Water Blogged

Thank you for bringing safe water to ⁠St. Aloysius Gonzaga Primary School, Kajjalubanda, Uganda!

Before:
With more than 600 school children and 200 community members relying on the surface water of a single runoff pit, the students and staff of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Primary School are in desperate need of a safe and reliable source of clean drinking water.

While the quality of their current water source is poor enough to pose an immediate threat to the health of adults and children alike, the journey to collect water from the source has also proven to be dangerous. Students must walk 30 minutes through dense vegetation to reach the runoff pit, putting them at risk of injuries, attacks from animals and even sexual assault or harassment. By equipping St. Aloysius Gonzaga School with a rainwater collection system on their school grounds, we will provide critical protection to its students and ensure that they have the clean water they need to perform their best at school.

Project:
Our implementing partner, Ugandan Water Project, erected a 10,000 liter polyethylene tank on a base made of brick, hard core and cement. Once cured, the crew placed the tank on the base, made an overflow hole in the top of the structure and attached a pipe to it that extends six inches beyond the perimeter of the base. Crew members also attached face boards to the roof of the building adjacent to the tank in order to create a suitable surface to which they attached the gutters that allow water to flow from the metal roof to the tank. Just before the outlet pipe reaches the tank, a “T” joint was inserted to create a first flush, a rudimentary filtration system that reduces the amount of debris and contaminants that enter the tank. The crew then constructed a protective barrier around the tank and first flush, as well as a tap stand located slightly downhill of the tank. The rainwater collection system is paired with Sawyer Point One water filters in order to ensure that all water collection from the tank is safe for drinking.

Check out your impact!
– You brought clean water to 622 people
– You eliminated 32.80 miles of walking per day
– You reduced collection time by ⁠70.83 hours per day
– You replaced surface water with a Rainwater Catchment System

Notes:
– Calculations are based on the number of 20 liter jerrycans used each day at this facility: 50 jerrycans
– One jerrycan per trip to original water source
– Distance is calculated for a round trip, using GPS, as the crow flies

Special thank you to:
Stacy Lamb, WA
Our implementing partner: Ugandan Water Project