Monday, October 15, 2012

C  I  T  Y    O  F    A  T  L  A  N  T  A

Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell to welcome Government officials from the West African nation of Senegal

ATLANTA – Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell will welcome government officials from the West African nation of Senegal to Atlanta City Hall at 12 noon on Monday, October 15.

Monday’s stop at City Hall will be the first leg of their week-long visit.

The visiting officials are traveling to Atlanta as guest of KHAFRA Engineering, a local consulting firm with regional offices in Birmingham; Louisville; Charleston, S.C.; Chattanooga; Indianapolis; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; and Dallas.

Established in 1986, KHAFRA provides comprehensive engineering and architectural consulting services for municipal, industrial, environmental, federal, corporate and commercial clients.

During their visit the dignitaries will tour the Atlanta-Fulton County Water Treatment Plant, which has received national acclaim for public-private partnership, in addition to its state, regional and national acclaim for operations excellence. 

In November 1990, then Environmental Operating Services and KHAFRA Engineering, in a 50/50 joint venture, entered into a public-private partnership with the Atlanta-Fulton County Water Resources Commission (AFCWRC) to provide startup and operations assistance services at the Atlanta-Fulton County Water Treatment Plant. The raw-water pumping station, raw-water main and the treatment plant supply drinking water to more than 500,000 people in the Fulton County and northern Atlanta.

The nation of Senegal is looking abroad for ideas and assistance with major improvements to its water and sanitation infrastructure.

Today, water supply and sanitation in Senegal is characterized by a relatively high level of access compared to other Sub-Saharan African nations.

In 2004 76% of the population of Senegal had access to an improved water source (compared to an average of 56% for Sub-Saharan Africa) and 57% had access to adequate sanitation (compared to an average of 37% for Sub-Saharan Africa). Concerning water supply, there is a significant gap between urban areas (92%) access) and rural areas (60%). For sanitation, access rates display an even starker gap between urban (79%) and rural (34%) areas. In urban areas, 75% have access to water connections in their home or yard and another 17% rely on water kiosks and standpipes. Concerning sanitation, only 19% of the urban population are connected to sewers while another 60% are served by septic tanks or improved household-level latrines.

In addition to water infrastructure, the mayors will observe how city of Atlanta and Fulton County manages solid waste and recycling services as well as public housing.