by Afsana Afrin Esha, REACH Research Associate and PhD student at Durham University, re-blogged from REACH
Every year, the southwestern coastal zone of Bangladesh faces weather-related disasters, worsening a perpetual drinking water crisis. Cyclone Sidr in 2007 and Cyclone Aila in 2009 caused widespread destruction. While people were still recovering, Cyclone Amphan caused heavy damage to infrastructure and contamination. Saltwater intrusion due to cyclones and storm surges is having devastating consequences on groundwater and freshwater resources. Different water treatment options and alternative strategies are being applied by the local government institutions, NGOs and aid agencies, whilst informal or small water service providers too, are on the rise, addressing critical gaps in public investments in the rural water sector. However, in the face of rising climatic changes along with other socio-political factors, water shortages persist. In this short piece, I portray the effects of disaster on drinking water sources to understand the nuances of climate resilience.
Paresh Chhajed-Pichainterviews Elisabeth von Muench, former moderator of the SuSanA discussion forum and a dedicated Wikipedia editor. With over nine years of editing experience and nearly 50,000 edits to her name, she ranks among the top 2,000 editors globally for the English Wikipedia. Through volunteer work and paid assignments, she has improved and written numerous Wikipedia articles on WASH, climate change, and SDGs. In this interview, Elisabeth explains her motivation, the need for wider participation in editing Wikipedia articles, and the challenges in doing so.
This is a guest blog by RWSN mentee RAKOTOARIMANANA ZY Harifidy and RWSN mentor Sean Furey who took part in the 2023 RWSN Mentoring Programme.
Who am I?
My name is RAKOTOARIMANANA ZY Harifidy, from Madagascar. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate at the Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment (ICRE), University of Yamanashi in Japan. My research focuses on water resources assessment of the Major River Basins in Madagascar (MRBM) in the context of global change. Before coming to Japan, I worked for an NGO involved in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector in Madagascar.
What is the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) Mentoring Programme?
I first learned about this program on my LinkedIn while I was searching for a mentorship or fellowship opportunity in the WASH sector. It turned out to be the RWSN Mentoring Programme, which enables professionals in the WASH sector to collaborate, advance their careers, and learn from one another. This program specifically supports mentees who are starting their careers or going through career transitions. It is important to note that this program is free and open to the public for a duration of 6 months. Thanks to the Pushfar platform, I could easily schedule appointment slots, monitor the progress of my mentoring relationship, and engage in online conversations with my mentor. For more information, please visit this website.
How was my experience as a mentee?
My journey as a mentee began when I found Sean Furey, the Director of RWSN Secretariat through the PushFar platform and he accepted my request on 15 May 2023. I am grateful and honored to have him as my mentor. I was in my second year of my doctoral program, uncertain about my next steps, and in need of direction. Therefore, Sean became the guiding hand I was looking for.
My objectives for joining this program were to receive feedback about my research project and to learn from my mentor’s experience and expertise in the WASH sector. I also want to improve my communication skills, particularly in presenting research findings and networking. I would like to get some advice on my future career development. These are my goals from this mentoring process.
During my mentorship, we had five one-on-one meetings scheduled once a month for 1 hour. Sean shared his experience and knowledge about the WASH sector with me. I have learned from his insights and perspectives.
9 June 2023: During our first conversation, I talked about my goals and my expectations for the mentorship program. Upon Sean’s introduction, I was greatly inspired by his professional journey in the WASH sector, which I found to be particularly motivating for young people like me. Since I was uncertain about my post-graduation plans, Sean elucidated various career options for Ph.D. students. He asked about my dream job, which I regarded as a pivotal factor in selecting my career path. He also provided insights and comments related to my research.
23 June 2023: I rehearsed my presentation for the SWAT conference in Denmark alongside Sean. As this marked my first experience at an international conference, I felt somewhat anxious and had concerns about my proficiency in English. Sean provided constructive feedback on how to effectively communicate my research findings to a non-academic audience, offering valuable tips and guidance to enhance my presentation slides for better audience comprehension. Thanks to his advice, my conference presentation was successful. Importantly, I honed both my presentation and networking abilities in the process.
