The EWB's Involvement
On May 2, 2010, a small group of students from the EWB Northeastern Chapter returned to Bbanda in order to continue their work on the current water. This is their second trip to Bbanda. Their involvement began in 2008, when, after a relationship with The Friends of the Sick and Poor was established, and EWB was called upon to help provide clean drinking water to the people of Bbanda. The population of Bbanda, about 1000, is the largest population of any of the villages that the EWB-NEU has worked with in the past. Thus far the EWB has studied the current water situation in Bbanda, and has established a plan as to how they can provide the people of Bbanda with cleaner, more accessible water. Their current plan is to build more boreholes in the town (To read about boreholes and other water sources, See Extra Info). Currently most people have to go to an open well in order to collect water. They then have to carry the water in jerry cans for, on average, over one hour until they reach their home. This process is lengthy in itself, and the water is still unsanitary and then has to be boiled.
After gathering research while in Bbanda, the students at EWB-NEU established a few possible design alternatives to the current water system in Bbanda. One possible option is to set up a piped water distribution system, the option most popular among the residents of Bbanda. This project entails setting up a pump, which would move water to a location above the village, and the water would that flow from that point into the pipes distributed around the town. The second option would be to drill additional boreholes in more accessible places for residents. Another option is to improve rainwater catchment systems, which are basically gutters placed at a downward angle on the side of a house, so that when it rains, the water is collected in a barrel at the end of the gutters. Two final options are to construct a water treatment and transportation for the lake near Bbanda or to construct a dam with a shallow well. Their most recent plan is to create two new boreholes in August of 2010, but they are looking to also construct a piped water distribution system in the future.
