How can we solve water problems in the Sahelian Zone of Africa?

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  2. water problems in the Sahelian Zone of Africa

    I have worked in the Sahel in Mali and Mauritania. Also, Sierra Leone, Somalia, ex-Zaire, Tunisia   Define Water Problem for me.  If you mean a government agency setting up a small city to drill a a 300 meter well – that is a social problem.  I can have the same well drilled and finished in two or three days.  If you mean a government agency wanting to drill wells in ex-Zaire, that is a program that provides great opportunities for theft when sweat equity projects are the best approach.  If you mean drilling programs in Somalia that fall behind because of lack of diesel, that is because of diesel truck drivers who sell the diesel from their tanker truck en route to the drilling site or the provision of project diesel to other government departments rather than providing it to the project (only to be sold en route).  So, I guess you need to define “problem”.

  3. Sahel Zone water supply

    This question is incredibly naive, implying that there is a magical 'answer', which is so clearly not the case.

    Education, good governance, political stability, adequate and appropriate technical training (no long distance trans-continental pipelines please!)  to support and enable indigenous capacity, adequate finance, development of civil society, support for small-scale enterprise etc etc etc etc........... and a lot of patience.    

    Experience of the last 30 years has shown there is no silver bullet solution to water supply problems, despite the best wishes of the NGO industry, and to imply that one exists is disingeneous and even deceptive, unfairly raising hopes of quick fix solutions. 

  4. we developed a windmill - reverse osmosis system with 100% renewable energy use. Windmill set-up makes that we reach low cost price. So, if water sources like seawater, brackish water or polluted water are available it can be conversed to fresh water. Mail to htonningen@malmokvision.com

