In a world where the climate crisis and water scarcity simultaneously threaten human security and economic stability, southern Madagascar stands as an extreme reflection of a global challenge. The Androy region, battered by relentless desertification and rainfall that has dropped 40% below historical averages, faces a silent humanitarian emergency: millions of liters of water are lost each year through evaporation or saline contamination, while entire communities walk kilometers to obtain an increasingly scarce resource. In this context, the intervention in Ambovombe, linked to the Mandrare River basin, represents a bold and visionary response: transforming brackish water into mineralized and safe drinking water through SWEETSEA technology based on modified reverse osmosis and selective nanofiltration, powered by solar energy.
The target market exhibits a structural deficit in WASH services and reliable water supply, where dependence on brackish wells, tanker trucks, and diesel makes the cost per cubic meter high and limits service continuity. Each 6,000 liters produced daily is enough to meet the basic hydration and cooking needs of over 2,000 people, equating to 2,160 m³ per year, or 21.6 million liters over ten years. The project’s strategic objective is twofold: to ensure availability and quality under potability standards, and to reduce operational and financial vulnerability through photovoltaic energy and standardized operation and maintenance protocols that stabilize costs and maximize resilience. The project is located in Ambovombe‑Androy, Madagascar, implemented at the existing desalination plant with a community influence area connected to the Mandrare basin.
Its raison d’être is clear: to address chronic water scarcity that compromises public health and food security, replacing an intermittent and costly model with a stable, mineralized, and traceable water supply. The actors involved are clear and complementary: Fraternité Sans/Without Frontiers (community operation and social management), SWEETSEA/Acquapura (technology, integration, and technical support), and independent external verifiers to ensure methodological integrity and transparent communication of results. The initiative is directly aligned with the Water Positive agenda, generating additional and verifiable volumetric benefits, under the VWBA 2.0 framework, based on the principles of additionality (new and/or improved volume compared to baseline), traceability (continuous flow and quality measurement), and intentionality (explicit design to close WASH and water quality gaps). In sum, this is not just water production: it changes the community’s risk trajectory, lowers the social cost of scarcity, and creates a measurable water asset that invites investors and partners to join a necessary and achievable transformation.
The project emerges as a technical and strategic opportunity to transform water management in areas of high hydric vulnerability. In Ambovombe-Androy, within the Mandrare River basin, the overexploitation of brackish wells, low performance of conventional systems, and chronic lack of hydraulic infrastructure have created costly dependence on water transport and significant inefficiencies. SWEETSEA technology, based on modified reverse osmosis and selective nanofiltration, provides a comprehensive solution: it desalinates brackish water, mineralizes it for human consumption, and distributes it through clean solar energy, eliminating diesel dependence and reducing emissions.
The technical opportunity lies in modernizing the existing plant with this advanced technology, increasing energy efficiency, ensuring digital traceability, and improving resilience to extreme climatic events. Producing 6,000 liters per day (≈2,160 m³/year), the transformed volume provides safe water equivalent to the daily basic consumption of more than 2,000 people, translating into over 21 million liters regenerated in ten years. Direct benefits include reduced carbon emissions through diesel replacement, water resource regeneration, elimination of conditioning chemicals, and strengthened local sanitary security.
The initiative is made possible through the collaboration between SWEETSEA/Acquapura as technology developer, Fraternité Sans/Without Frontiers (FSF) as community operator, and independent external verifiers ensuring VWBA 2.0 compliance. This model is replicable because it combines modular infrastructure, renewable energy, and participatory governance adaptable to other rural or semi-arid communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. Acting now is crucial: each year of delay entails higher health costs, productivity losses, and aquifer degradation, so immediate implementation yields tangible and measurable health, environmental, and social benefits.
Companies with ambitious sustainability and ESG goals, especially in the energy, food, logistics, or consumer sectors, can lead this solution, positioning themselves as strategic actors in the transition to a Water Positive economy. By investing or partnering in this model, they gain reputational return and regulatory compliance, strengthen their competitive differentiation, and align with emerging sustainability reporting regulations (CSRD, GRI 13) that require traceable and verifiable results in water management.
