Pre-launch: context-specific validation and introduction of WASH technologies for sustainable services

Sustainable WASH services can only be achieved if the technology used to provide services is sound enough for the specific context. Too often, however, water and sanitation services stop because the WASH technology no longer functions or is too complicated for the context which it’s in. New WASH technologies are promising successful solutions but are often not considered.

WASHTech, an action-research project, is developing and testing processes and tools to perform context-specific validations of potential WASH technologies. WASHTech also aims to successfully introduce the validated technologies into certain contexts such as countries, districts, or sub-districts.

Come and be part of this pre-launch on Friday 12 April 2013 from 09:30 – 11:00 hrs and learn how the “Technology Applicability Framework” and the “Technology Introduction Process” can help you achieve sustainable WASH services.

Register for this session here

For a lighter burden: competition for a better water container

Photo: The Water Channel

The Water Channel is offering US$ 500 for the best idea for an alternative to the jerry can.

The ergonomics of the jerry cans are clearly wrong, says Frank van Steenbergen. Up to 80 million women in Africa have to carry water daily, which can result in a high prevalence of spinal and back pain.

There are a few alternatives like the ‘water back pack’ and Hippo Roller but the Water Channel is looking for fresh ideas:  either to promote existing improved devices, or breakthrough designs as alternative options.

The deadline is 15 December. Send entries to info@thewaterchannel.tv

Source: Frank van Steenbergen, For a lighter burden, TheWaterBlog, 08 Oct 2012

Water For People and Akvo to co-develop FLOW monitoring tool

In March 2012, Water for People (USA) and Akvo (Netherlands) entered an agreement to further develop FLOW, a field-level monitoring tool.

Akvo will lead on product development and support while Water For People will lead in product field-testing and monitoring functionality. The product has been rebranded as Akvo FLOW. The software code supporting Akvo FLOW will be published under an open source AGPL3 license.

FLOW – Field level Operations Watch, brings together handheld data collection with Android mobile phone technology, a web-based dashboard and visual mapping using Google Maps and Google Earth software.

Africa wide WASH technology review published

The WASHTech project has published a literature review [1] focusing on 14 technologies used in Africa in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector.

Descriptions for each technology include a selection of interesting case studies, and an explanation as to whether the technology meets technical, financial, social and institutional success criteria.
Only two technologies met all four success criteria: hand dug wells and the India Mark II pump, and the latter only with the caveat that there was a functional maintenance system.

The least successful technology was the Playpump. Pending further research, jerry cans and the gulper were only found to meet one success criteria (technical success). Except for bio-additives to pit latrines and Playpumps, all other technologies were technically successful. The other success criteria were met by roughly half of the technologies.

Core issues that WASHTech plans to take up further include the appeal of inappropriate technologies like Playpumps and Lifestraws to naive donors, and ways to get government approval for low-cost, locally managed technologies like rope pumps, biosand filters, constructed rainwater harvesting jars, water jetting and tippy taps.

[1] Parker, A. et al., 2011. Africa wide water, sanitation and hygiene technology review. (WASHTech Deliverable 2.1). The Hague: WASHTech c/o IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and Cranfield: Cranfield University. 93 p. : 1 box, 9 fig., 1 tab. Includes references.
Available at: http://wp.me/a1szDW-1o
The aim of the WASHTech project (2011-2013) is to introduce a robust Technology Assessment Framework (TAF), with local partners in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Uganda, that will assess the potential of new innovative WASH technologies. WASHTech is co-funded under the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission’s Africa research programme. To learn more go to washtechafrica.wordpress.com

Point-of-use treatment: Patel Grand Challenge launches with competition to create world’s first “Smart Pot”

The University of South Florida’s (USF) Patel School of Global Sustainability through its Center for Global Solutions launched the first Patel Grand Challenge at the International Water Association’s Development Congress in Malaysia on 21 November 2011. The challenge invites inventors in developing nations to create a low-cost and easy-to-use water purification device that could save millions from the perils of contaminated drinking water.

The challenge was issued by Dr. Kiran C. Patel during the congress’ opening ceremony to over 600 delegates from around the globe. (To access more details, conference photos, and press coverage go here)

The challenge welcomes pre-proposal submissions through March 2012. Five applicants will be shortlisted and awarded up to US$ 8,000. The five finalists will be invited to prepare full proposals that will be reviewed by an international panel of experts at a major event. The winning proposal will receive up to US$ 100,000.

More on the Patel Grand Challenge and the Patel School of Global Sustainability can be found at www.psgs.usf.edu

Full details of the 2011 Patel Grand Challenge will be made available on 15 December 2011 at:
www.psgs.usf.edu/patel-center/section/patel-grand-challenge1

Manual drilling: engineering students develop “Village Drill” for Tanzania

A team of engineering students from Brigham Young University (BYU) has developed a human-powered drill that can reach a depth of up to 75 metres at 10% to 20% the cost of a traditional motorized well rig. A prototype of the “Village Drill” cost around US$ 4,000 (excluding labour) to make in the USA.

The BYU students created the drill for a project in Tanzania run by WHOLives.org, a nonprofit based in South Jordan, Utah. The project is also co-sponsored by the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology.

The drill can be operated by four people. Three spin the wheel that turns the drill bit (cutting tool), and the fourth lifts the bit up and down when necessary to punch through tough spots. A water pump system removes the dirt from the 15 cm-wide hole.

