Community based clean water system that can serve 5000 people

The lack of clean drinking water for one billion people around the world, from an engineering perspective, is one of the most baffling problems on the planet.  Consider the vast number of water sanitation organizations and the fact that we’ve known how to effectively sanitize our drinking water for centuries.  Yet somehow diarrheal disease (caused from drinking unsafe water) remains a top killer of children around the world.  In some cases, a simple low-cost filter is all that is necessary to save a life.

Of course, the problem of clean water is not that cut and dry.  Most organizations that ask us about water technologies are not sure what they are looking for, they just know that it’s a problem they should be addressing.  If this is you, we’ve put together a Water Assessment workshop with overall guidelines on the steps you would take to gather the information you need to select a sanitation technology.  In addition to that, here’s the top five things to consider if you’re contemplating a clean water program:

1.  Know what you’re fighting.

There are three main types of water contaminants and no single technology is effective against all of them.  Start by figuring out what is contaminating the water.  To do this, you may need a local university lab on your side to help with the analysis.  Or, you might check to see if a local organization has already conducted water tests in your region.

2.  One more time:  no single technology is effective against all water contaminants.

Checking Manna's gravel-sand water filtration system.

The danger happens when you assume an expensive carbon filter will solve all of your problems in every community you enter.  You may need to combine a natural, low-tech filter (sand) with a higher-tech ultraviolet radiation.  (Check out Manna Energy’s system in Kigali, Rwanda).

3.  Understand how water is used.

And understand that simply surveying the community won’t get you the answer you need.  Spend time observing how people use water.  Observe if they treat drinking water differently than clothes-washing water.  Is water ever reused?  Are there differences in water collection points?  Understanding usage patterns and user values will help you understand where and how clean water needs to enter the picture.

4. Be conscientious about the choice between community-based water systems versus water systems for individual families.

Both have their positives and negatives.  The main drivers: cost, maintenance (who will fix a broken system if no one technically owns it?), and access.

5.  Clean water is pointless without sanitation.

If we pour clean water into a dirty cup, our efforts are for naught.  Clean water programs need to be coupled with sanitation training.  They both need the other to be truly effective.  This is oftentimes a point of failure for water programs – both sanitation and clean water treatment require some semblance of education and behavioral change.  Always a challenge.

It goes without saying that if there were to be a #6, it would be this:  do not reinvent the wheel!  As mentioned in the opening paragraph, countless water organizations and technologies exist.  Leverage and adapt them.