Start Date: 2009-01-01

Completion Date: 2009-12-31

Technology Used:

Conventional dugwells with a modified design to reduce potential bacterial contamination are constructed in carefully selected sites. The shallow dugwells are packed with coarse sand around the annular space to enhance ground water storage that also acts as a filter to some extent. The dugwells are fed by rain water and are therefore not contaminated with arsenic. Wells are also protected from external contamination by a net cover and a tin roof. Water is withdrawn by traditional hand- pumps. (For pics, published reports and newsletter please access www.projectwellusa.org). The water in these shallow dugwells is rainwater or surface water from the surrounding water bodies that contain arsenic within the permissible limit.
In addition to the same design to increase the depth of dugwells in some areas where availability of water is scarce in summer, a new design has been experimented that turned out to be a breakthrough design. It is a dug-cum-tube well (PW74GDP1). A 12” diameter PVC pipe is used to penetrate the thick layer of very fine sand below a depth of 11 feet where due to sand boiling manual digging became impossible. This 10 feet long PVC pipe has increased the depth to 21 feet below ground level. Water is available in abundance in the summer month of May. In 2009 there is plan to implement 25 dugwells. Ten will be of the new design, dug-cum-tube well, and 15 will be dugwell with one 8 feet long pipe at the bottom of each well. To find suitable sites for the two different types of dugwells the selection of sites will be crucial and will be started early.

Phases:

Yes, over a period of one year.

Community Organization:

In 2007 and 2008 forty four dugwells have been constructed in the Gaighata block. Formal meetings with the local government bodies like the Block Development office and the gram panchayats are not needed to construct in 2009. The demand of more dugwells is high in many adjacent villages (refer to videos VDPW1, VDPW2 that will be available shortly). Last year 18 village meetings were held before construction. Similar village meetings will be held at the proposed villages that will be organized by the experienced field workers. Door-to-door campaigning is no longer needed because the report of dugwell water has spread through people and the ex-public health officer of Gaighata had organized a health fair where dugwell water was one of the main topics of discussion. After a few meetings with the prospective beneficiaries, the communities donate sites. (The dugwell is not constructed on any government property). The sense of ownership develops from the very start by donating a plot of land for the community. After approval of the selected sites by the experts, based on the local geology and existence of arsenic contaminated tubewells, the community-based groups are formed. That is comprised of people who would use the dugwell water. The family that donates the land becomes the chief caretaker. To maintain the well, training is given to a person of the community who is capable of measuring the volume of water in the well, from which the dose of disinfectant is determined. A user-friendly chart is given as a guide for the dose of disinfectant to be applied. In the areas where it is hard to find a literate person, a field worker chlorinates the water on their behalf. Every month Rs. 10/- (25 U.S. cents) is meant to be collected from the beneficiary families for the maintenance of the well. The maintenance includes purchase of the disinfectant, repairing any wear and tear of the well, and measurement of arsenic once a year. The sense of ownership and investment develops amongst the users as they pay to obtain arsenic safe water.

Government Interaction:

Ancillary activities:

Project Well keeps a database evaluating the use of the dugwells with the help of a map and excel file that relates the two components: DW identifying number and the number of users. The excel file also contains the quality of water. Apart from this the field workers record notes of all the technical wear and tear that are fixed by the consumers if there is enough amount of collected funds otherwise the cost is subsidized from the Project fund. Consumers are visited monthly during the first year and quarterly later, by the grass root level field workers and asked about outbreaks of diarrhea and dysentery among users of each dugwell. Once a year a senior member visits some of the dugwells selected at random from the map to cross check the data produced by the field workers.

Other Issues:

Research and Development on the dugwells is ongoing. This year the new dug-cum-tube well will be under observation for the quality and volume of water throughout the year. There are plans to select a few dugwells constructed since 2002 and measure their bacterial counts (total coliform and fecal coliform) and also manganese concentration. Arsenic concentration is measured routinely once a year of all the dugwells, new and old. In addition there is a plan to see arsenic concentration of a few dugwells on a quarterly basis to study the seasonal variation if any.