In May 2011, a drilling team was able to construct a 45 m well  with the patented “Village Drill” in 3 days in Magugu, Tanzania.

Related news: WASH technology information packages : for UNICEF WASH programme and supply personnel, E-Source, 24 Aug 2010

Related web sites:

• WHOLives.org
• Akvopedia – water portal
• RWSN – Hand or Manual Drilled Wells
• IRC WASH Library – manual drilling

Source: BYU, 14 Jul 2011

“Water SMS”: improving urban water services in Indonesia through crowd–sourced map data

Poor residents in Indonesian cities of Malang (East Java) and Makassar (South Sulawesi) will soon be using their mobile phones to report problems with their water and sanitation services like poor water quality or quantity, well failures, failure of tanker water supplies, and costs for tanker water. This will enable water providers to learn about and quickly respond to customer complaints.

The Pacific Institute has launched the 3-year WASH SMS Project (September 2010 – September 2013) through a three-year pilot funded by USAID Development Grants Program (DGP). The Institute is working with Indonesian partner PATTIRO (experience in Indonesia focused on improving public services, and strengthening government capacity), and technology partner Nexleaf (a leader in mobile phone use to collect environmental data).

Read more about the project at:

• Pacific Institute – WASH SMS Project Overview
• USAID Indonesia – “Water SMS”: Improving Water Services in Indonesia through Crowd –Sourced Map Data

Related news: India, New Delhi: using Facebook and SMS to keep the city clean, E-Source, 23 May 2011

Battling cholera with NFC RFID-tracked drinking water in Haiti

Deep Springs International (DSI), a non-profit organization based in Pennsylvania, USA, and Nokia Research Center (NRC), Palo Alto, California, are teaming up to ensure the supply of clean drinking water in Haiti with NFC (near field communication) technology.

DSI has been delivering water treatment systems (which essentially consist of a covered 19-liter bucket with a spigot at the bottom) and a locally manufactured chlorine solution it has labeled Gadyen Dlo (Creole for "water guardian") since 2007.. Photo: Michael Ritter, DSI

Water treatment kits are being provided to track chlorine levels in household drinking water using NFC-enabled cell phones. NRC provided the health workers with approximately 50 Nokia 6212 NFC-enabled phones while UPM RFID supplied UPM BullsEye™ NFC tags with NXP Mifare Ultralight chip. Joseph “Jofish” Kaye, Senior Research Scientist, NRC, initiated the project together with David Holstius, a student and Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health, who developed the software application for mobile phones.

Families in the most rural areas in Haiti will have one water treatment kit consisting of a five-gallon (19 litre) plastic bucket with a lid and spigot. The RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags are attached to buckets for storing the treated drinking water and delivered to families together with a chlorine solution and written instructions for using the kit. When DSI’s water technicians visit their homes, they check whether they are using the kits properly and provide additional chlorine solutions. The technicians will read the tags using NFC cell phones loaded with software guiding them to ask relevant questions about the water being tested. They then send the data to DSI’s headquarters via SMS. The software application uses the Frontline SMS platform.

UK: Thames Water’s new “Tweet a leak” service proves popular

In December 2010, Thames Water requested its social-networking customers to start reporting details of burst or leaking pipes on Twitter.

The UK’s largest water and wastewater company urged customers to ‘tweet a leak’ to its Twitter profile @thameswater using using the #tweetaleak hash tag. In the first four weeks, the service generated over 250 reports about leakages, around 9 a day. Due to the exceptionally cold weather in December, Thames Water was reporting nearly 300 leaks a day, four times the normal number at that time of year.

When the water in reservoirs drops below 5 degrees Celsius and enters Thames Water’s mains, especially the old cast-iron ones, they contract and in some cases break. The colder it gets the worse the problems gets. [...]  More than 20 per cent of London’s water mains are over 150 years old – the oldest in the UK – and more than 40 per cent are over 100 years old.

Thames Water supplies drinking water to 8.7 million customers in London and the Thames Valley.

Example of Twitter feed on twitter.com/thameswater 08-09 January 2011

• @morecheerful Hi, just to let you know this was repaired last night. Amy11:28 AM Jan 9th via HootSuitein reply to morecheerful
• @allondon71 Hi Alex, can you give me the postcode for this please? Amy11:24 AM Jan 9th via web in reply to allondon71
• @ifuller1 @darryl1974 Hi both, the leak on Trafalgar Road was repaired last night. Amy11:23 AM Jan 9th via web in reply to ifuller1
• @allondon71 Thanks for the #tweetaleak will get that reported. Amy9:29 PM Jan 8th via txt
• @morecheerful Hi, we’re due to repair this tonight. Amy6:37 PM Jan 8th via txt

Source: Thames Water, 06 Jan 2011 – 10 Dec 2010 – 06 Dec 2011

Guatemala: construction guides for rural WASH facilities

Five Cabin Latrine, Aqua Para La Salud (Guatemala). Photo: Global Water

NGO Global Water provides instructions for building rural water, sanitation, and hygiene-related facilities that were developed by its partner in Guatemala, Agua Para La Salud (Water for Health). The facilities include:

• Ferro-Cement Water Storage Tank
• Hand Washing Stations (Lavamanos)
• Complete Spring Catchment System
• Five Cabin Latrine
• Gray Water Seepage Pits

View the designs at www.globalwater.org/how-to-build.html