11 August 2023: Sean reviewed my CV and provided valuable guidance for proactive job hunting. He recommended that I prepare two distinct versions of my CV. One focused on my academic achievements, including qualifications, grants, fellowships, awards, research experience, and publications; and the other was tailored for a professional context, emphasizing work experience, responsibilities, deliverables, evidence of teamwork, and engagement within and outside the organization. Sean also emphasized the importance of including a brief motivational paragraph in my CV. Furthermore, he connected me with some amazing African women in the WASH sector so I could look at their career paths.
15 September 2023: We focused on the review and completion of my CV. Sean provided guidance on writing a cover letter and preparing for job interviews. Moreover, he shared his own experiences, including insights from his initial interview and how he secured the job. He recommended that I practice with my friends and lab mates. An additional advantage of having Sean as my mentor is the opportunity to improve my English language skills by conversing with a native speaker.
14 November 2023: In our last meeting, we talked about the results of the mentorship program and exchanged feedback. During this mentorship, I joined the RWSN Young Professionals which is an interesting platform for networking and receiving information about events, seminars, and job opportunities in the WASH sector. I was happy that I joined this program and I decided to keep in contact with my mentor through LinkedIn.
Overall, this mentorship program is a valuable journey for me. I strongly recommend this program to every Ph.D. student and young professional in the WASH sector, who wants to shape their career and personal development. I believe that my participation in this program would have a positive impact on my future career. I forged a strong international contact network. I sincerely thank my mentor, Sean Furey, for his advice, tutelage, and precious time during the program. I am also grateful to the RWSN Secretariat for their support since the beginning of the mentoring program.
My Mentor`s comment
Zy Harifidy Rakotoarimanana is a promising Ph.D. student who is quietly confident and determined to achieve her goals of working for an international organization in a water resource role. Our mentoring calls helpfully focused on specific topics that she chose. Over the course of the mentoring meetings, we explored her career ideas, aspirations, and some possible pathways. Working together on her presentation and CV helped her think about how to communicate clearly to different audiences about herself and her expertise and work. Being in her second year of Ph.D. she still has time to explore and reflect on what she wants from a career, and I encourage her to be brave and persistent! I will be following her career with interest.
To join RWSN and be informed about the next round of the mentoring programme, please sign up here.
The RWSN secretariat team (Sean, Meleesa and Aline) participated in the REACH conference (20 to 22 September), and the REACH internal meetings that preceded.
At the conference and internal meeting, RWSN was involved in:
a session of the internal meetings on “REACH Exit Strategy: Planning activities and delivering impact”; in the session, participants took stock of the impact pathways and engagement activities of the Programme. Challenges and best practices were discussed, as well as the implementation of REACH’s Exit strategy.
We co-led the the organisation of a session on innovative service delivery models to address rural water service delivery models to address rural water risks along with Dr Johanna Koehler, with case studies from Kenya, Bangladesh and West Africa.
BushProof Sàrl, mettant à profit une expérience de travail de plus de 15 ans dans le Sud de Madagascar, appuyé par deux hydrogéologues de la Direction du Développement et de la Coopération (DDC), s’est proposé de travailler de manière appropriée sur la connaissance des aquifères des régions du Sud de Madagascar. Ensembles, ils ont financé et créer un outil cartographique afin d’améliorer la connaissance du fonctionnement des eaux souterraines dans le Sud de Madagascar. Cet outil a été réalisé en 2023.
Le Sud de l’île de Madagascar connait, depuis plusieurs années, des périodes prolongées de sécheresse. Les populations locales grandissantes y ont aujourd’hui un accès très restreint à l’eau, ce qui engendre des conditions de vie dégradées. Pourtant, d’importantes d’eau transitent dans cette zone via des aquifères dont le fonctionnement reste mal connu.