  5. REVISED 30th August 2013 “THE CONCEPT OF LARGE WATER TANKS IN THE RIVER BED” ( Solution to problem of water shortage and draught ) There are some regions which are not dependant on monsoon for water and sufficient water flows in the rivers throughout the year. There is no problem of water shortage in these regions. Other regions are partially or fully dependant on monsoon for water. Sufficient water is available in the dams and the rivers in these regions when there is average or above average rain fall in the monsoon. However, many places are far off from municipal water supply systems. Hence, such remote places suffer from scarcity and shortage of water even when there is average rain fall in the monsoon because the rivers almost become dry in few months after monsoon is over. When rain fall is below average then entire region faces water shortage problem. Situation becomes critical when there is draught. Following innovative concept, explained in detail, is suggested to solve the problem of water shortage or water scarcity and of drought in the regions dependant on monsoon for water. After 3 to 5 months from the end of monsoon practically water does not flow in most of the rivers and the river bed is almost dry. Trenches to be dug up in the dry river bed, after the last dam on the river and also from the point from where the river starts flowing in low-lying area. The width of the trench should be that of the river. It’s length & depth will depend on the volume of water required for the particular village/ city . For example, length can be from 100 to 1000 Meters and even more if necessary. Depth can be up to 30 Meters and even more if necessary and feasible. First trench having required depth and length is to be dug up. River-bed of minimum of 30 Meters in length to be kept as it is after the first trench . Subsequently, second trench is to be dug up. After second trench, again river bed of minimum of 30 Meters in length to be kept as it is and so on . Likewise, we can dig up chain of trenches from the point from where river starts flowing in low-lying area. Number of trenches required to be decided as per volume of water worked out and the locations of trenches to be selected as per site conditions and their proximity to villages/cities. Digging of entire stretch of river bed for trenches is not being suggested. During monsoon rain falls over the entire region and rain water, through many streams and rivulets, finally enters the river and it will get accumulated in the trenches first. As monsoon progresses trenches will be full of water and then they will start overflowing downwards. Level of water in the river goes up in the course of time which depends upon the rain fall whether it is below average or average. If dams are constructed on the river then rain water in the catchment area gets stored in the dams. If rain fall is average or above average in the catchment area then dams overflow in to the river and the level of water flowing in the river increases substantially. After rainy season is over level of water flowing in the river gets reduced slowly and after few months the river becomes dry. This happens in case of most of the rivers. Since, trenches are dug up, water in the trenches remains stored throughout the length of the river and these fully flooded trenches with water are termed by me as ‘LARGE WATER TANKS IN THE RIVER BED’ . If not stored in the trenches, the water would just flow into the sea and would get wasted. Once water is stored in the trenches we can plan , in many ways , how to use it and for what purpose. For example, volume of water stored in one trench having length of 1000Meters , depth of 30 Meters and width, i.e. width of river, say 20 Meters works out as under. Volume of water = 1000M *30M*20M =6OO,000 Cubic Meters ( One Cubic Meter = 1000 Litres = 1 Kilo Litre ) Volume of water in one trench = 6,00,000 Kilo Litres ( 1000M*20M*30M ) = 6 Lacks Kilo Litres The figures mentioned in Meters, anywhere in this proposal, for depth and length of trenches , are illustrative and arbitrary. Depending upon site condition and requirement of volume of water length and depth of trench to be changed. Rate of excavation per cubic metre is higher as the depth increases and also it is more if river bed is hard or of rocks. Hence, if excavation cost is the limiting factor then depth can be much less, even up to 5 meters, and length to be worked out for required volume of water to suit excavation cost and available funds. Trenches , of adequate depths and lengths , also to be dug up in “Rivulets & Streams” of water in which sufficient water flows during monsoon. Stored water in these small trenches will also be substantial and will prove to be very useful for agriculture and for many other purposes. A ) Following are the anticipated problems and difficulties with remedies. 1) Silt or sediment will get accumulated in trenches. Silt or sediment to be removed once in two or three years or as the case may be. It depends upon the quantity that gets accumulated and it will also vary from region to region depending on the type of ground . Most of the silt or sediment will get accumulated in first two or three trenches. Perhaps, the subsequent down the line trenches will have very less accumulation. Silt or sediment must be getting accumulated in the dams and other irrigation projects also. It is easier to remove sediment from trenches than from dams. If accumulation is high and its regular removal from the trenches is necessary then depth of the trenches to be reduced to such a level that it will facilitate easy removal of the sediment or silt. Though not insurmountable, the accumulation of sediment in the trenches appears to be a major problem. Hence it needs to be studied from various angles during Trial Project suggested under’ C ‘ 2)Sewage disposal of village or city & effluents of factories will enter trenches. Question is how it is not creating any problem at present if the discharges are let into the river, especially when water is released from the dams? Initially, we can select locations of trenches which will be above the points of discharges of sewage & effluents. Installation of Effluent Treatment Plants and creation of Sewage Farms to be made compulsory, if necessary. 3) River bed may be very hard or of rocks. -- Explosives and strong dynamites should solve the problem. 4) Is it possible to dig 30 Meters deep below the ground ? -- Coal-mines or other mines are 1 to 5KMS deep below ground. Metro is constructed deep below ground . -- As such technology to dig deep below the ground is established B) Following doubts which can be raised and their answers. 1) Stored water in the trenches will get evaporated. -It’s percentage will be much less as what must be happening in case of dams. 2)Stored water in the trenches may percolate. - It cannot be instantaneous. It is very slow. Even if it percolates, ‘Water-Table’ condition of area across the river will get improved and it may be advantageous next year if monsoon is delayed or is below average. Any way stored water is not wasted. 3) River-Banks will be unstable and may cave into the river. --River-Banks are not to be touched during digging of the trenches hence their natural stability or equilibrium is maintained. Besides, the walls of the trenches to be given a required slope during excavation. Water stored in the trenches does not flow and is almost stand still. As such the stored water in the trenches will not allow side walls of the trenches to collapse or to cave in. It is also a remote possibility that River-Banks will become unstable or cave into the river. However, the aspect to be observed in the trial-trench dug up for experiment. C) Trial Project is suggested as under. The concept may sound a bit absurd but I feel it is worth trying. Small trench of 100 Meters in length and depth of 15 Meters to be dug up in the river before monsoon when the river bed is dry. The cost of excavation of such a small trench will not be high and it may be within the powers of the local authority. During monsoon water will get stored in the trench. The volume of water that will be stored in the above trench with width of say 20Meters works out as under. Volume of water = 100M*15M*20M =30,000 Cubic Meters =30,000KiloLitres(1CubicMeter=1000Litres=1Kilo Litres) Various aspects of the trench and stored water to be studied & recorded for eight to nine months in light of the various points mentioned above under A & B . If necessary and feasible, two more trenches ,one having depth of 5Meters and the other one having depth of 10Meters with appropriate lengths can also be dug up to study the various aspects simultaneously. If trial is successful and if results are encouraging then, taking into consideration the observations & study-report of trial-trench, projects of various capacities with necessary changes or modifications, can be executed, step by step, in other regions /districts/states/nations. D) Advantages of successful projects are as under. 1) Availability of water after monsoon is over. It will boost agricultural production and water will be useful for industries, power plants etc. 2) Even though, when there is no water shortage or drought due to good monsoon, stored water in the trenches is an additional source of water. Farmers may take two/three crops in a year. Besides, the water can be utilised for industries and for many other purposes. 3) As width of trench is kept same as that of river no additional land is required. Hence, land acquisition is not necessary and because of which no rehabilitation of population which sometimes is necessary in other irrigation projects. 4) Trenches will not affect other existing irrigation projects and the ones yet to be implemented. 5) Probably good quality sand may get accumulated in the trenches which is required for civil constructions. 6) Severity of flood during heavy monsoon will get reduced as huge quantity of water remains stored in the trenches which otherwise would spread in the affected areas. 7)The earth or soil that is excavated during digging of trenches and accumulated silt/sediment removed from the trenches later on are supposed to be fertile and will be very useful for agriculture. E ) Economical feasibility of the project, in general, is as under. 1)Only one time investment in the cost of excavation of trenches. 2) Cost of removal of silt or sediment accumulated in the trenches , once in three years or as the case may be. 3) Cost of equipments installed to supply water stored in the trenches to users. 4) Maintenance cost of above equipments and it’s system. The total cost of above may balance out against the various factors mentioned below. a) Expenditure, which was being incurred prior to execution of the project, on water-tankers and other systems for supply of water from other sources, to drought-affected area. b) Local municipal authorities can charge for supplying water, stored in the trenches, for commercial purposes to compensate maintenance cost. c) Many advantages mentioned earlier under ‘ D ‘. However, feasibility report in detail to be prepared for particular site or region based on required volume of water and other relevant data. It is a project for ‘WATER’ which is a basic necessity. Hence, purpose and approach of economical feasibility report should not be the same as adopted for any unit being set up for business. F) Conclusion: I strongly feel , rather I am confident , that the concept has a potential to solve the problem of scarcity & shortage of water and of drought, if it is understood well and is further implemented properly. P. K. Sohoni. ( Chartered Engineer ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name of author: P.K. Sohoni ( Chartered Engineer ). Address : 30, Prarthana Samaj Road,Sane-Wadi , Vile-Parle(E), Mumbai-400057, Maharashtra, INDIA Tel. 22-26112139 Email Address: prakashsohoni16@gmail.com Note:- I am keen to meet experts / technologists / authorities to discuss the proposal across table and convince them that the concept is theoretically OK or get myself convinced that it has a flaw. If according to them concept is theoretically OK but still it is not workable then I would like to know from them the unforeseen and insurmountable difficulties & problems because of which concept is not workable.

