Water Distribution to Poor Communities

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Who has experience with problems encountered in delivering potable water to very poor communities, where no water network exists.

Plastic bags, plastic bottles, pvc tanks, water trucks, outdoor faucets, public fountains, etc.

How to avoid health issues, managing quotas assigned by family, legal issues with local authorities, etc.

The water source will be a highly contaminated (Hg) large enough river in a mining community (15,000 habitants), with deficient water supply. Water will be treated with state-of-the-art treatment plant (500 cubic meters per day, ultrafiltration and ozonation, assembled in a container, turnkey project) and delivery to the community with no cost or very little cost. Usage per person will be between 50 and 100 liters per day. Average family size is 4 persons. Existing water network is in poor condition as well as the water treatment plant from local water providers, and neither can be used. We want to avoid eventual complaints of illness in the community blaming water quality, and social unrest trying to have access to the water in a disorderly manner. So water could be delivered 2, 3 times per week to each family, in enough quantities to last between deliveries.

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12 Answers

  1. Complex problem will need complex solutions. I suggest we segregate the problems you mentioned to a more solvable scopes:

    1. Water supply. I concur with the comment of John Turner below. the water source is like a bank where you withdraw and deposit your asset (this time the water resource). I suggest we consider sustainability because the state-of-the-art asset investment will not be utilized once the water supply runs out or the raw water quality becomes more polluted. I am assuming that the designed treatment will be specific for the current water quality of the water source.

    2. Water demand. the 15000 population and 50-100 l/d are good inputs to know how much water we need to produce for the community. Set a target on how much water availability (e.g. x hours per day). This can be easily augmented by building additional reservoirs or over head tanks (so distribution will be less costly).

    3. Distribution. our experience for poor communities is usage of public faucets. Strategically located to the community. Doing so will make the water pipes more manageable. your target here is lowering Non Revenue Water (NRW) or water loss along the pipes. Failure to manage the  water loss will entail more production cost and less benefit to the community. Industry standard is 20% of production volume/actual volume received by the community. Lowering NRW further will save operating cost and raw water.

    4. Tariff. This should shoulder the operating cost of the system. If the community will not be paying, it means that the operational efficiency targets should depend heavily on the capacity of your financer. It will kill the project of the operating cost will be more than your operating budget.

    5. Waste Water. the water provided to the community will eventually return to the bodies of water as waste water. If not considered, waste water will end up polluting adjacent water bodies of the community. 

     

     

  4. Thanks to all for your replies. As I mentioned before (see below) "... ​community (15,​000 habitants), ​with deficient ​water supply. ​Water will be ​treated with ​state-of-the-​art treatment ​plant (500 ​cubic meters ​per day, ​ultrafiltration ​and ozonation, ​assembled in a ​container, ​turnkey project)​ and delivery ​to the ​community at ​no cost or very ​little cost. ​Usage per ​person ​between 50 and ​100 liters per ​day...."

  7. Hi Fernando, extra information very useful. What distances and kind of terrain are we talking about from source to user? This will dictate pumps and pressures. Are all households presently on water lines? It might be that a new line with standpipes with timed draw off could be used, hope to reduce wastage, and allow at some stage for intermediate storage and pumping facility to serve more remote locations. 

  8. Thanks to Ulf Mischke ,  Muhammad Alfalah Fauzi , John Turner ,  Cheryl Davis for their prompt response and interest in the matter. For all, a bit more information on my inquiry: The water source will be a highly contaminated (Hg) large enough river in a mining community (15,000 habitants), with deficient water supply. Water will be treated with state-of-the-art treatment plant (500 cubic meters per day, ultrafiltration and ozonation, assembled in a container, turnkey project) and delivery to the community with no cost or very little cost. Usage per person will be between 50 and 100 liters per day. Average family size is 4 persons. Existing water network is in poor condition as well as the water treatment plant from local water providers, and neither can be used. We want to avoid eventual complaints of illness in the community blaming water quality, and social unrest trying to have access to the water in a disorderly manner. So water should be delivered 2, 3 times per week to each family, in enough quantities to last between deliveries. Not easy solution; that is the reason for my inquiry.

  9. We are actually working exactly for these problems on a fit-for-purpose-system, which is for distribution in remote areas via atmospheric pressurized storage water, from the well to the customer's tab-stand...3 persons and two pick-up cars are required. For more details, I am pleased for pm.

    Kind regards

    Ulf

  10. Hi Fernando,

    I think you might also want to consider another alternatives in delivering water to the communiy such as by purifying rain water or digging wells (of course you need to consider the return of the groundwater). Assuming the area has other water sources.

    Those will solve your transport & logistics problems as well as giving more controllable water quality which depends on purifying/filtering method. You don’t need to maintain water quality when transporting. You can compare the business calculation for this (which one has less cost, developing infrastructure for other water sources or transporting).

    Regarding managing the quotas, you can estimate needs of each household by using water usage calculator (just try to google it, there are so many websites providing it), or you can also refer to the International Plumbing Code.

    Hope this can be useful and giving you an insight.

  11. One lesson that everyone by now should have learned or at least starting to think very seriously about, "close the cycle" All I ever see is "taking" never ever "giving". Your water source is like your bank, first relies on deposits. You can't keep "taking", no over drawn accounts, without some means of a returning, or making up the deficit. (Re-Charge) Done properly in a co-operative you can raise operational revenues for water in and water out. The quality of service will deteriorate,  you will run out of cash, the well will run dry. So my friend before you can get some solutions to your request,, what actions have been considered to return some of that valuable water used back in to the aquifer, river, stream, sea, from which you withdraw. ? This will dictate much of any strategy at local or city level. Just an observation for now.

  12. I can't answer your question, but I am the Chair of the Specialist Group on Sustainability in the Water Sector  of the International Water Association and may be able to help you find someone with relevant expertise if you can give me more information on your role, your organization, and your challenges.  I am also involved in planning a conference on sustainable use of water that will be held in Ecuador in the fall of 2019.  Maybe if you have the ability to attend a conference in Ecuador or provide information to us that we could present there, we could also use that conference as an opportunity to gather more information for you.  My name is Cheryl Davis, and if you have an interest in pursuing this conversation, please feel free to contact me at ckd@cherylkdavis.com ,