BushProof Sàrl, drawing on more than 15 years’ experience of working in southern Madagascar, supported by two hydrogeologists from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), set out to work in an appropriate way on knowledge of aquifers in the regions of southern Madagascar. Together, they financed and created a mapping tool to improve knowledge of the functioning of groundwater in southern Madagascar, which was completed in 2023.
The south of the island of Madagascar has been experiencing prolonged periods of drought for several years. The growing local populations there now have very limited access to water, leading to deteriorating living conditions. However, large quantities of water flow through this area via aquifers whose functioning remains poorly understood.
De nombreux pays cherchent à développer les services d’eau en milieu rural et à améliorer les niveaux de service pour les habitants des petites villes et des zones rurales en investissant dans des réseaux d’eau décentralisés et de petite taille. L’Afrique de l’Ouest francophone a une longue histoire de délégation des services d’eau potable (généralement des petits réseaux) dans les petites villes et les zones rurales à des opérateurs professionnels, qui peuvent être des associations publiques ou des opérateurs privés.
Le Secrétariat du RWSN, en partenariat avec le programme REACH, a passé l’année passée à enquêter sur l’expérience de la délégation des services d’eau et les moteurs des récentes réformes de la politique de l’eau potable en milieu rural dans plusieurs pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest francophone. Nous avons réalisé une étude documentaire détaillée et parlé à 25 experts du secteur de l’eau en milieu rural dans la région pour comprendre pourquoi et comment les réformes des politiques d’eau potable en milieu rural se sont produites, et quelles leçons peuvent être tirées des diverses expériences de délégation des services d’eau potables en milieu rural à des opérateurs professionnels.
Many countries are looking to expand rural water services and improve service levels for people living in small towns and rural areas by investing in small, decentralised piped water services. Francophone West Africa has a long history of delegating water services (usually piped) in small towns and rural areas to professional operators, both public and private.
The RWSN Secretariat in partnership with the REACH programme spent the last year investigating the experience of the delegation of rural water services and the drivers behind recent rural water policy reforms in several countries of francophone West Africa. We did a detailed desk review, and spoke to 25 experts in rural water sector in the region to understand why and how rural water policy reform happened, and what lessons can be drawn from their experiences in delegating rural water services to professional operators.
This blog is part of a four-part series covering the presentations given at the 11th Zambia Water Forum and Exhibition. The event, themed “Accelerating Water Security and Sanitation Investments in Zambia: Towards Agenda 2023 through the Zambia Water Investment Programme”, lasted three days.
Our blog series takes a focused look at the presentations and discussions that revolved around “Addressing Rapid Hand Pump Corrosion in Zambia – Stop the Rot!”, which was co-convened by UNICEF and WaterAid, together with Ask for Water GmbH and the RWSN, hosted by Skat Foundation.
Cover photo: Red, iron-rich water being pumped. Photo: WaterAid Uganda
Second session:
The role of galvanized pipes in the corrosion and failure of hand pumps
Empowered Communities Helping Others (ECHO) has been implementing a safe water project since 2020. This is a Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project, whose main intervention is borehole rehabilitation which is implemented in rural parts of Zambia’s Western and Central Provinces, in collaboration with the Local Authority. In practice, the need to rehabilitate a borehole arises when a functioning borehole presents usage problems such as non-production of water, worn out parts such as pipes, rods, handles, chains, cylinders, water chambers, pedestal, head assembly, bearings, etc.
Since 2020, ECHO has rehabilitated a total of about 850 boreholes in Central and Western Zambia, benefiting a total of about 255,000 people.
It was found that rehabilitating a borehole can be more economical than constructing a new one. It is simpler and faster and can be an appropriate solution in an emergency because it doesn’t require things like mobilizing a drilling rig. However, if the rehabilitated borehole is to be used for a long time, it is important to estimate its life expectancy.
The rehabilitation option chosen depends on the conditions of the existing borehole, the causes of the damage, the technical and logistic options, and the existing alternatives such as the construction of a new water point.
