Water Pollution and It’s Consequences
Different reports of some UN agencies warn on increasing scarcity of water per capita in many parts of the developing countries. This crises is happening due to population growth which has the highest rate in those countries, as well as the absence of proper sanitation systems and infrastructures. Than, there are also changes in climate, and the pollution factor that brought us were we are now.
As far as water quality, the poor are still under the strongest attack: 50% of the population in developing countries are exposed to polluted water sources. Asia has the most contaminated rivers in the world, that have three times more bacteria than average human waste. Moreover, these rivers also have larger amount of heavy metals than rivers in industrialized countries.
Urban areas without proper infrastructures for water and sanitation are the most dangerous environment for human survival in these countries. According to the survey covering 116 cities, urban areas in Africa are in the worst position, where only 18% of households are connected to savage systems. In Asia that number is 40%, witch is still alarming figure.
Naturally, poor people in these cities are the first victims of diseases related to absence of infrastructure and sewage systems, floods and decontaminated water. As a result, we have a typical example of this issue- Malaria, which is today one of the major causes of illness and death in many urban areas in Africa. Another example in South Asia is this disease transmitter- mosquito Anopheles Stephensi, that adapted its reproductive cycle for many water conditions there.
These facts tell us, how important are the sanitation conditions and proper waste management today. One liter of waste water is polluting 7 liters of fresh water, and the amount of waste water in the world is high above reasonable levels (12,000 km3).
There are several reasons why cities and urban areas should have higher priority from rural parts when it comes to water supply and protection of natural sources. First of all, unit cost of infrastructure in urban areas are lower due to smaller distances and a large number of users. Second, most cities have a better economic base, that provides greater opportunities for the special funds for infrastructure development. Third, in urban areas are concentrated not only the people and industries, but also waste.
Nowadays, the industry takes 22% of the total water consumption (59% is in developed, and 8% in developing countries). This percentage will rise up to 24% in 2025. Each year 300-500 million tons of heavy metals, toxic and other dangerous substances from industrial plants go into water catchments and rivers. More than 80% of hazardous waste in the world is produced in the US and other industrialized countries.
So as we see, the developed countries also have to make smart actions in future to protect water sources and their pollution. In near future water crisis will be felt in all countries around the world with consequences on the health of children, and the opportunity to secure food supplies for everyone. The precise predictions depend on factors such as population growth and political measures, while climate change will be responsible for 20% increase in the level of global water scarcity.
The crisis has occurred because there is no political commitment or adequate measures for prevention of current trends, despite the countless evidences of deterioration in everyday situations. Although many goals and objectives were set in the past years for fresh water supply, sanitation and waste control, practically non of them were achieved so far.
We hope that all the governments will put this on their list of priorities, before its to late to react.
Danijela Lazendic
Earthquake/ Tsunami in Japan
The need for clean water after such a disaster is immediate and it will be months before all infrastructure will be returned to normal. The need for bottled/ processed water is important as well as filtration systems. Bottled water is usually the first response and soon after filtration systems.
I would ask that should you have any interest in donation to directly help the crisis in Japan, we will run a campaign for the next two weeks and at that point we will see how best to invest the funds. Important is to recognize the need for speed.
If you are from the USA and have any interest in contributing to the Japanese relief efforts, please click on this link and make a simple comment “For Japan Relief” and we will report on the response as well as our decision how best to invest the funds.
Global H2O Deutschland e.V.
Konto-Nr.: 1001610631
Stadtsparkasse München
BLZ: 70150000
or by clicking here to donate
Please also make sure to make comment “For Japan Relief”
For international donors (outside the USA), you may also contribute through any of the above links.
We are doing our best to react in the best possible way.
Many thanks for your support!
Jamie
Uganda Well Projects Update #4
Friends,
We are working to conclude projects 2 & 3. Both have been a tremendous success. With current funding we have provided water to two communities with a capacity of almost 5000 people. Total cost will be around $21,000 in total for projects, or a cost of $4.20 per person affected!
If we raise $4500, we can expand the first well to have a production pump supported by a solar charging station, allowing another 14,000 people to have water in the surrounding communities. This would mean $3.11 per person. Please pass the message on to friends.
I have also looked into community training and education. The LCs and water council for each community will be invited— for all thee boreholes. This is being arranged by our friends at ADT.
Each of the three communities will be trained in the following aspects:
1. Finances surrounding the borehole (Collecting UGX 1,000 per family per month)
2. Record keeping
3. Mechanics of the borehole
4. Maintenance of Borehole and Spill Plate
5. Hygiene
Project #1
- Yield- 7800 Liters per Hour max; with our hand pump it is around 1300 Liters per hour. This is enough for 2600 people.
