On Tuesday, December 2nd, the Good Rade Hotel hosted the official closing workshop for the early warning and crisis management project. This workshop is part of the implementation of the Integrated Flood Management Project in Senegal (PGIIS) and the initiative to study and define early warning and crisis management measures.

The event brought together representatives from the Ministry of Water and Environment, the Directorate of Flood Prevention and Management (DPGI), the National Sanitation Office of Senegal (ONAS), technical and institutional partners, as well as financial partners, including the Green Climate Fund via the French Development Agency (AFD).

This project, called "study to define measures related to early warning and crisis management to ensure effective management of infrastructure during rainy weather", conducted by the BRL / ALTEREO / EDE group, whose main beneficiary is the National Sanitation Office of Senegal (ONAS), falls within the third component of the PGIIS, relating to the prevention of flood risk.

The overall objective is to strengthen the tools used to manage ONAS's stormwater drainage infrastructure, for the purposes of early warning and crisis management. These objectives include replacing the Geographic Information System (GIS) with a specialized sanitation GIS, replacing the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), strengthening the remote management system, implementing interfaces for integrating GIS, CMMS, and remote management systems, defining the framework for implementing an early warning system, defining maintenance and crisis management protocols, and training ONAS staff.

In his speech, the director of flood prevention and management, Madické Cissé, recalled that the Integrated Flood Management Project in Senegal (PGIIS) is an ambitious project which aims to reduce the vulnerability of populations and territories to floods.

He indicated that in-depth studies, including the mapping of flood zones and flood risks, have enabled Senegal to equip itself with state-of-the-art flood prevention and management tools.

According to him, the integration of flood risk prevention plans into urban planning documents is a key element in reducing flood risks and protecting populations.

He also stressed that collaboration with the Directorate General of Urban Planning and Architecture would make it possible to put in place regulations and building standards adapted to risk areas, including flood risk prevention plans (to define areas where construction is prohibited), hazard maps and zoning maps (to identify risk areas and define appropriate prevention measures), as well as collaboration with partners of the National Flood Management Committee (to ensure the effective implementation of these plans and regulations).

The Director General of the National Sanitation Office of Senegal (ONAS), Séni Diene, thanked the partners (AFD, DPGI, Ministry of Hydraulics) for their financial support, guidance and commitment to the realization of this project.

Tools like SICMECI and GMAO will allow ONAS to manage its stormwater drainage works more effectively and to deal with recurring flooding phenomena.