Water sources of the "buffer zone" with South Ossetia

Georgia

Project name: Provision of drinking water sources
in selected villages of the "buffer zone" with South Ossetia, Georgia
Financed by: Czech Development Agency
Implemented by: Ircon, s.r.o., AQUATEST a.s
Project partner: United Water Supply Company of Georgia
Implementation period: 07/2010 – 12/2010

The objective of the project Provision of drinking water sources in selected villages of the “buffer zone” with South Ossetia was to contribute to addressing the unsustainable groundwater supply situation for approx. 5,000 villagers in the Georgia‑South Ossetia zone. This buffer zone, located north of town of Gori at the southern foot of the Caucasus, was set up after the war with Russia in the summer of 2008. The acute shortage of drinking water in Georgian villages was caused both by outdated water collection and distribution systems built predominantly in the 1950s and also a political situation on the newly established border. This situation was created in 2009 by soldiers of the Russian Federation, who closed the water pipes leading from resources on the Ossetian side to Georgian territory. A total of 10 Shida Kartly villages suddenly found themselves without water on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

Six new boreholes were drilled in the villages of Plavi, Plavismani, Tkviavi, Kere, Tirdznisi and Kirbali within the project. The borehole depth ranged from 100 m to 170m. Subsequently, a water management infrastructure project was prepared. To five of the total of six boreholes, new stainless steel drinking water tanks with a capacity of 20 m3 were built, connected to the borehole by a pipe. Floats were installed inside the tanks to automatically control the submersible pump operation. Hygienic protection zones have also been established. In the village of Kirbali, the borehole was connected to a local pumping station. From the reservoirs and the pumping station, the water is further distributed by the local water supply system to public water points or to individual households. 5 m steel poles of a low voltage power line with an electricity meters were also built at each site. The project was successfully completed in December 2010 and handed over to the beneficiary – the Georgian state organization United Water Supply Company of Georgia – which operates the whole system.