Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | augusT 2014 | 25 www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | augusT 2014 | 25 Photography: WaterAid/Behailu Shiferaw Health 44.5 million people in Ethiopia don't have access to safe water. That's almost half of the popula- tion. On average, 33,000 children under 5 die from diarrhoea caused by dirty water and poor sanitation each year. Cost There is no electricity in the area and the cost of buying and trans- porting diesel to power the water pumps was prohibitive. Beyond the initial investment needed to design and install the system, the solar power and grav- ity flow water system is low cost and easy to maintain. Without a regular supply of water, rural communities can't grow crops or feed the cattle they rely on for food and income. Climate The Konso region suffers from erratic rainfall: heavy rainfall in March to May is followed by a long dry season. Flooding during the wet season o en contaminates surface water sources like springs and streams. During the long dry season, water becomes scarce. • Drivers crisis faced by the Gellabo village. A simple but workable and sustainable system Working with a local partner, Ethio- pian Evangelical and Social Services Commission, and members of the community, WaterAid has designed and built a new water supply system. Water is taken uphill using a solar- powered pump and collected in a holding reservoir, before being piped to taps throughout the village via grav- ity flow. During a survey of the area, the project team identified a spring with enough flow to supply all the house- holds in the village. Water from the Tsebel spring was tested and once the quality was approved, the spring was capped and a 25cu m storage tank was built to collect the water, preventing contamination from flood water and cattle. With help from the community, 21 solar panels – 195 watts each – were fixed beside the water tank and a solar submersible pump was installed to pump the water 120 metres uphill to a reservoir at the small town of Turo. Overground pipes (common in rocky terrain like that found in the Konso region) were laid to pipe the water downhill to new taps in the village. Reflecting on the finished system, WaterAid Ethiopia project manager • Innovations Sustainable energy: solar power and gravity flow provide cost-effec- tive and reliable sources of power for water pumps. A more affordable and sustainable solution than the diesel powered pumps used previ- ously. Partnership working: working with local partners ensures that system design and technologies are suit- able for the local area and terrain, and locally-available materials are used where possible. Microenterprise training: including enterprise and plumbing training in the project plan ensures the com- munity can fund and maintain the system in the long-term. Micro-enterprise training ensures that the local community can maintain the sys- tem in the long term Twenty-one 195W solar panels were installed to power the system – a more affordable and more sustainable alterna- tive to diesel genera- tors

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