  6. Hi, Joseph: I undersytand water issues in this area. I recommend to request Japanese Government to solve the situation with necessary finance. We have to start to grab the status quo on water availability and feasibility study on the best solution of this issues. Regards, Isao

  7. Dear Joseph, Technology has develped to such an extent today then you cannot ask questions like these anymore (I call them basic questions) basic means the questioned that our ancestors may have asked many moons back. What is your budget? Where do you want to use the water or what is your application? How much is required p.a.? Distance of the nearest natural/artificial water body are some sub-questions you may want to attach to yr basic question?

  8. River bed becomes dry after few months from end of monsoon.Trenches of adequate length and depth, as per required volume of water, to be dug up in the river bed. The width of the trenches to be kept the same as width of the river.During next monsoon season the water will enter the trenches first and they will get fully flooded by water. This water in the trenches remains stored even when river becomes dry after monsoon is over. These trenches with full of water are termed by me as LARGE WATER TANKS IN THE RIVER BED. This concept of storing water may solve the problem of water in Sahelian Zone of Africa.The concept explained in detail runs into 7 pages which I cannot type due to space limitations

  9. Water problem in Sahelian zone of Africa

    The long term solution will be to desalinate seawater and pump it throughout the region.It requires energy .Both energy and water can be simultaneously generated using Solar thermal using parabolic mirrors.If more energy is needed then energy storage using molten salt can be incorporated.This is the only long term sustainable solution without any fuel.But it should be implemented by Government on a much larger scale because small capacity plants will not be viable.One can generate power using solar thermal and use part f that power to desalnate seawater using SWRO (sea water reverse osmosis) or using steam from solar thermal power plant y condensing and blending with ground water. In either way the problem of water and energy can be solved simultaneously.

    Ahilan Raman

    http://www.clean-energy-water-tech.com

  10. the African does not have culture of large water consumption because its only use is booked with a vital need. By knowing that the waste water of the habitat is recycled for the watering of the vegetable garden while bringing a natural enrichment of the ground it can consider that there is no more loss of water. l'assainissement Biologique est la solution pour l'Afrique

  14. Water supply, Renewable Energy, and Global Cooling Sr. Consultant

    Fresh water from the sea i.e. seawater desalination is the only long term solution to the water supply problem in that region and elsewhere.Groundwater supplies are dwindling and fresh water as a whole can no longer address the ever increasing demand. Current water resources and sources are stressed.

