Senegal/Linguère: a new borehole puts an end to ten years of drinking water shortages in Mboula

The commune of Mboula, in the Yang-Yang district of Linguère, inaugurated a new borehole on Thursday, putting an end to a decade of difficulties in accessing drinking water.

The ceremony was attended by the General Manager of the Office des forages ruraux (OFOR), Serigne Mbacké Dieng, and the General Manager of the Sénégalaise des eaux rurales (SDER), Mouhamadou Lamine Diakhaté.

"We've come to inaugurate the commissioning of the water supply system for the commune of Mboula. The old borehole had been out of service for several months, due to salinization of the water table. People no longer had access to drinking water", explained Mr. Diakhaté.

Carried out jointly by OFOR and SDER, the project is part of a reform to professionalize the public water service in rural areas, with the aim of managing water infrastructures more efficiently and sustainably.

"Recurrent problems in the management of hydraulic structures have seriously affected access to drinking water in rural areas. The situation is similar in almost all the communes of the Linguère department", emphasized SDER's General Manager.

Serigne Mbacké Dieng, Director of OFOR, pointed out that of the eighteen boreholes that have broken down in the region since April 2025, thirteen have already been brought back into service.

"In Linguère, "30% of the boreholes have been in service for over thirty years", he recalled.

He also recalled the signing of two ten-year leasing contracts between the State, SDER and OFOR, to ensure sustainable management of the water service in the Saint-Louis, Louga and Matam regions.

The aim of this reform is to guarantee territorial equity in access to water, in line with the objectives of food sovereignty, as set out in the 2050 agenda," he said.

On the occasion of the inauguration, generators were handed over to the villages of Médina Alpha, Klif Dek 1 and Klif Dek 2, located in the commune of Mboula. A visit was also made to the Somme borehole in the neighboring commune of Ouarkhokh.

Relieved locals welcomed the new borehole's commissioning.

"The water from the previous borehole was salty and unfit for consumption. For almost ten years, we had to travel several kilometers to Mboynane or Mbeuleukhé to get access to drinking water. This new borehole marks the end of our ordeal", testified Ngagne Demba Niang, village chief, and Mamadou Mbengue, spokesman for the inhabitants.

The villagers did, however, express a number of grievances, calling for the construction of new boreholes, water towers and distribution networks in localities not yet connected to the Yang-Yang water perimeter.

Source: aps.sn/