WATER

STEWARDSHIP
Providing clean water and hope to the Phalombe
district of Malawi, Africa.
ABSTRACT
To provide safe drinking water sources, water storage
systems, and hygiene and sanitation awareness to the
Phalombe district of Malawi, funding is requested to
create a Coca-Cola Foundation RAIN project. The
water stewardship project would restore old wells and
provide new ones, construct multiple rain catchment
systems, and fabricate filtration stations for the
people of the Phalombe district.
Richard J Munn
To The Coca-Cola Foundation
English 317

Overview of Project & Objectives
Currently, 780 million people lack access to clean, safe drinking water, and of those 3.4 million
people die each year from water related diseases
1
. Unfortunately, 44% of the people in the world
that lack clean water are found in Africa, and one such community is the Phalombe district of
Malawi
1,2
. This project will bring new sources of clean water to 6,500 people in the area along
with educational workshops, hygiene and sanitation training
2
. The district will be surveyed to
find ideal sources of water for well installation, along with restoring pre-existing wells where the
water quality has deteriorated over time.

Clean water projects have been appearing across Africa at an exponential rate in the last few
years. Organizations such as The Water Project, Engineers Without Boarders, and even The
Coca-Cola Foundations own Project RAIN (Replenish Africa Initiative) have been providing
clean water, sanitation, and better living conditions to the communities in Africa
1,3,4
. Projects that
are pursuing cleaner water for African people are using innovative approaches to improve the
lives of the community members.

One of the purest sources of water isnt collected from the ground but from the rain. Rain
catchment systems collect rain runoff from buildings. Unfortunately, a substantial amount of
water is lost during rain, though what little water that runs off building are collected in gutters
then deposited into a central water tank capable of holding up to 100,000 liters of water
5,6
. The
system is very simple, cost effective, and last for many years. It is important to collect rain water
for future use such as agriculture use during dry seasons and clean drinking water during well
maintenance among other situations where water access might not be available immediately
5,6
.

Another project being pursued is bringing filtration stations to the communities
4
. For community
members that wont live close to water wells or even storage systems, purification systems will
be produced so that unclean water can be poured into an inlet, filtered through a series of filters,
and deposit clean drinking water from a spigot. This will provide people a way to filter water that
they have available if a well access isnt close enough to the community.

Our objectives are to form a
partnership with The Coca-Cola
Foundation to bring a RAIN project
to the Phalombe district of Malawi
to improve the lives of the
community by providing long term
sources of clean water, hygiene
awareness, and healthier lives. Our
organization requests $120,000 to
bring the communities together and
assist them in building better lives
for themselves by using community
engagement, outside volunteers, and
native contractors.

Figure 1: Finished well pump.
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Literature Review
Importance
As a chemical engineering and chemistry student, chemical purification is a fundamental concept
we learn. However, one of the most important uses of purification is the treatment of
contaminated water into safe water. Today, millions of people go without clean drinking water
which is essential for healthy lives
1,2,4,7
. Regions of the world (such as Africa, Central America,
the Middle East, and Asia) dont have access to safe water, and the habitants sometimes must
travel miles each day to collect clean water
1,7,9
.

Drinking water is an important resource to produce. The amount of fresh water on the planet is
finite due to all the salt, sediments, and contaminants found ocean water and other bodies of
water, thus the need to recycle and purify water
1,7,8,10.
In Africa, poverty has become an epidemic
resulting from political instability, ethnic conflicts, climate change, and even from the lack of
clean drinking water
1,7
.

Women and even children will travel to the nearest source of water and will wait in line till it is
their turn to fill their containers with the dirty water
4,9
. It is common for women to travel miles to
the nearest source of water and will experience back pain earlier in life, stress to the spine, and
even can be subjected to harassment or sexual assault
7
. With a nearby water source, the risk can
be minimized and will free time for the women to pursue opportunities and children wont be
late to school and they can earn their education to improve their community in the future
1,7,10
.

Currently, 3.4 million people die each year from water related disease (i.e. the population of the
city of Los Angeles)
1
. Unfortunately, a child dies from water related-illnesses every 21 seconds,
a majority of those illnesses are born from fecal matter contaminants
1,7
. Under 22% of children
under the age of 14 without access to safe water die
1
. The leading cause of death for children
under 5 is diarrhea obtained from water-borne illnesses; which is more than AIDS, measles, and
malaria combined
7
. Water-borne diseases
generate from trace amounts of Escherichia
coli (E. coli), salmonella typhi, schistosoma,
vibrio cholera, and hepatitis A that are
commonly found in contaminated water
7
.

