Repairing damaged water boreholes in Malawi
Context
One in nine people around the world do not have access to clean water close to home, and 60% of the world’s population live in areas of water stress, where the water supply cannot or will not continue to meet demand.
Malawi is a south-east African country bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. 1 in 3 people in Malawi do not have access to clean water. That’s over 5.6 million people. More than 3,100 children under 5 die every year from diarrhoea caused by dirty water and poor sanitation.
Project
This small-scale project is located in Dowa, Malawi. The project aim is to repair damaged boreholes, and drill new ones, providing access to safe, clean drinking water for the local community.
Boreholes are used to access clean water from underground. Holes as deep as 100m are drilled into the ground, and drilling pipes are installed. A hand pump is then fitted meaning that water can be pumped out by hand.
Many existing boreholes within this area have fallen into disrepair because maintenance programmes have been poorly managed, or have been too expensive. This project will identify broken down boreholes and repair them so that they deliver clean, safe water and breakdowns are fixed rapidly. Where it is not possible to rehabilitate an existing borehole, new ones will be installed.
Without access to boreholes, communities resort to boiling water from less clean sources. This boiling process is largely done on open cooking stoves using firewood, and as a result sends large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributes to local deforestation. By providing access to working boreholes, this project will prevent almost 10,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year.
Aside from benefits to the planet, families will be able to spend less time and money on acquiring firewood. They will also suffer less illness due to drinking dirty water and the amount of indoor air pollution will decrease, reducing suffering from respiratory diseases.
Verification
This project is verified by the Gold Standard. You can view it on the Gold Standard registry here.
Climate Solution # 71
Water distribution efficiency
Project Drawdown defines water distribution as: reducing water leakage or oversupply of regional water, which reduces pumping and pressurization electricity and associated greenhouse gas emissions. This solution replaces conventional water system management with no specific leak detection program.
Water utilities are among the biggest consumers of electricity globally, corresponding to about 1% of total electricity use in the world. Up to 80 percent of that energy is used for pumping alone. However, a significant amount of water is lost in the distribution network (e.g. by pipe leakage, meter error, and unauthorized consumption): the global average loss is estimated at 35 percent.
This has a direct impact on the production cost of water, as well as on the available quantity of potable water. Saving just half of these losses would supply water to an additional 100 million people.
Photos
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The 'Improved Kitchen Regimes - Dowa Boreholes' project aligns with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.
Read more about the Sustainable Development Goals