According to the severity of the borehole problems, the work requirements may vary from a simple repair at the surface to re-equipment.
For the project, all GI pipes are replaced with new PVC ones. This is done in order to prevent and reduce iron contamination (as a result of corrosion) which from the past four years we have observed is a contributing factor to borehole failure and abandonment
The main observed sources of iron are:
▪ From natural sources in the aquifer
▪ From pump components such as steel casings and galvanized pipes.
▪ In other instances, a combination of both has been observed to be possible. ▪ Within 3 to 6 months of installing hand pumps with galvanized material, pipes and rods have been found to be heavily corroded.
▪ When corrosion is the main source of iron, iron concentrations reduce drastically when water is pumped out and fresh recharge is allowed. If iron concentrations remain high throughout during continued pumping, the case has been that it is likely the iron is coming from the aquifer.
Experiences on hand pump corrosion
Hand pumps with GI pipes, sometimes only a year or two old have corroded, and people have returned to unprotected water sources. Water with pH below 6 has been observed to have corroded pipes. High iron concentrations in handpumps have been a usual occurrence this has been observed through regular water quality testing and evaluating the change in iron concentration over the period of our operations. Stainless steel pipes and rods had corrosion rates lower than galvanized iron (GI) pipes and rods.
Experiences on hand pump corrosion
The brown or reddish color is observed in the morning when the pumps had not been used during the night
However, groundwater has been observed to hold significant concentrations of iron but appears clear and colorless. When this water is pumped out after being exposed to the atmosphere, the color changes to red/brown.
Figure 3: Sampled on Friday 2nd June 2023 in Central Province.
General complaints recorded from communities:
Within weeks and months of installation, communities would begin to complain about water quality. These complaints range from metallic taste, odor, and the appearance of water. Also, the communities would report discoloration of water and cloths and highly turbid water.
All these result in people abandoning the water point and going back to unprotected alternative water sources.
Positive observations
The use of uPVC pipes and stainless-steel adapters has so far shown positive results in reducing iron contamination. After switching from galvanized pipes to UPVC, the communities have observed reduced to no brown or reddish color in the water. uPVC pipes last long, so you won’t have to worry about replacing them anytime soon. Since uPVC is non-porous, uPVC pipes help by preventing any contamination from occurring. uPVC is resistant to corrosion as it is not susceptible to chemical and electrochemical reactions, so there are better option in controlling iron contamination. The use of uPVC pipes and stainless-steel adapters has so far shown positive results in reducing iron contamination
Figure 4: Riser pipe removal and water quality testing for an installation that was less than six months old by ECHO.
What we are advocating for:
▪ Stakeholders should address the handpumps with corrosion problems as a priority in order to guarantee the water quality we supply to the people.
▪ Testing boreholes that present iron contamination to determine whether the source of iron is from the aquifer or from corrosion. This will provide the best options for the right material to equip the water point with
▪ Competent borehole drilling and rehabilitation supervision should be ensured so that all standards and specifications are adhered to.
▪ Regular water quality analysis is undertaken, and critical parameters are tested to address problems such as corrosion and other related problems that shorten the life span of a hand pump
You are invited to access the presentations HERE, along with the session’s concept and report. If you would like to dive deeper into the enriching exploration of water challenges and solutions through the Stop the Rot initiative, visit this page.
About the author:
Annie Kalusa – Kapambwe presenting at at ZAWAFE 2023
Annie Kalusa is an accomplished development practitioner and administrator. Currently working for a local Zambian NGO Empowered Communities Helping Others (ECHO) in Zambia, focusing on improving the wellbeing of Vulnerable Rural Communities. Her areas of focus are climate resilient Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). She is currently developing her thesis on Rural Agriculture Practices and Mechanisms for Water Resource Management.
This blog is part of a four-part blog series highlighting the presentations delivered during the 11th Zambia Water Forum and Exhibition. The event, themed “Accelerating Water Security and Sanitation Investments in Zambia: Towards Agenda 2023 through the Zambia Water Investment Programme”, lasted three days.
