Rainwater management problems in cities in developing countries : the case of the Municipality of Ziguinchor, Senegal

Abstract

Senegalese cities are experiencing very rapid growth in terms of both spatial and demographic development, which has an impact on the management of runoff water, which is increasingly a major concern of authorities and urban populations. In these cities, public sanitation infrastructure is insufficient and unevenly distributed in urban space. The objective of this study is to characterize the problem of rainwater management in the city of Ziguinchor (southern Senegal). The methodology is based on an administration, a questionnaire submitted to 288 heads of households, and an interview guide with 13 actors who stand out in the environmental management component at the local level. The results obtained attest to a real problem of sanitation of rainwater managed in precarious conditions due to the lack of infrastructure and water management methods used by households. The infrastructural problem is a factor in the poor management of rainwater in Ziguinchor, while rainwater drainage practices do not protect the living environment of the populations. In the city of Ziguinchor, the main strategies adopted in the face of the sanitation network deficit are based on backfilling, the laying of sandbags and stones, evacuation through buckets.