- Recovery rate after 3 hours of test pumping was 99% recovery within 1 hour. This well will be healthy for a VERY long time.
- The casting for this well is completed and the pump will be mounted today.
- The photo of the spill plate with numbering and Global H2O press was posted last night on FB
- Use of the well on a daily basis to begin after a week.
- The well functions— I have seen it and will get photos today.
- Two signs will be installed today as well (one on the highway, one by the well with all the sponsors names)
Project #2
- This is the site where the equipment broke down and is still there.
- Yesterday drilling finished and the drillers yield (an approximation) is approximately 1600 Liters per hour (last I checked).
- Today is test pumping and casting. I will get an accurate read on yield, recovery etc there, however, I dont believe that this site requires additional investment for the yield was not nearly as good as project 2. This doesnt mean that it was not successful. This borehole will also last for a very long time as the yield is very strong for a hand pump. I believe that it will be able to serve 2000 people, when all is said and done.
- We will also put up 2 signs; one for the highway and one by the pump.
Thanks to all of our sponsors! Every bit great and small counts!
Best,
Jamie
Uganda Well Projects Update #3
Today we finished drilling the second borehole— There is enough water to sustain 24,000 people! Yes twenty four thousand. To top it off the community agreed to invest 1/8th of the cost of the construction per year in other communities surrounding for the next 8 years. They are considering this a community loan from… Global H2O.
THAT’S COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP!
James Wilde is very happy… tomorrow we shift to the original site and finish the work there which looks to yield enough water for 10,000 people.
Uganda Well Projects – Update #2
The first well that we dug in Uganda is still working great. The yield is good on this well. A community apparently has grown up around this well.
The new sites are being surveyed and should be done in 4 days. There will be 2 more days of testing, but the new graphs are positive with hits between 40-50 meters.
Signage – There are signs on the highway with directions to these wells. The plan is to put 5 new signs with logos on the main roads where there is lots of road traffic.
The minister is pushing for a site near the town of Acholibur, which is 20k from Kitgum and near a highway. There will be lots of exposure on this.
All of these sites are relatively close together, which makes it economical for the drilling and maintenance.
The drilling is planned to start on the 9th.
Uganda Well Projects – Update #1
Global H2O has TWO new well projects currently going on in Uganda. This will provide water for two communities and around 4,000 people. We want to thank everyone for all the donations and the for the great fundraisers that were put together in the US and Europe.
Here is the latest update:
James Wilde and Madara Ree from Global H2O arrived in Kampala, Uganda at midnight last night. Unfortunately the car transfer was not there and the hotel had closed for the night. It’s not always an easy task getting things accomplished there but everything is moving along well now. They are working on getting a car and organizing everything to travel to the projects sites in Kitgum. The survey is being done now and drilling will begin in 2-3 days.
Project Report From Uganda Well Project
The project undertaken was designed to bring water to a community which has begun relocating back from the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps in northern Uganda. Since the insurgency ended, hundreds of thousands of people are relocating back to villages which had been destroyed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
LRA according to Wikipedia:
The group was formed in 1987 and is engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government in what is now one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts. It is led by Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself the “spokesperson” of God and a spirit medium, primarily of the Holy Spirit, which the Acholi believe can represent itself in many manifestations. The group adheres to a syncretistic lend of Christianity, Mysticism, traditional religion, and witchcraft, and claims to be establishing a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments and Acholi tradition. The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations, including murder, abduction, mutilation, sexual enslavement of women and children, and forcing children to participate in hostilities. The LRA operates mainly in northern Uganda, but also in parts of Sudan and DR Congo. The LRA is currently proscribed as a terrorist organization by the United States.
The Need
The town of Dibolyec is situated 10 KM from the main road between Padibe and the border of Sudan. According to local leaders, there are already 8000 people situated there and the community is expecting another 2000 to relocate in the next three months.
Before our project began, there was only one borehole (deep water well) in place serviced by a hand pump. The well is situated over 1.5 kilometers from the local school and represented the only clean water source for the community.
The land surrounding the community is arid and hilly. There is a natural water source (a creek) within 2 kilometers, but during the dry season, it dries up completely except for 2 spots. The water is contaminated with bacteria and parasites and serves as the source for the animals and people. During the dry season, people are not allowed to bathe or wash, to preserve water in creeks depression.
The well was enough to provide 0.18 liters per person per day. After installation of the second well, the output is now 0.36 liters per day per person. If you take UN minimum requirements, this is far below the 5 liter need.
While our project doubled the output of clean water for these people, there is still enough need for another 30 deep water wells— just for drinking water for the entire sub-county.
In this same community, the school and health center are both without water. The nurses are complaining about the fact that women are giving birth without sterilized water, and that every birth requires a four kilometer walk to collect 20 liters of water.
