Functioning boreholes – clean water, less boiling
Zambia Eastern Province Safe Water Project, Zambia
In Zambia’s Eastern Province, the project rehabilitates existing boreholes with hand pumps and keeps them operational over the long term through regular maintenance and repairs. This creates reliable access to clean water—not only on the day a borehole is fixed, but also afterwards.
For households, that means water comes from functioning boreholes, and it needs to be treated over an open fire far less often. This is where the climate benefit comes from: less boiling means less firewood—and therefore fewer emissions from combustion.
Emission reductions are captured through the Gold Standard process via monitoring (e.g., borehole functionality checks, usage/service evidence, water quality testing and on-site inspections) and are independently verified.
Technical project data – GS 7456
Key facts about the borehole project at a glance.
| Parameter | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Project location | Zambia, Eastern Province, mainly Lundazi District | Monitoring Report, Section A.2 |
| Project type | Rehabilitation & maintenance of boreholes/hand pumps (Safe Water Supply / Community Service Activity) to ensure access to drinking water and avoid boiling | Verification Report (2nd MP), Section 1.2 |
| Project standard | Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS4GG) | Verification Report (2nd MP), Section 1.3 |
| Methodology | Technologies and Practices to Displace Decentralized Thermal Energy Consumption (TPDDTEC), Version 1.0 – applied to safe-water interventions | Monitoring Report, Section A.3 |
| Project start | Start of project activities in the project area (rehabilitation/service) before or at the beginning of the respective monitoring periods | Monitoring Report, Section A.1 |
| Crediting period | Crediting starts for each borehole from the day after rehabilitation (the first day is conservatively not counted); emission reductions are reported per monitoring period | Monitoring Report, Section A.4 |
| Project status | Registered and verified Gold Standard project; actively reported | Verification Report (2nd MP), Section 3 |
| Type of technology | Non-electric water infrastructure: boreholes (wells) with hand pumps; operated under a maintenance/service concept | Monitoring Report, Section B.1 |
| Type of water points / pump types | Boreholes with hand pumps; water points are uniquely identifiable within the project (IDs/locations) | Monitoring Report, Section B.1 |
| Impact approach (Safe Water) | Avoided boiling of drinking water through reliable access to safe water; therefore lower fuel use and fewer combustion emissions | Monitoring Report, Section A.1 |
| Rehabilitated water points (total) | 50 boreholes rehabilitated (VPA scope) | Monitoring Report, Section B.1 |
| Functionality of water points (monitoring) | Operational status/functionality is tracked through follow-ups, maintenance and repairs; downtime is reflected in the crediting logic (e.g., non-crediting days) | Monitoring Report, Section C |
| Households/people served (monitoring) | Monitoring reports SDG indicators; example monitoring period: 2,025 additional people with access to safe water (VPA 190 / GS7456) | Verification Report (2nd MP), Section 3.1 |
| Water quality & compliance (monitoring) | Evidence of water-quality/compliance checks (WQ testing) to substantiate “safe water” | Verification Report (2nd MP), Section 5 (Document review / Supporting documents) |
| Annual emission reductions | Example monitoring period 16/08/2020 – 15/08/2021: 2,985 tCO₂e (VPA 190 / GS7456) | Verification Report (2nd MP), Section 3.1 |
| Main impact mechanism | Avoided boiling of drinking water → lower fuel consumption → fewer emissions; enabled by permanently functioning water points | Monitoring Report, Section A.1 |
| Monitoring & verification | Regular monitoring (incl. functionality checks/maintenance, usage tracking, water quality testing) and independent verification under the Gold Standard process | Monitoring Report, Section C + Verification Report (2nd MP), Section 5 |
| Carbon credit rating | No external project-specific carbon credit rating currently indicated | Gold Standard Registry (project page): no rating stated |
| Carbon credit rating type | No external rating methodology applied/communicated; assessment follows the Gold Standard rulebook | Gold Standard Registry (project page) |
| Article 6 authorisation (Paris Agreement) | No Article 6 authorisation indicated | Gold Standard Registry (project page) |
| CCP status (ICVCM) | No CCP classification at project level currently indicated | ICVCM/project information: not indicated |
| Approach to double counting risks | Clear allocation via the Gold Standard registry (serial numbers, issuance & retirement in the registry) | Gold Standard Rules / registry logic |
| Additionality | Project financing/scaling justified under Gold Standard additionality logic | Monitoring Report, Section A.1 |
| Long-term nature of emission reductions | Impact arises from multi-year availability of safe water (continuous operation through maintenance/service; ongoing use) | Monitoring Report, Section C |
| Permanence of climate impact | Usage-dependent emission avoidance (no physical permanence like removal/sink projects) | Typical for safe-water/avoidance projects (Gold Standard methodology) |
| Risk management & safeguards | Maintenance and repair concept, regular controls, conservative monitoring assumptions, independent verification; safeguards per GS | Monitoring Report, Section C + Verification Report (2nd MP), Section 1.3 |
| Social & environmental safeguards | Gold Standard safeguard system (social/environmental protections; stakeholder/grievance logic) | Gold Standard for the Global Goals / project documentation |
What the project can contribute
Here we summarize what the project is actually intended to achieve and which practical improvements it can enable.
- 1
Bringing boreholes back into operation – making water reliable
In Zambia’s Eastern Province, existing boreholes with hand pumps are repaired and brought back into use. The core idea is not “building new,” but making what already exists work again—so access to water does not depend on chance.
