Arubot Nepal Water Project 2018

This village has about 30 houses and a population of around 195, some in the upper area of the village and some in a lower area.

The whole village is on a hillside, the highest being to the north.

The original request before our visit was to build a collection chamber at a spring above the village and to build a tank a short distance away. This spring which emerges from a re-entrant, often floods in the monsoon season resulting in contamination.  Also, this supply is not adequate for the whole village all year round and often water has to be collected from a nearby village. Cost was estimated at £1700.

Although this would result in a shorter queueing times, as there would now be decent storage, the water would still need to be carried to all parts of the village. Also, it would not solve the problem of a good all year-round supply.

However, there is a spring at 1101m elevation with an excellent year-round flow but much lower down in the village. There is a small plastic 1000L tank a short distance away. There are no other tanks or taps anywhere else in the village. The tank is at elevation 1085m. Water cannot be collected and stored overnight due to its small size. This results in queues for water, which then has to be carried to the lower part of the village at 1039m elevation. The high part of the village is at 1126m elevation a 41m climb (= approximately 13 stories). It is impractical to use this source for the upper part of the village due to the climb where the poor, potentially contaminated source is still used.

A much more elegant and practical solution would be to build a lower 10,000L tank close to the lower spring with an electric pump. From this tank water would supply the southern, lower part of the village via gravity drainage to two taps and the pump would raise water to a higher 20,000L storage tank above the village which would then feed by gravity flow to a further two taps. There would be an additional tap close to the houses near the spring making five in total. A collection chamber to be built at the spring to ensure a clean, uncontaminated supply. Both tanks would fill overnight and eliminate any queueing during the day. It will ensure a clean supply and importantly a good flow in the dry season.

The cost of this will be £5,500.00 which is £3,800.00 more than our current funds.

It is our intention that the three Rotary clubs along with the Okhle Village Trust fundraise to cover the difference this far superior project. We have therefore given the go ahead for this project to be undertaken between January and May 2018.