Four alternative ways you can access clean water

A colleague who stays in Gayaza once told me that while the area is developing at a high rate, they are still facing challenges, especially with accessing piped water.
Their story was not any different from another colleague who stays in Namugongo. She explained that they can go for three days without tap water.
But a common adage “water is life,” explains it all because these two colleagues use all means to ensure that they get water.

The one in Gayaza is planning on installing a water pump in his underground tank while the one in Namugongo harvests water in a tank.
It is still for the reason of accessing water that the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) local office ,has supported several initiatives that have provided rural communities with water.
The UNDP Communication Consultant, Sheila Kulubya, explains that under the Pilot Initiatives implemented by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Uganda, UNDP supported the building of sub-surface rainwater harvesting dams in the Karamoja area.

She adds, “We have also supported rain water harvesting in the cattle corridor districts as part of the Sustainable Land Management (Slm) projects. Under the Crisis Prevention and Recovery docket, UNDP‘s Disaster Risk Management Programme has supported construction of a number of dams/water ponds in Karamoja to help provide water for livestock (and for livelihood), during the drought season.”
Sarah Mujabi the programme officer at Slm explains that they have set up dams and encouraged water harvesting systems in the districts of Nakasongola and Kamuli.
The two ladies and some experts explain below the different ways of accessing water.

Under ground water tank
One of the methods used by UNDP is by harvesting water into dams that collect rain water. The water can then be accessed through reservoirs.
Sarah Mujabi, the programme officer at Sustainable Land Management (Shslm) projects ,says such reservoirs are a recommended procedure of drawing the water to avoid accidents.

She explains, “Before constructing a dam, you will need to identify land where you will be digging the pit or dam. You will then clear the land. An average dam is dug at least 100 feet into the ground.”
Whereas this pit can be dug manually, she says they use machinery, which excavates soil and the pit is cemented.
This might cost you Shs6m. However, if the land has clay, then water can easily be naturally stored as water does not easily sink into the soil.

“If the soils are sandy ,then you will need to cement the walls of the pit so that they are strong enough to hold the water that collects in there. After construction of the dam or pit, you can cover it with iron sheets and plant grass around it to protect it from water run-off.”
It is also important to fence it off, to protect it from animals that might feed around it because they can spread disease if they are infected.
“You will need to have a proper piping system which will carry the water to different points of use,” Mujabi further explains.

Rainwater harvesting and the water pump

For rainwater harvesting, Mujabi explains that they set up gutters on their roofs so as to trap and harvest water from either above the land surface tanks or underground tanks.
To trap the rainwater, you need to have gutters running around the roof of the house so that whenever it rains, the water does not go into the ground but it’s rather trapped in the gutters and flows into the water tank.

Water tanks have saved lives in Isingiro district, in western and other regions across Uganda. Using small grant funding from UNDP’s Strengthening Sustainable Environment and Natural Resource management, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Uganda (SENRCAM) project, MJK is a community-based organisation, made up of 250 members in Isingiro has built seven rain water harvesting tanks for its most vulnerable members.
The water tanks were received as part of efforts supported by the UNDP to promote climate change adaptation in Isingiro District and other parts of Uganda. These small grants are intended to help small groups such as these to reach the people who are most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Uganda has an average rainfall of 1,200mm per year with a minimum of 500mm in the semi-arid north-eastern region and a maximum of over 2300mm in Lake Victoria.
“Given the high levels of rainfall in most parts of Uganda and the dispersed nature of rural settlement, rain water harvesting is an ideal way of providing access to safe water,” an article on the ministry’s website reads in part.
Rain is recommended as a simple, low-cost technique of collecting and storing rainwater for use. It adds, “In comparison with conventional water supply technologies, Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) requires minimum specific expertise or knowledge.”

Water pump
Wainana says their Dayliff brand is increasingly popular on the market and covers a wide range of applications in water boosting and water transfer in the domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors. “The complete range includes high quality pumps from world renowned manufacturers such as Grundfos, Pedrollo and Davey, all of which are offered from stock,” he explains.
Most pumps are designed for mainly power drive, though with the ever decreasing cost of solar types and recent technology advances solar installations are becoming increasingly popular in remote sites. He observes that solar systems are inherently much more reliable, and need no maintenance and are a much cheaper long-term investment due to zero running costs.

As the moving pump part (impeller, vane, piston diaphragm, etc.) begins to move, air is pushed out of the way. The movement of air creates a partial vacuum (low pressure), which can be filled up by more air, or in the case of water pumps, water. So in this process, water is pumped into various destinations.