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

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