NDMA and Partners Demolished Illegal Structures Threatening Freetown’s Water Supply

NDMA and partner agencies carried out a demolition on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, to remove illegal structures over a main water pipeline at Mambo Old Road, which had disrupted Freetown’s water supply.

The demolition targeted a two-storey building, two single-storey buildings, and several makeshift structures that were illegally constructed directly on top of the main pipeline. These structures caused significant damage to the pipeline, resulting in the loss of millions of litres of treated water and leading to acute water shortages across Freetown over the past three weeks.

The intervention followed an inter-agency meeting held yesterday at the NDMA Headquarters, during which GVWC delivered a PowerPoint presentation outlining the findings of its technical assessment. The assessment revealed that the damage to the pipeline was directly linked to illegal constructions over the main pipeline, which compromised the structural integrity of the infrastructure.