- 2
Less boiling – less firewood
When clean water is available from the borehole, households need to treat it over an open fire less often. This reduces demand for firewood/biomass—and therefore emissions from combustion.
- 3
Cutting distance and effort – making supply more predictable
A functioning borehole within reach saves walking time, effort and often costs. And if less boiling is needed, fuel-related effort drops as well. This eases daily life—especially in rural communities.
- 4
Securing impact – through maintenance and quick repairs
The project follows an operations approach: inspections, maintenance and repairs are built in. This keeps boreholes usable over the long term—so the impact lasts beyond the next breakdown.
- 5
Supporting health – with safe drinking water
Safe water reduces risks linked to contaminated sources. Where boiling becomes less frequent, indoor smoke exposure can also decrease. These are practical benefits that people feel directly.
Global climate relevance
Climate impact through essential health infrastructure—not “tech show”
Here, climate impact is a by-product of something fundamental: safe water. That makes the approach globally relevant because it improves basic services while reducing emissions—without requiring additional “high-tech” solutions.
Impact where emissions would otherwise remain invisible
Household-level emissions rarely appear as a distinct “sector,” yet they are real. This project targets exactly that gap: everyday routines around water treatment and fuel use—and makes this impact visible.
Multiple benefits instead of a single-purpose project
Safe-water projects deliver more than CO₂ impact. They improve water access, save time, and reduce day-to-day burdens for households. Globally, that matters because it shows climate action can stabilise living conditions—rather than only paying off “later.”
Designed to fit into programmes—not just stand-alone projects
The Zambia project is part of a broader Gold Standard programme (PoA/VPA). That matters globally because programmes create comparability and help structure implementation across multiple regions—instead of delivering only isolated, one-off interventions.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – The relevant and the complementary contributions
Beyond the reported greenhouse-gas reductions achieved by avoiding the boiling of drinking water, the project in Zambia’s Eastern Province strengthens essential everyday services in a very practical way: repaired boreholes, reliable access to clean water, and an approach that explicitly considers operation and maintenance. In doing so, the project supports several goals of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals). The most significant contributions are to SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Other goals are supported as complementary or indirect effects; some are considered marginal contributions.
The project rehabilitates boreholes with hand pumps and ensures the water points keep working over time through maintenance and repairs. This creates reliable access to safe drinking water in rural communities.
Contribution: Improved access to safe drinking water through functioning boreholes.When drinking water no longer needs to be boiled regularly, demand for firewood/biomass decreases—and so do emissions from combustion. Emission reductions are calculated, documented and verified under the Gold Standard framework.
Contribution: Measurable greenhouse-gas reductions through avoided fuel use for water treatment.Safe water reduces risks linked to contaminated sources. Where boiling becomes less frequent, indoor smoke exposure in households may also decrease.
Contribution: Indirect health benefits through access to safe water and potentially reduced indoor smoke.Water collection and water treatment often fall largely to women and girls. A functioning borehole within reach can reduce travel distances and time burdens and ease everyday routines.
Contribution: Potential reduction in time and travel burden (context-dependent, but typical for water projects).Avoided boiling means less fuel is used. This is not a direct intervention in consumption patterns, but it is a clear everyday efficiency gain.
Contribution: More resource-efficient use of biomass/fuels due to lower demand.If less firewood is needed, pressure on local wood resources may decrease. This remains supportive and is not a direct conservation mechanism of the project.
Contribution: Potentially reduced pressure on wood resources due to lower fuel demand.
How CO₂ Savings Are Generated
When clean water is available from functioning boreholes, a very practical step in everyday life changes: drinking water needs to be boiled less often. That is where the climate impact comes from. Less boiling means less firewood/biomass burned—and therefore fewer emissions from combustion.
The fuel savings are not a “feeling”; they can be derived transparently within the project context—and form the basis for issuing carbon credits.
In rural communities, water is often boiled whenever sources are unsafe or supply is unreliable. The project therefore addresses the root cause: it brings boreholes with hand pumps back into operation and ensures the water points remain stable through maintenance, inspections and repairs. The more reliable borehole access becomes, the less heating is needed at household level—and the lower fuel demand becomes.
For quantification, two situations are compared: Baseline: how much water would typically be boiled without the project (including the associated fuel use). Project scenario: how water treatment behaviour changes with reliable access to borehole water.
The difference results in the avoided fuel use and—using recognised emission factors—the avoided CO₂e emissions. Assumptions and results are reviewed and updated regularly. This is how the carbon credits are generated.
Context and Transparency
The project is registered under the Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS4GG). Reported emission reductions are based on verified monitoring data and an approved safe-water approach within the Gold Standard framework (TPDDTEC, applied to safe-water interventions). Impact is tracked through monitoring (e.g., borehole functionality, usage/service evidence, and water quality testing) and is independently verified under the standard.
Legally robust compensation
Compensation only works well today if it is verifiable—and if the communication does not become shaky later on. natureOffice supports companies in building solid emissions accounts and implementing compensation in a way that remains auditable and communication-proof.
This requires a robust data foundation first: we prepare Corporate Carbon Footprints (CCF) and Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) based on established standards—supporting reporting (e.g., VSME) and clear, traceable claims.
And for compensation, we focus on what ultimately matters: retirement in the registry, clean project documentation, a traceable methodology, and an evidence package that can be shared internally and externally with ease. Gold Standard projects like this borehole project in Zambia stand for exactly this proof logic: everyday impact—and a verification pathway that remains transparent.