    We have submitted to the UN in Durban SA in December 2011 a plan under the name of Libyan Initiative calling for the implementation of a holistic carbon-free renewable energy project to supply at all times the global energy needs. We are proceeding to implement the project starting in the Libyan part of the Sahara Desert expanding to all 22 desert countries located west and east of the Red Sea to have a sustainable power capacity of 21 TW by 2021. A great part of that cheap energy will power seawater desalination plants cutting costs from about $0.7/m3 spent today to less than $0.3/m3. elmosa@amecosys.com

    Answered on by

  15. transportation of water in large quantities and over long distances by an underwater pipeline

    see www.via-marina.com

    it can be used either with fresh water taken out of the mouth of a river for all uses or else with treated waste water out of a treatment plant of a large coastal city for agricultural or industrial uses complying with sanitation rules of WHO or FAO.

  16. Most people assume you can pump groundwater or aquifers for a supply but this is degrading fields if used for crops, if mineral-salt build-up gets to a certain point the land is lost to agriculture. This brings into focus the effects of dry areas getting drier as the planet heats up as a general rule. ... ¶ So recycling water is becoming as important as drilling for water as a supply, the need in a desert is for water low in minerals and that's exactly the opposite of what most arid water supplies provide, it's like sea-level, soil salination is a steady but slow process that's very hard to reverse and affecting many areas. ... ¶ And the need is for more than just water, people also need fuel, denuding forests is common in too many places so a large factor for reducing groundwater supplies by reducing drip-rain produced by condensation on plants that adds significant water to soils, this effect doubles rainfall in many areas in available water to soils. Then, to get good crops takes organics and soil communities, good soil can be built up and it holds far more moisture than fertilized dirt. ... ¶ This leads me back to the need for at minimum community level wastewater treatment, a way to use the nutrition in the water to grow algae as they clean the water as they grow and given the time make full recycling practical without extensive filtering. People are already making fuel from algae in blue-tarp lined pits, they need a coherent system that does that as a part of cleaning the water to potable. ... ¶ What this means for someone with a cow is that the cow is then worth about 19L/5gal per day in biodiesel and by pressing for oil a quality fertilizer is produced, that's a lot of fuel to use for heating a room, cooking or a vehicle and when for a village this is a lot of fuel and a lot of water. Getting the water back is a key issue to most living on the edge so for semi-arid to arid areas recycling water should be considered first, before drilling for more and using that money for a one-way ticket to salinated soils. ... ¶ For fields, they need to stop using row agriculture, it doesn't work in a desert very well where contouring for wind and solar gain produce better yields, swaling can turn desert back into steppe, physical changes to leverage natural outcrops and relief, these all are more important than pumping saline water on dry land. ... ¶ It's high-tech to recycle water in volume; however, using algae got easier for wastewater by nano-filtration as a popular size takes viruses out of the water instead of activated charcoal which may not. ... ¶ So, consider that investing in recycling technology needs to have capital for a better long-term solution before drilling or removing river water that have negative effects on groundwater levels on top of also adding salts to the soil as that water evaporates.

  18. HOW TO SOLVE WATER PROBLEMS IN THE SAHELIAN ZONE OF AFRICA

    The problems related to water supply in the sahelian zone of Africa are many, but the main one is scarcity. This can be minimised by using underground source. Obtaining water from good aquifer and using the sustainable means of supplying it to the demand sections. using solar energy is one of the options of energy provision.

  19. Hi Joseph. I need to Know what especific problem you have, because you can use only chlorine in concentration suficient to have free chlorine in contamined water for few minuts or simply put in a botlle plastic (PET) in sun light for a day, but I need to Know what especific propblem eg, few or many people, or the amount of water.

  20. Hi Joseph. To echo Chieko's inquiry, can you post a specific issue that you are dealing with? Without knowing specifics about the immediate need for water, while a permenant solution is being sought, what steps are being taken to provide the needs temporarily?

  23. I have been involved in some water supply projects in southern Angola. The solutions depend on the hydrological and hydrogeological conditions of each site as well as the community where they will be implemented. The site analysis and geophysical and socioeconomic framework are fundamental to the definition of sustainable solutions. Best regard's, Carlos

  24. Hello Joseph, it is a great wide quetion! I my self also work in South Sudan, especially in Malakal Town in WASH sector. If it is possible, please share the typical point or issue you actually face that might be the main source of your great question. Thanks & B.regards, Chieko