Other Organizations & Projects
Water is needed for everyone and not all
areas possess access to drinking water.
Water purification is important in recycling
and processing contaminated water into
clean drinking water. Because of this fact
there are many organizations that work on
raising funds and providing water
Figure 2: Bacteria and viruses found in contaminated drinking water.
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stewardship projects in order to provide access of clean water to communities in these regions.
These groups include Water.org, The Water Project, Water for Life, Engineers Without Borders,
UNICEF, Pepsi Co., WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), and many more organizations.
According to The Water Project, an average of $23 can bring a source of clean water to a person
in communities without access to water
10
.

The Coca-Cola Africa Foundations flagship program RAIN has been promoting healthier and
happier lives in 35 of 55 African countries in order to provide 2 million people with safe water
by 2015. So far the sustainability program provided 1 million people with clean water access,
empowered women, and given back to the communities of Africa since 2009
4,9
. Our stewardship
proposal is to help further Coca-Colas goal by educating, engaging with, and building the
communities within the Phalombe district of Malawi.

The Water Project is a group (similar to The Coca-Cola Foundation and many others) that has
been working continuously in Africa to bring safe drinking water and sanitation projects to
communities without access
1
. With almost every project, The Water Project brings in local
hydro-geologists to perform local surveys for the well instillations
11
. An example of a rain
catchment system to capture rain
running off buildings is the
100,000 liter water tank installed
in Nzatani in Kenya for 600
people
3
. Furthermore, The Water
Project hold educational
workshop for the community
members to learn ways to
conserve water, proper sanitation
and hygiene methods and tips,
and how to maintain the new
systems being installed
10
.



Figure 3: Completed Nzatani Water Project -Rain Catchment
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Design & Methodology
A hydro-geographic survey of the district will be
performed while the volunteers and workers
introduce themselves to the communities within
the Phalombe district of Malawi. Existing wells
will be recorded along with ideal locations for
new wells. As we rotate from community to
community the projects will happen as follows:

1. Project introduction to community.
2. Hydro-geographical survey.
3. Prepare and setup for sanitation and
hygiene workshops, filtration systems,
and placement of rain catchment tanks.
4. Initiate workshops and construction of
filtration systems.
5. Begin well and rain harvesting projects.
6. Work with community over a two week
period, install and test filtration systems.
7. Test wells and water harvesting systems.
8. Spend day with community once projects
are finished for photos, ribbon cutting and
other events.
9. Pack up and hand over all projects to the
community for long term maintenance.

Sanitation and Hygiene Workshops
The water supply in Africa isnt only a source of drinking water, it is also a source of cleaning
water
4
. The dirty water they drink is also their source of cleaning water for not only them but for
their dishes, clothes, and homes
4
.

Dishes are rinsed and scrubbed off using washcloths then are placed in areas unsuitable for
dishes (i.e. floor, dirty counters, etc.)
1
. One part of the workshops would teach the locals about
the dangers of digesting food off their kitchenware but, in addition, have them create drying
racks for their dishes
1
. Other workshops will cover a range of topics such as the importance of
washing hands before and after meals
1
. Each workshop should only cost $100 for materials.

Wells
Drilling boreholes for the wells are the easy part, costing from a couple hundred dollars up to
$20,000 per well
11,12,13,14
. Our goal is to bring three new wells for $5,000 to $10,000 (average of
$7,000 for each) with a local company called Water Drilling Contractors Ltd Malawi
13,14
. Then
to restore any other wells that have collapsed or require additional drilling for a deeper hole,
$2,000 each.

Construction of each well will last several days and will take another 10 days for the concrete
platform to thoroughly set
11,12
. A hand pump system will be utilized at every well so water and
Figure 4: Schematic of common wells in water projects
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energy is not needlessly wasted and in order to promote sustainability within the district. While
the concrete is setting, workshops will be performed to educate the community about sustainable
water use and well maintenance.

We are planning ahead in case of any setbacks with the wells, particularly collapses or otherwise.
This way the budget will be cushioned in case of an unforeseen situation
2
.

Rain Catchment
Rain harvesting systems capture the water that run off roofs and stored into a large containment
system usually made of concrete. The collection system prevents the loss of runoff water from
large buildings such as schools or other community structures and is stored until future need,
such as dry weather during crop season or well maintenance
3,5
. A simple filter system will be
installed in the piping to purify the water and separate any particulates that are collected from the
roof. On average, the cost of a 100,000 liter water tank is $6,000 plus $2,000 for skilled labor.

Filtration Systems
Purification stations will be built during workshops while the rain harvesting systems and the
wells are setting. A total of 6 systems will be built for the community members that wont live
close to any of the 6 wells or 3 rain collection tanks. The systems will be a simple four foot tall
15 gallon open-top water tank (with removable lid to keep extra particulates out) with a pipe in
the bottom leading to a filter then to a spigot. The estimated cost for producing one station is
$150.
Preparation
Our organization Engineers Without Boarders has been working on the workshops, the materials
required, and the sequence of events once we arrive in Malawi. Currently, we have selected all
nine volunteers to accompany the advisor and team lead Dr. Wudneh Admassu. Due to his
efforts in membrane filters and work in chemical and materials engineering, Dr. Wudneh was
selected as the lead and advisor to the project. Because of his experience with large projects, our
group has been prepared by Dr. Wudneh to plan each project, perform a cost analysis, and
assume which setbacks and errors can occur during the project and how can we fix them while
were there.

