Sustainable Dala Myanmar

The goal of this project is to develop a design for Dala's water system that deals with challenges of the township in a sustainable way. Dala is a township of Yangon, Myanmar's economic centre. It is located directly South of the central business district (CBD), across the Yangon river. The area is now largely underdeveloped, but in 2021 it will be directly connected to Yangon's CBD by a bridge, after which rapid urbanization and growth is expected. Current water infrastructure is already lacking heavily, making the need for a full new system even more imminent for the future.

In an 8 week field research period, a full design cycle was conducted with input from several local experts and stakeholders. The final advice is to implement a new system focused on rainwater harvesting, large-scale storage in reservoirs and a dual reticulation system for water supply to the consumer. Other water infrastructure, such as drainage, sewage and treatment is designed to fit these focal points.

This system is more sustainable than commonly used methods, as the resource is not impacted and energy is saved on treatment and transport. Furthermore, it caters for all expected water needs in 2040, making Dala fully self sufficient in closing the water circle.