Written by Bethany Yaffe
Environmental Engineer
Well Water Global Board of Directors
Environmental Engineer
Well Water Global Board of Directors
Last week, we posted an article summarizing the struggles of the 2.2 billion people worldwide that do not have access to clean water. Sometimes, when we talk about numbers in the billions, it is hard to grasp what this really means. Here is a more tangible way to think about it: If you add together the populations of Africa, North America, and South America, that is roughly 2.2 billion people. These 2.2 billion people see increased infant mortality rates (roughly 1,000 children die per day due to water related issues), and diseases spread among children and adults that could be easily prevented with access to clean water.
At Well Water Global, we see the suffering that is caused by a lack of access to clean water and we are driven to help in any way we can. In order to effectively deal with water quality issues abroad, it is important to verify that whatever solution we implement is sustainable for the area and the people that will be using the source by asking questions that include:
We hear a lot about widespread droughts in the news and about the associated problems that come from a lack of water. However, in some areas, it isn’t the lack of water quantity that is an issue, but the lack of water quality. For example, the area surrounding Migori County in Southwestern Kenya—bordering Lake Victoria and running through the northern border of Tanzania—receives a good deal of rainfall, has a high groundwater table, and has a high number of artesian springs (groundwater that is forced to the surface and forms natural springs of flowing water). As such, this region does not have an issue with water quantity, but with water quality. The general population are mostly subsistence farmers (also characterized by high unemployment rates and low education rates). Due to the high groundwater table and the relative abundance of artesian springs, locals can hand dig shallow wells that provide water for both themselves and their domesticated farm animals such as cows, chickens, goats, and dogs. Despite the abundance of water, however, these wells are open to runoff from the surrounding area, and that runoff can carry animal feces, human feces from open defecation, dirt, bacteria, and other small organisms that can cause serious diarrheal diseases, blindness, and malnutrition. Since it's often the only water available, it still must be used not only for cleaning, laundry, and dishes, but also for cooking and drinking.
In areas like this—where clean water springs from the ground only to be contaminated by stormwater runoff—a sustainable solution for the local people are spring protection boxes (see GIF above). Groundwater tends to be clean, as it runs through a natural filter of sand and rock where many contaminants are removed. Spring protection boxes are constructed by sealing the natural springs with concrete and inserting an outflow pipe. The pressure in the artesian well forces water to flow continuously out of the pipe, giving people access to clean water that flows freely (see example diagram at right).
In an effort to provide the largest possible benefit to the population living in Migori County and northwest Tanzania, Well Water Global and our partners are building spring protection boxes in high traffic areas or where other water sources are scarce, allowing access to clean water for many people (most of our wells service between 200-500 people per day, as well as the animals owned by the people that visit the spring). Prior to the locations being chosen, the springs are tested for water quality and flow. The only springs that are eligible for a spring protection box are those that flow all year and have good water quality.
This Summer, Well Water Global built two spring protection boxes, one in Kenya and the second in Tanzania. The Kenyan spring protection box was built at a girls' boarding school with around 500 pupils. Previously, the unprotected spring was used for all the water use at the school (drinking, cooking, laundry, etc.), and it was heavily contaminated. The second was built in a rural farming community in Tanzania that lacks even a central village. In this area, people would walk multiple hours each way to collect water from a dirty hand-dug spring that was roughly the size of a large hula-hoop.
These are just two recent examples of the projects that Well Water Global has completed for those that would otherwise be drinking contaminated water.
At Well Water Global, we see the suffering that is caused by a lack of access to clean water and we are driven to help in any way we can. In order to effectively deal with water quality issues abroad, it is important to verify that whatever solution we implement is sustainable for the area and the people that will be using the source by asking questions that include:
- how is water currently being collected (what water sources are being used, how far those sources are from users)
- what is causing the water contamination, and
- what type of project can be implemented and maintained locally?
We hear a lot about widespread droughts in the news and about the associated problems that come from a lack of water. However, in some areas, it isn’t the lack of water quantity that is an issue, but the lack of water quality. For example, the area surrounding Migori County in Southwestern Kenya—bordering Lake Victoria and running through the northern border of Tanzania—receives a good deal of rainfall, has a high groundwater table, and has a high number of artesian springs (groundwater that is forced to the surface and forms natural springs of flowing water). As such, this region does not have an issue with water quantity, but with water quality. The general population are mostly subsistence farmers (also characterized by high unemployment rates and low education rates). Due to the high groundwater table and the relative abundance of artesian springs, locals can hand dig shallow wells that provide water for both themselves and their domesticated farm animals such as cows, chickens, goats, and dogs. Despite the abundance of water, however, these wells are open to runoff from the surrounding area, and that runoff can carry animal feces, human feces from open defecation, dirt, bacteria, and other small organisms that can cause serious diarrheal diseases, blindness, and malnutrition. Since it's often the only water available, it still must be used not only for cleaning, laundry, and dishes, but also for cooking and drinking.
In areas like this—where clean water springs from the ground only to be contaminated by stormwater runoff—a sustainable solution for the local people are spring protection boxes (see GIF above). Groundwater tends to be clean, as it runs through a natural filter of sand and rock where many contaminants are removed. Spring protection boxes are constructed by sealing the natural springs with concrete and inserting an outflow pipe. The pressure in the artesian well forces water to flow continuously out of the pipe, giving people access to clean water that flows freely (see example diagram at right).
In an effort to provide the largest possible benefit to the population living in Migori County and northwest Tanzania, Well Water Global and our partners are building spring protection boxes in high traffic areas or where other water sources are scarce, allowing access to clean water for many people (most of our wells service between 200-500 people per day, as well as the animals owned by the people that visit the spring). Prior to the locations being chosen, the springs are tested for water quality and flow. The only springs that are eligible for a spring protection box are those that flow all year and have good water quality.
This Summer, Well Water Global built two spring protection boxes, one in Kenya and the second in Tanzania. The Kenyan spring protection box was built at a girls' boarding school with around 500 pupils. Previously, the unprotected spring was used for all the water use at the school (drinking, cooking, laundry, etc.), and it was heavily contaminated. The second was built in a rural farming community in Tanzania that lacks even a central village. In this area, people would walk multiple hours each way to collect water from a dirty hand-dug spring that was roughly the size of a large hula-hoop.
These are just two recent examples of the projects that Well Water Global has completed for those that would otherwise be drinking contaminated water.
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