The proposed technical solution is based on a hybrid system combining gray infrastructure and renewable support, integrating a brackish water desalination module using modified reverse osmosis and selective nanofiltration, powered by photovoltaic energy. This process ensures a stable flow of 6,000 liters per day (2,160 m³/year), delivering mineralized water suitable for human consumption in areas of high salinity and structural scarcity. After evaluating alternatives, including conventional osmosis systems, water transport via tankers, and atmospheric capture solutions, SWEETSEA was selected for its energy performance, modularity, and capacity to integrate digital traceability in line with VWBA 2.0. The system is classified as gray infrastructure with a digital component, designed to record every cubic meter generated and verify real volumetric benefits.
Implementation unfolds in four stages: baseline and diagnostic assessment, technological installation and integration, continuous operation and monitoring, and validation and communication of benefits. The first phase analyzes raw water quality, hydrogeological conditions, and social acceptance, establishing the project’s baseline. The second installs the SWEETSEA modules and solar plant, configuring autonomous operation. The third involves operational monitoring through sensors, laboratory sampling, and quarterly reporting, consolidating flow and quality data for water benefit certification. The final phase incorporates external validation and public disclosure of impact according to VWBA 2.0 protocols.
Key operational risks include membrane fouling, feed flow variability, and potential energy failures. Environmentally, the main challenges are brine management, safe waste disposal, and hydrological variability linked to climate change. Social acceptance and community governance are also critical sustainability factors. Mitigation measures include preventive and corrective maintenance routines, backup energy plans with batteries and auxiliary generators, in-situ cleaning protocols (CIP), sealed brine drainage systems, and local water management committees ensuring equity and participation. Long-term resilience is guaranteed through conservative design, modular flexibility, continuous monitoring of climatic indicators, and integrated contingency plans.
This solution addresses the technical and health deficits in Ambovombe by providing a constant supply of safe water, eliminating diesel dependence, and lowering the supply’s environmental footprint. It was selected for its efficiency, low operating cost, replicability, and compliance with international water quality and clean energy standards. Linked to the Water Positive strategy, it meets the principles of additionality (new volume available versus baseline), traceability (continuous digital recording), and intentionality (explicit purpose to reduce WASH and health risk gaps).
Quantifiable benefits include the annual production of 2,160 m³ of safe water, equivalent to 21.6 million liters over ten years, a reduction of 1.4 tons of CO₂ per year through diesel substitution, and elimination of conditioning chemicals, with proven improvements in quality parameters (conductivity, hardness, chlorides). Environmentally, it reduces pressure on brackish aquifers and promotes circular water management. Socially, it improves public health, saves household time and resources, and creates local employment for operation and maintenance. Economically, the system stabilizes costs, enhances reputation, and facilitates ESG and Water Positive certifications.
Model scalability is ensured through modular design and community-based operation. It can be replicated in other arid or semi-arid regions of Southern Africa, Latin America, or Southeast Asia where water deficit and quality issues persist. It requires minimal solar radiation, a brackish water well, and a community management structure. Its cost-benefit ratio makes it competitive with transport or atmospheric capture alternatives. Public-private partnerships, NGO support, and international verification backing enable its expansion and position the project as a replicable model for regenerative water economies.
The implementation approach follows a phased and adaptive framework, allowing operational decisions to adjust to local conditions. The first phase carries out a comprehensive diagnostic, including hydrological baseline assessment, quality and flow measurements, hydrogeological analysis, social characterization, and community engagement. This phase lasts approximately three months and establishes reference values for quantity, quality, and accessibility before the project.
The second phase includes the detailed design and installation of the system, incorporating the SWEETSEA module, photovoltaic field, modified reverse osmosis and nanofiltration train, and remineralization and storage systems. During this stage, lasting about four months, operational controls are configured, flowmeters and quality sensors are calibrated, and the digital traceability platform (SCADA and IoT) is deployed. The third phase begins with commissioning and performance validation, verifying the nominal capacity of 6,000 L/day and water quality parameters according to WHO standards. This stage includes a two-month observation period to fine-tune pressure, flow, and chemical parameters.
