Saving water and managing quality

Emporer, one of the local leaders holding a glass of clean tap water

A big step has been taken as the water losses that have haunted the project from the beginning have been reduced. In March 2007 the losses were down considerably, which is acceptable for a rural water project.

With vigilance and the invaluable help of Engineers Without Borders, we are taking steps to ensure acceptable water quality all year round. As last year’s water quality was seriously compromised following heavy rains, we are hoping to construct a large horizontal roughing filter this summer for efficient pre-treatment of highly turbid raw water that follows heavy rains.

Maintenance of the roughing filters and sand filters is a very heavy job involving heavy lifting. Luckily our pump operator Korku is also the coach of the Red Scorpions, the junior football club of Zongo village. During the last months, more than half of this job has been handled by the spirited team of boys, aged 16 to 19. For their efforts, AMURT recently awarded them with team jerseys, shorts, and a football.