Funding
Funding came primarily from Sage Business Solutions and James Wilde. There are many individual donors who contributed as well (amounts ranging from $10 to $250). For privacy reasons, their names will not be listed here, but the contributions totaled near $3000.
Expense
The total expense of the project is estimated to be near $15,000. Primary expenses include drilling ($9000), logistics ($3000), labor ($1000), and other.
Report on drilling, spill plate construction, yield and sustainability
On February 11th, one week after arrival, drilling actually began in another sub-county where the need is even greater. Initial delays were due to previous drilling projects and the late arrival of our transport. The team (Aqua Drill Tech) drilled at the first location for two days. After 90 meters of drilling and two small water strikes, the hole was deemed dry.
I hurried back to Kitgum to speak to the District Water Officer and Hydrologist about getting a new location by the morning. After some 30 minutes of intense conversation, we were granted a new drilling location in Dibolyec.
At 8:00 AM on Saturday, February 13th, the trucks rolled out of Kitgum. We began drilling at 10:00 approximately. By 12:00 noon, we had our first serious water strike at 25 meters down. The team began assembling the PVC pipe as they were sure the hole would yield water. By 14:00 drilling had finished at a little more than 40 meters; the chief driller had deemed the yield to look adequate.
Within one hour all drilling rods had been extracted from the borehole and the PVC put in place. Gravel and sand were poured around the PVC to seal and naturally filter down to the level where the bit diameter changed.
The final step was the pump hose, which was inserted in the middle of the PVC to the bottom of the well. It was then attached to the compressor and the water was blown out for over an hour as we celebrated the success.
On the next day, pump testing took place (also completed by Aqua Drill Tech). The yield was 600 Liters per hour on average over a 3 hour test pumping period. The recovery rate 55 minutes after pumping was 95%. This is deemed a good hole and very sustainable. 12 hours of pumping per day with no wasted water or time would mean 7200 liters per day (enough to bring water to 1440 people- using UN minimum standards).
Casting and construction of the spill plate was completed on the 17th, and the pump was functioning when we left the site in Kitgum— completed by employees of the District Water Office and contractors for Aqua Drill Tech.
Diagrams and video documentation will follow.
You can also view our hospital project and our school project.
Project Completed! Update
Dear all-
The borehole and pump are in place. We left Kitgum last night and arrived in Kampala in a crippled Landcruiser. The spring of the rear left suspension broke while we were in the bush.
The local population of the area is 8000 people with 2 boreholes now, one of which is ours. The community expects another 2000 people in the next weeks returning from the IDP camps. There is a real need in this community for clean water. The school which currently has over 200 pupils is expected to grow to over 500…and they have no water within 1 KM. The temperature was almost 40 degrees celcius when I spoke to the administrators at the school. I couldnt imagine studying there without anything to drink.
About our borehole… The yield was 600 Liters per hour on average over a 3 hour test pumping period. The recovery rate 55 minutes after pumping was 95%. This is deemed a good hole and very sustainable. The current use will be 4000 people but will grow to well over 5000 in the next month. This means that the one well we created is not enough for the community.
12 hours of pumping per day with no wasted water or time would mean 7200 liters per day which is less than 2 liters per person per day. Minimum required is 5 liters per day. Nevertheless, we have made a huge impact by doubling the current availability.
There have been many questions about how this all works, whether there are filters etc. I have answers to all the questions and will be making a documentary and posting fotos as soon as I get home.
I assure you all that this was a huge success. I now have a great network in Uganda, thanks to my friend Olga. None of this would have been possible without her help.
Our drilling partner, Aqua Drill Tech, is a top company and has been in business for over 5 years. Ben Vietniks is a top guy with a very helpful crew. I learned a great deal from them.
I also met local officials who described the situation in great detail, which I captured on video together with testimony from local residents.
Thanks to all who have donated their time and hard earned savings to this project. I will post details regarding finances etc when I get home and can account for each cent spent.
All the best from Kampala,
James
First well in Uganda is complete!
Everything on the well is finished. Team heads back tomorrow. We will be posting photos, videos and stories very soon. First well is complete, now time to start planning the next ones. This first project has shown us how badly this area of the world needs our help. Please help us by donating.
Uganda Well Project – SUCCESS!!
Dear friends,
It has been a long journey but we finally have drilled into a good water source. The PVC pipe is in and the spill plate and pump will be installed within the next two days. We also located a school that is without water. We will be looking into a possible drill site for the school.
Before finding this good water source we drilled 90 meters down and ran across water twice but it did not yield enough. So after days of drilling we attempted this second location. Area population is around 2000.
Here is the exact location where the drill is.