Solar / Water purification

Overview

Solar / Water purification overview

Water purification
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Clean drinking water is a basic human need, and its availability is a critical factor for health and consequently development. By reducing avoidable water borne diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera and the suffering inherent in these, people are more able to contribute to their community, and further development becomes possible. This important issue has not been adequately addressed in Laos. 57% of the Lao population in remote areas is without access, or have inadequate access, to clean drinking water, with diarrhoea the main cause of infant mortality besides malaria. Water is drunk directly from rivers and streams without being cleaned, or it is collected and boiled, which can be time consuming and damaging to the environment.

The current possibilities for purifying water are: piped systems, wells, and boiling raw water. The former is often not possible in the Lao difficult terrain, especially for more remote systems. Wells have the problem that they are not well maintained so often breakdown (especially hand-dug wells), and the quality of the water is only as good as the container used. Boiling the water requires large amounts of dry firewood and time. Since not all villages have access to larger amounts of wood and a general lack of dry wood exists during the rainy season, villagers often have to drink un-purified water. Even if dry firewood is available, it first has to be cut and transported to the village which means a lot of additional work.

Another issue to consider is that since Laos is only very sparsely populated (ca. 28 persons per km2) most of the villages are off the electrical grid. Connecting the scattered villages to the grid would be extremely costly, so it is not foreseeable that the situation will change for many years. Therefore, it is important that a possible water purifying system is combined with an independent energy source.

The aim of this project is to find and research a viable solution to provide clean drinking water in rural parts of Laos.

Activities

Solar / Water purification activities

Jan 2008 – Dec 2009

Development of a village drinking water solution for rural Lao PDR

Vientiane Province. Lao PDR
LIRE, in association with commercial energy provider Sunlabob and German NGO BORDA, developed a solar-powered potable drinking water solution for rural communities, based on a modular system of collection, filtration, and disinfection stages. A technical model was adapted and tested for local conditions. In parallel, an economically viable operational model was designed, taking into account existing village infrastructures and technical capacity. A pilot system was installed and monitored, in order to test the system and form recommendations of improvements prior to wide spread implementation.

2008

Viability of water purification system implementation in Laos

The aim of this project is to investigate the possibilities for the implementation of a water purification system that is managed locally (by a village entrepreneur) so that villagers can produce their own drinking water. This means providing a service that reliably provides clean drinking water on a permanent basis whilst keeping the costs low so that the villagers can afford the service. The project, in cooperation with German NGO BORDA, started with a workshop to introduce LIRE’s entrance into the water purification area. This was followed by surveys in various potential pilot villages to assess the need and potential suitability for the water purification. Then a water purification unit, the Water PPS, was field tested in various villages. It was found to be unsuitable however, so the RSD 800 was chosen to be used in the project. Various operating parameters were researched and tested in the workshop, which allowed for operating manuals to be created. With the help of partner, Sunlabob, a business model was created so that the system could be sustainable. The system was then ready to be installed in a pilot village.

For more information, please read the report.

Documents

Solar / Water purification documents