A major problem with existing water stewardship projects is that they fail. According to Charity:
Water, Over 50 percent of all water projects fail and less than five percent of projects are
visited, and far less than one percent have any longer-term monitoring.
7
In addition, a Phalombe
fund has been set up in advance for donations. The money will be invested with interest and
accessed only when maintenance is required on any of the projects. Furthermore, our
organization will sponsor two people every spring for the next five years to perform in person
checks of the systems and with the leaders of the district to ensure this project will continue.



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Budget
Below is our estimated budget for the entire project based on current prices and water projects
throughout Africa. With a group of 10 people staying for 45 days while being paid $9.00 an hour
(in compliance that no person be paid over $10 an hour) is $24,200. With 3 wells being
renovated and 3 newly installed, a total of $48,000 is estimated. At $8,000 for each rain
harvester, our estimated total is $24,000 while the workshops and filtration stations cost
approximately $11,000. An overall total (without cushion) is $107,188. With possible setbacks,
our requested total for the 3 projects to provide water to the 6,500 people in the Phalombe district
is $120,000.
2


Estimated Budget

Price Per Total
Flight (round trip) for #of Volunteers:
10 $ 1,500.00 $ 15,000.00
Hotel (30 days +15 housed)
30 $ 250.00 $ 7,500.00
Pay (dollars per hour)
$ 9.00 $ 1,687.50

Wells

Quantity Price Per Total
New Installations
3 $ 10,000.00 $ 30,000.00
Maintenance
3 $ 2,000.00 $ 6,000.00
Skilled Labor
6 $ 2,000.00 $ 12,000.00

Rain Catchment

Quantity Price Per Total
Materials
3 $ 6,000.00 $ 18,000.00
Skilled Labor
3 $ 2,000.00 $ 6,000.00

Filtration Systems

Quantity Price Per Total
Materials (filters, open drums, etc.)
6 $ 150.00 $ 900.00
Tools (rented or loaned)
2 $ 50.00 $ 100.00


Sanitation & Hygiene Workshops

Quantity Price Per Total
Materials
1000 $ 10.00 $ 10,000.00

Total Estimated
$ 107,187.50
Cushion and Possible Setbacks
$ 12,812.50
Funding Requested
$ 120,000.00


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References
1. Water.org,. (1990). Water.org. Retrieved 16 April 2014, from http://water.org/
2. Waterwellsforafrica.org,. (2012). Uthwa : Water Wells For Africa. Retrieved from
http://waterwellsforafrica.org/uthwa/
3. The Water Project,. (2008). Project: Nzatani. Retrieved from
http://thewaterproject.org/nzatani
4. The Coca-Cola Company,. (2012). Water for Africa. Retrieved from
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/rain/
5. The Water Project,. (2014). How Rain Catchment Systems Works. Retrieved from
http://thewaterproject.org/rain_catchment
6. Waterwellsforafrica.org,. (2014). Technology : Water Wells For Africa. Retrieved
from http://waterwellsforafrica.org/technology/
7. IRISHMIKE, I. (2012). Access to Clean and Safe Water THE FACTS. Retrieved
21 March 2014, from http://www.irishmikesmith.com/access-to-clean-and-safe-
water-the-facts/
8. Face2FaceAfrica,. (2011). Organization of the Week: FACE Africa |
Face2FaceAfrica. Retrieved 22 April 2014, from
http://face2faceafrica.com/article/organization-of-the-week-face-africa
9. The Water Stewardship and Replenish Report (2012). In The Coca-Cola Company.
Retrieved April 22, 2014
10. The Water Project,. (2014). Give Water - The Water Project. Retrieved 22 March
2014, from http://thewaterproject.org/
11. The Water Project,. (2014). Install a Well at a Water Project. Retrieved from
http://thewaterproject.org/installing-the-well
12. Waterwellsforafrica.org,. (2014). How To Build A Well : Water Wells For Africa.
Retrieved from http://waterwellsforafrica.org/how-to-build-a-well-2/
13. Waterwellsforafrica.org,. (2014). Whats The Cost : Water Wells For Africa.
Retrieved from http://waterwellsforafrica.org/whats-the-cost/
14. Water Drilling Contractors Ltd - Malawi,. (2012). About Us. Retrieved 21 March
2014, from http://wdcmw.com/about-us/


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