Villagers collect water from a delivery point in Rier village, Koch County, Unity State, South Sudan, on June 3, 2025, serviced weekly by trucks operated by SPOC, the local company managing nearby oil fields. Residents say the deliveries are insufficient to meet demand, forcing many families to rely on nearby ponds and canals for drinking and household use; laboratory tests conducted by Cropnuts, a certified water testing company in Kenya, found elevated levels of aluminum, potassium, sodium, and traces of lead in samples collected from those sources.

Marshes and floodplains of the Sudd wetlands surround Koch County, as seen from a flight approaching the area on June 2, 2025. The wetlands help stabilize water flow to the White Nile and naturally filter pollutants and sediments, playing a critical role in regional water quality in an area where oil production continues.

Nyachianya Duoth holds her son Kai inside their home in Mirmir village on June 7, 2025. Kai, now five years old, was born without eyes and has severe developmental impairments. During her pregnancy, Nyachianya collected water from nearby streams close to oil facilities, where she said an oily residue often coated the surface. After Kai’s birth, doctors told her his condition could be linked to environmental exposure. Caring for him requires constant attention in a village with limited medical support.

Women walk past a destroyed tank, a lingering remnant of South Sudan’s civil war between 2013 and 2020, along the road connecting Koch town and Rier village on June 3, 2025. The conflict damaged infrastructure and weakened oversight in oil-producing regions, leaving communities with limited access to clean water, healthcare, and environmental protection. Residents say the legacy of war continues to shape daily life, compounding the effects of pollution and poverty.

A pit near the oil facility in Koch County stores wastewater - which contains substances like arsenic, radium, salts and other chemical additives - that results from oil production, on June 3, 2025. In the dry season, this wastewater can seep into the soil, helped along by impoverished locals who steal the protective lining designed to prevent leaks and use it for roofing on their homes. During the rainy season, the wastewater can overflow from the pits, contaminating nearby streams, ponds, canals and floodplains.

Nyakuoth Wuor, 25, sits on a bed at Koch County Hospital in Koch County, Unity State, South Sudan, on June 6, 2025. Wuor, nine months pregnant and bleeding for more than a week, walked roughly two hours from her village of Bienen to reach the hospital. Residents and health workers say miscarriages and pregnancy complications are common in the area.

Nyaruach Puok, 32, holds up her son's seven-fingered hand in Koch town on June 6, 2025. Padang Diang, 16 months old, was born with two extra fingers, and is prone to sickness like vomiting and diarrhea. Nyaruach has four other children that are healthy. She recounts that when she was pregnant with Padang, she would often feel sick. "This has happened because people are drinking water from rivers and there are no boreholes," she said. "Because we are near the oil company and when it floods the water from the oil company mixes with the surface water and contaminates the water." Nyaruach and her family live about 5 km from the oil production facility.

Sarah Nyaluak, 27, collects water from a pond near her home in Rier village, Koch County, Unity State, South Sudan, on June 3, 2025. Nyaluak said wastewater from nearby oil production pits contaminates local water sources during seasonal rains and that weekly water deliveries by SPOC are insufficient. After giving birth in 2021 to a child with severe heart and breathing complications who later died, her husband—who works for SPOC at a facility that stores chemicals and monitors leaks—reported the case to company officials but received no assistance. Nyaluak said she continues to rely on the pond because she has no alternative source of water.

A padlocked health center stands closed during the workday in Rier village, Koch County, Unity State, South Sudan, on June 3, 2025. Local health officials said the facility closed because of shortages of funding, staff, and medicine.

Gawar Matiek, 19, sits on the floor of his home as his sister Nyahok Luong, 28, prepares food in Rier village, Koch County, Unity State, South Sudan, on June 3, 2025. Luong said Matiek lost the ability to speak and his hearing deteriorated after drinking from a pond near an oil facility when he was a child. She said the family reported the case to officials at the SPOC facility but received no assistance and were forced to sell cattle to pay for medical care.

Youth wade through floodwater along a pathway in Koch town, Koch County, Unity State, South Sudan, on June 8, 2025. Residents say that wastewater generated during oil extraction has been contaminating the floodplains, particularly during the rainy season, when the wastewater can overflow from the pits in which it is stored.