Rainwater Catchment
For a rainwater collection system, we build gutters around a building with good, clean roofing to channel rain where we want it. From there, the water falls through a filtered inlet pipe into a high-capacity storage tank, the size of which is based on population and average rainfall patterns. In the tank, water can be stored for months, where it is easily treated and accessed. Learn more here!
Sand Dam
Sand dams are huge, impressive structures built into the riverbeds of seasonal rivers (rivers that disappear every year during dry seasons). Instead of holding back a reservoir of water like a traditional dam would, sand dams accumulate a reservoir of silt and sand. Once the rain comes, the sand will capture 1-3% of the river’s flow, allowing most of the water to pass over. Then, we construct shallow wells on the riverbank to provide water even when the river has dried up, thanks to new groundwater reserves. Learn more here!
Protected Spring
Springs are water sources that come from deep underground, where the water is filtered through natural layers until it is clean enough to drink. Once the water pushes through the surface of the Earth, however, outside elements like waste and runoff can contaminate the water quickly. We protect spring sources from contamination with a simple waterproof cement structure surrounding layers of clay, stone, and soil. This construction channels the spring’s water through a discharge pipe, making water collection easier, faster, and cleaner. Each spring protection also includes a chlorine dispenser at the waterpoint so community members can be assured that the water they are drinking is entirely safe. Learn more here!
Hygiene and Sanitation Training
For many communities, water is just the beginning. Living without water deprioritizes things that deplete water rations, like bathing, cleaning, and even handwashing. Also, in some cases, community members who couldn’t afford to go to school never learned topics usually covered in health classes. A steady water supply on its own won’t solve these issues, which is why we train the people in every community, school, and health center we provide with a water project.
Although we tailor the subjects we cover in each training to each region and community, there are some staples we always touch on: water handling and storage; personal and environmental hygiene; disease transmission; how to form and maintain a water user committee; and the operation/maintenance of the community’s new water project.
With each training, our goal is to empower communities to take back their personal health so growth and development can begin.
Borehole Well and Hand Pump
Abundant water is often right under our feet! Beneath the Earth’s surface, rivers called aquifers flow through layers of sediment and rock, providing a constant supply of safe water. For borehole wells, we drill deep into the earth, allowing us to access this water which is naturally filtered and protected from sources of contamination at the surface level. First, we decide where to drill by surveying the area and determining where aquifers are likely to sit. To reach the underground water, our drill rigs plunge through meters (sometimes even hundreds of meters!) of soil, silt, rock, and more. Once the drill finds water, we build a well platform and attach a hand pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around five gallons of water per minute! Learn more here!
It's hard to believe that more often than not, the clean water a developing community desperately needs is right underneath them. And it's amazing how a relativly small investment to get to it can make such a dramatic difference in so many lives. That's why we fund these well projects.
The simplest wells have traditionally been hand dug. That's right...by hand. They can be fifty or more feet deep and are used when ground water is generally abundant. These wells are extremely dangerous to build and
have cost many lives of unskilled laborers. They are also often left uncovered and easily contaminated. They aren't always an ideal solution, but when properly dug they can be made more effective with a good pump, tight concrete sealing pad, and regular maintinance.
We've been working with local teams for years, helping develop proper drilling technique, consistent supply chain, and safe water practices to ensure that our shallow-rig water projects are installed with excellence.
Generally, shallow depth drill rigs can reach about 150-200 feet deep. These rigs can be very cost effective and in some regions do a good job. They can be moved with ease and allow work to happen quickly.
In Central Kenya, just one example of how different geography can dramatically change the game, some wells must be over 900 feet deep. This introduces all kinds of challenge and expense.
Then, because the water is so deep, a motorized pump must be installed. The water is simply
too heavy to lift from that depth with a hand pump. Diesel or solar generators, electric pumps, piping, storage tanks and housing for it all can drive the cost up to $40,000 or more. But, since these very large systems
serve so many people, they are still quite cost effective.
In all cases, we work to ensure that the local community is actually invested in the project. One of the best ways we've seen that happen is to require the villages to arrange and pay for the initial geological survey work to be done or to collect locally available materials during construction. That usually costs a few hundred US dollars and requires the community to mobilize and organize around the project. The labor they provide is worth even more, often worth thousands. In the long run, this initial commitment to the project means it will be valued and cared for by the community. It's can prove an essential step.
