Of all the water that exists on our planet, around 97% is salt water. Of the 3% or so of fresh water available, almost half of it remains frozen in glaciers, ice caps, or deep underground aquifers. Yes – just around 1.5% is available for our use, making every drop count. Further, with continuing population growth and industrial growth, demand continues to escalate in a supply-constrained domain.
Community-level Clean Drinking Water Plants (CDWP) to provide affordable & safe water
Even after almost 70 years since India’s independence, many remote villages have highly contaminated water sources with extremely high levels of dissolved solids, fluoride, iron, arsenic, and other toxic components. Specifically, Telangana and A.P. have high fluoride
levels of up to 10 mg/l (against tolerable levels of 1mg/l) in drinking water sources – both surface and underground. The districts affected are Nalgonda, Mahaboobnagar, Medak, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy, Warangal, Khammam, Kurnool, Anantapur, and Guntur, Prakasam, Krishna, Srikakulam, Godavari, Chittoor, Nellore, Kadapa, Vizag, and others.
In order to tackle the delivery of clean drinking water problem effectively, the IIT Bombay Alumni Association’s Hyderabad Chapter first identified badly affected villages, specifically with high fluoride and dissolved solid levels in the water, as well as those contaminated with bacteria that creep in due to bad or lack of any sanitation. It planned to set up several CDWPs in badly affected areas not touched by any governmental or nongovernmental agencies. In order to make these plants successful, the volunteer group decided to strictly follow the following criteria:
See this clip for a good overview :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlWLqMe4LtM&t=4s
To date, the CDWP initiative has been implemented in 20+ villages across three states Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Gujarat.
Below is a list of projects completed:
ZAAB VILLAGE (CHHOTA UDAIPUR DISTRICT in GUJARAT) is a typical profile.
Total Population (Approx.): 4,000
In this village also, we installed Clean Drinking Water Plant (CDWP) in collaboration with our NGO partner, “The Sevak Foundation” to build a 1,500 liter per hour CDWP. A local Sevak (helper) is assigned to operate and maintain the facility. The turnkey project contract was awarded to KP Water Corporation of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The project is completed and the plant is functional now. Clean drinking water is being provided to poor villagers for free and for those who can afford it at a minimal cost of ~Rs.5 for 20 liters and if delivered then an extra charge of 2-3 rupees to cover maintenance costs going forward and make it self-sustainable.
| Project Cost : | Rs. 500,000 ($7,800) |
|---|---|
| Contribution by Village: | Rs. 50,000 ($778) |
| Contribution by Co-Sponsor: | N/A |
| Contribution by WGF: | Rs. 450,000 ($6,993) |
| Project Completed On: | July, 2018 |
After successful implementation in these villages, SEVAK foundation has taken the lead to drive further scaling.
TDS and Flouride problems abound in many parts of India besides parts of three states this project has tackled so far. WGF welcomes alumni from these regions to engage and support the replication & expansion of this high-impact model to their states.
