EPANET Software application Training for Wash Professionals

BACKGROUND

Nigeria’s Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states in the Northeast have been facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world for over a decade, characterized by insecurity, large-scale population displacement, chronic food shortages and the collapse of basic social services.

The crisis has exacerbated pre-existing multiple interrelated factors: high prevalence of water-borne and preventable childhood diseases (diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and malaria), sub-optimal hygiene conditions, seasonal food insecurity, reduced agricultural production, and high levels of unemployment and poverty.

According to HRP 2023, the WASH sector’s first Strategic Objective 1 is to reduce queuing times and walking distances, and ensure households can access safe water for drinking, cooking and other domestic purposes through repair, rehabilitation and construction of water sources alongside emergency water trucking. The main source of water in the BAY state is groundwater normally using boreholes connected to overhead tank and distribute to various point of use for easy access to intended beneficiaries.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The sector, through feedback and monitoring, identified critical challenges on water issues across BAY states. This includes in both quantity and quality because of increase in population, limited funding, geological problem, human activity, poor design, weak regulation and policy, inadequate capacity and resources, etc. with this, it became necessary to continue building the capacity of partners and stakeholders on effective and efficient water supply delivery.

To increase access to water, the sector partners and various government agencies continue with rehabilitation, upgrading and construction of water sources alongside emergency water trucking and networking.

The WASH sector has further identified gaps of lack of equal distribution and networking the existing sources for better utilization and wide coverage across target location. This includes low capacity and skills of partners in designing water distribution network which lead to poor design and costing, using inappropriate material and not achieving intended purpose. The purpose of a water distribution system is to deliver water to consumers with appropriate quality, quantity, and pressure, from its source to the point of use using right material. The optimal management of these systems requires data and information, including a digital model of the water system depicting its pipes, valves, pumps, tanks, and other attributes. In this regard, the Sector is engaging an experience consultant/resource person(s) to train selected partners and stakeholders on water distribution system using EPANET Application software.

The training comes at a critical period, where the focus on water supply response is small town water project where multiple sources be connected for wider supply and coverage. This is aligned line with the WASH Sectors strategy to have adequate skills and capacity to partners for effective service delivery across BAY states.

BRIEF ON EPANET SOFTWARE APPLICATION

EPANET is a software application used throughout the world to model water distribution systems. It was developed as a tool for understanding the movement and fate of drinking water constituents within distribution systems and can be used for many different types of applications in distribution systems analysis. Today, engineers and consultants use EPANET to design and size new water infrastructure, retrofit existing aging infrastructure, optimize operations of tanks and pumps, reduce energy usage, investigate water quality problems, and prepare for emergencies. With EPANET, users can perform extended-period simulation of the hydraulic and water quality behavior within pressurized pipe networks, which consist of pipes, nodes (junctions), pumps, valves, storage tanks, and reservoirs. It can be used to track the flow of water in each pipe, the pressure at each node, the height of the water in each tank, a chemical concentration, the age of the water, and source tracing throughout the network during a simulation period.

OBJECTIVES OF THE TOR

The objective of the ToR is to highlight the need and justify the request for urgent support of Nigeria’s WASH sector towards building the capacity of WASH actors and strengthening the system for effective and better delivery of water through distribution system. The ToR includes.

1. Clarifying roles and responsibilities
2. Enabling commitments from various stakeholders
3. Set the pace for mobilization of teams and resource

Deliverables of ToR:

The following documents will be prepared/updated after the ToR:

1. MoU between the training team and sector (if necessary, a signed ToR can be accepted)
2. Agreements on various enablers, e.g., hall booking, travel, training materials, number of a participant in the training, visa arrangements, if necessary, etc.
3. A detailed plan for the capacity-building exercise, e.g., timetable.
4. Clear roles and responsibilities for partner organizations.
5. Any other issues raised, including follow-up, monitoring, etc.

Expected deliverables of the training

1. Training on how to download, install and activate other extension of EPANET software application
2. Build the capacity of participants on Network and Hydraulic Modelling using EPANET:

• Design new water distribution systems or upgrade existing systems

• Evaluate operations (e.g., pump, tank and valve operations)

1. Water Quality Modelling using EPANET

• Water storage and disinfectant management

• Contaminant transport, exposure and risk analyses

1. Analysing water distribution network using EPANET
2. Interpretation and analysing of data and result of EPANET modelling
3. Downloading and sharing of modelling including interfacing with other softwares e.g. GIS/Google earth.

Methodology

The training is in-person using presentations and engagement with an emphasis on practical sessions for participants to have a hand EPANET software application and skills on water distribution and quality modelling, analyzing and interpretation.

Participating agencies

1. Selected WASH agencies in BAY states – NNGO, INGO and UN
2. Rural Water and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA)
3. Ministry of Water Resources – BAY States

Proposed responsibilities

1. WASH Sector, Technical WG and UNICEF to facilitate attendance including booking hotels for attending government counterparts and facilitation of air tickets or transport means (only for trainees).
2. Consultant/trainer to facilitate Trainers, Training materials including relevant design software
3. NRC to provide training venue, and other necessary support for the training to be conducted successfully in Abuja.

Application Procedures:

The technical and financial proposals of up to 5 pages maximum (excluding annexes) should include the following:

• Certificate of Corporation
• Evidence of Tax Registration
• Proposed methodology, including a tentative workplan.
• CV of the member(s) of the team including references.
• Detailed budget of the offer (consultant(s) will cover the costs for local travel, food, accommodation, etc).
• An extract (3-5 pages) for similar trainings conducted with reports.
• A cover letter with the following information: a description of how their skills, qualifications and experience are relevant to the requirements of the assignment,
• A statement confirming their availability to conduct the assignment and the budget (please indicate currency of amount),