Our blog series takes a focused look at the presentations and discussions that revolved around “Addressing Rapid Hand Pump Corrosion in Zambia – Stop the Rot!”, which was co-convened by UNICEF and WaterAid, together with Ask for Water GmbH and the RWSN, hosted by Skat Foundation.
Third session:
The journey towards reducing the effects of rapid corrosion in Kalumbila District.
Kalumbila District is a district in the North-Western Province of Zambia. It has two major mines namely Lumwana and Kalumbila Mines.
With a population of over 170,000, the district has about 300 water points (boreholes and protected wells equipped with handpumps).
Rapid handpump corrosion has been a problem since the district was created in 2015. One of the interventions that the district has undertaken has been iron removal filters (to remove iron from pumped water), although these have not been sustainable.
Figure 1: Location of Kalimbula District
In every program of drilling of boreholes about 40% of boreholes were abandoned within one year after handover due to rapid corrosion.
We started looking for a solution to this problem. We found that iron filters were used but were not sustainable.
Figure 2: Handpump evaluation
One of the interventions that the district has undertaken has been iron removal filters (to remove iron from pumped water), although these have not been sustainable. In Kalumbila District it was found, that in every borehole programme, about 40% of the handpumps installed were abandoned due to high iron content, with some boreholes being abandoned as early as three months after construction and commissioning.
Projects
In 2017 UNICEF supported Kalumbila district in the drilling of 23 boreholes and rehabilitation of 15 water points.
In 2018 JICA also supported Kalumbila district with rehabilitation of 77 water points using uPVC pipes with stainless steel adapters. It is from these projects that we learnt a lot of important lessons and made recommendations to the D-WASHE committee. No water point was abandoned after one year of handover Kalumbila district decided to suspend the use of galvanised iron (GI) pipes and recommended the use of stainless steel and uPVC pipes for Indian Mark II and Afridev hand pumps.
Lessons learnt
It is from these two projects that we learnt a lot of lessons, and we told ourselves never to keep quiet. From these two projects, we observed that no water point was abandoned after one year of handover. We saw a solution – why continue to use GI pipes when there was a solution. So we made recommendations to the D-WASHE committee. After this, Kalumbila district decided to suspend the use of galvanised iron (GI) pipes and recommended the use of stainless steel and uPVC pipes for India Mark II and Afridev hand pumps. We have discovered that handpumps with stainless steel riser pipes do not require frequent repair and maintenance whereas sometimes the GI pipes would require replacement every six months. For the past four years, those handpumps remain working.
Our challenges include a lack of funding for the rehabilitation of boreholes affected by rapid corrosion. Further, some stakeholders have not supported the districts fully.
Recommendations
Stakeholders at the national level take an interest in order to address this issue of rapid corrosion.
The use of materials that are environmentally friendly without change of properties when they come into contact with aggressive water (i.e. materials such as stainless steel and uPVC).
There is capacity building of all Area Pump Menders (APMs) in Afridev hand pumps.
All hand pumps that have galvanised iron (GI) riser pipes are to be rehabilitated.
You are invited to access the presentations HERE, along with the session’s concept and report. If you would like to dive deeper into the enriching exploration of water challenges and solutions through the Stop the Rot initiative, visit this page.
About the author:
Daniel Shimanzapresenting at ZAWAFE 2023
Daniel Shimanza is a Zambian Citizen who has worked in the water sector for more than 6 years. He worked on many water supply projects in Kalumbila district, Zambia in collaboration with GRZ, NGOs such as UNICEF, and World Vision. He has a passion for the improvement of access to clean water supply for people living in rural areas. He’s championing a campaign to reduce the effects of rapid corrosion in Kalumbila district by using alternative materials such as stainless steel pipes, PVC pipes, Iron Filters, and more. He holds a Diploma in Water Engineering from NRDC and currently pursuing a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the Copperbelt University.
Rural Water Supply Network - blog 