. He also assured of the dynamism and flexibility of the document.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Water Resources, Honourable Lahai Marah described the document as a very good one which is expected to enable MPs to ask relevant questions when they undertake their duty.
