Each time I return, I learn something new. This trip was no exception. The barriers that prevent the Tamale Children's Home from having reliable access to clean water are different than I thought a week ago. Every year, without fail, Augustina (the administrator of the Home) says that their number one need is water. And, every year, the students design improvements their water system - storage tanks, pumps, graywater drainage, etc, etc. Their need for water is nothing new.
When the students called Augustina early this year, they discovered that the Home had not received municipal water since October. The Home uses rainwater and borehole water to supplement the municipal supply, which is their only "clean" water.
When we arrived last week, they still didn't have water. In order to understand the water shortages, we followed the system upstream and examined every aspect as best we could.
Water at the Home
We spoke with a local water expert, who has worked at the Home for many years, and filled in the gaps with information from Mumuni (a sixteen-year-old boy who lives at the Home and does most of the heavily lifting and upkeep) and Augustina. The Home has received municipal water three times since October, and they order tanker trucks of water to drink. The on-site water storage tanks (many of which UNF team's installed) allow them to survive for one month without refilling. Augustina mentioned that she had been billed for months that they had not received any water. The Home pays a flat fee for water 70 GH Cedis per month per building (compared to an average month per capita income in the Northern Region of approximately 25 GH Cedis). The Home could reduce their monthly bill significantly if the water company would install a meter and charge them for the volume of water used instead of the flat fee.
Jeff Carling led the water meter investigation
Local Water Authorities
When we spoke with Stephen Tecku, the Tamale Municipal Assembly Engineer, he mentioned that about 70% of Tamale lacked water due to power outages, which had disabled the main pump station.
Then, we visited the local water company to discuss installing a meter on the Home's main line, and to find out the prognosis for the water system. The regional manager said that they could install a water meter. He sent two for his employees out with us to the site to gather information for a cost estimate. The employees determined that the Home was connected to an old galvanized line from the '70s and not to the new PVC line at the main road. The neighborhood across the street, which is connected to the PVC line, is receiving water weekly - still a shortage, but not nearly as severe as the Home had experienced. Instantly, our focus shifted to connecting the main line instead of installing a meter.
The water company's office was impressive - enclosed by a 12ft concrete wall, air-conditioned with covered parking outside
Water tanker trucks are common in Tamale, but the quality of the water that they deliver is always uncertain.
Water Source and Treatment
While we were at the water company office, we also asked about the city's water source and treatment, more out of curiosity than anything else.
The City draws water from the White Volta, and the water intake and treatment plant are located in 30km outside of town. Cosmos (our travel guide) was happy to set up a visit to the facility.
The water intake tower was located in the middle of the river, connected to the bank by a concrete footbridge. The water level was low because of a dam in Burkina Faso, but the area floods when the gates open.
The water treatment plant contained similar equipment to treatment facilities in the U.S.
With only two civil engineering majors on the trip, the majority of the students were not familiar with the water treatment process and learned quite a bit on our tour
The technical knowledge and enthusiasm of the men who showed us through the plant gave us hope for the water system in Tamale
Cool, clear water flowed into a pipeline to the city.
Next Steps...
We left Tamale without resolving the water connection at the Home. We met with the director of the Social Welfare department (the agency responsible for the Home) on our way out of town. He made a commitment to work on the water connection over the next month and report back to us. Although, the pessimist in me doubts any progress will be make in such a short time.
In our meeting, Gordon (CEO of CTB World Travel, our main in-country contact) said "water is life". This is so true, and it is visible in the children at the Home. The ramifications of not having water affect the children's health. Not only do they suffer from more instances of diarrhea because they are more likely to ingest bacteria. But also, the majority of the infants and toddlers suffer from severe skin infections because the shortage of water forces the women at the Home to bath all of them in one shared bucket of dirty water.
The infrastructure that supplies the water to Tamale gives me hope that improvements are coming soon. But, seeing the issue the children face every day makes me feel like soon is not quick enough.
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