Continuous operation forms the fourth phase, under VWBA Steps 4–5 protocols. Routine monitoring is conducted via pressure, conductivity, and flow sensors, with monthly laboratory testing to verify DBO, SST, chlorides, and coliforms. Key performance indicators (KPIs) include energy efficiency (kWh/m³), treated water quality, service continuity, and system availability. Data are automatically stored on the digital platform and compared with baseline figures to calculate net benefits (with vs. without project). Automatic alarms trigger for flow or quality deviations, and quarterly reports are externally audited.
System control and traceability are ensured through an integrated physical-digital scheme. Physically, each intake, treatment, and distribution point is georeferenced; digitally, data are managed in a secure cloud-backed SCADA platform. In case of anomalies, the system sends instant alerts to the local operator and central technical team. External validation includes annual performance audits and verification of flow, quality, and maintenance by an independent third party.
Project governance involves SWEETSEA/Acquapura as technical lead, Fraternité Sans/Without Frontiers as direct operator, and community committees ensuring equitable water use. The regulatory authority (ANDEA) oversees permitting and compliance. Responsibilities are divided by function: FSF operates and maintains the plant, SWEETSEA supervises performance and updates technology, and the external verifier audits results and issues VWBA certificates. The maintenance plan combines preventive (membrane cleaning, filter replacement, calibrations), predictive (monitoring differential pressure and energy efficiency), and corrective (repairs or replacement of critical components) routines, with detailed digital logs.
Monitoring and continuous improvement represent the final phase (VWBA Step 6). A monitoring and reporting system compatible with VWBA/WQBA quantifies regenerated m³, contaminants removed, and energy efficiency achieved. With- and without-project scenarios are compared annually to validate net benefits, and data feed ongoing learning processes. Each technological upgrade, flow change, or operational adjustment is recorded in real time, ensuring long-term permanence and replicability of impact. The entire process operates under principles of continuous improvement, shared governance, and external validation, consolidating a technically and socially sustainable model.
The technical intervention consists of a comprehensive modernization of an existing desalination plant through integration of the SWEETSEA module, an advanced system combining modified reverse osmosis and selective nanofiltration, supplemented by controlled remineralization and photovoltaic energy. The process follows precise stages: brackish water intake, physicochemical pretreatment, desalination via high-efficiency membranes, controlled remineralization to restore essential trace elements, and storage in pressurized, hygienically controlled tanks. The operation incorporates real-time digital monitoring using IoT sensors for flow, conductivity, pressure, and temperature, ensuring water quality at each stage. It complies with international standards from the World Health Organization (WHO) for potable water, ISO 24510 for water service management, and Madagascar’s national water quality and safety regulations.
This solution addresses the region’s structural problem of extreme water scarcity and brackish aquifer overexploitation. Compared to the baseline scenario, where communities relied on contaminated wells or distant tanker deliveries, the system provides a local, stable, and sustainable supply. It is a fitting response to a context marked by prolonged droughts, environmental degradation, and lack of infrastructure, as it enables autonomous, clean potable water generation, reducing pressure on natural resources and improving living conditions. The solution not only resolves the water deficit but also introduces a renewable, traceable energy model that decreases social and economic vulnerability.
Expected results include a significant increase in annual water availability, ensuring continuous supply for thousands of residents. Water quality improves substantially, removing salts, metals, and biological contaminants, with notable reductions in critical parameters such as conductivity, chlorides, DBO, and coliforms. Direct emission reductions are anticipated from lower diesel transport and pumping, alongside public health, food security, and social well-being benefits. The project adds strategic value by aligning with the Water Positive roadmap and VWBA 2.0 principles, generating measurable, auditable benefits that strengthen social license to operate, regulatory compliance, and ESG reputation. Its contribution aligns with international frameworks such as Science Based Targets for Water, the NPWI initiative, and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDGs 6, 13, and 17.
Thanks to its modular design and capacity to operate in isolated environments, the model is fully replicable. It can be applied in other semi-arid basins or sectors such as agriculture, tourism, or industrial communities, wherever adequate solar radiation and brackish water wells exist. Scalability is ensured by its compact architecture, ease of installation, and local operator training, supported by partnerships among technology companies, local governments, and community organizations. Its final impact transcends water supply: it contributes to the basin’s water balance, reinforces climate resilience, promotes employment and social cohesion, and symbolizes a new paradigm in regenerative water management.
