Abstract
Environmental justice and equity should include access to clean water
for all. It is expensive to drill borehole wells, typically over
$10,000 US dollars, and so organizations working to provide wells in
developing countries have typically installed community wells at some
common gathering place. This requires that many users must walk long
distances to access these water sources. This limits the quantity of
water available to a family, and also creates vulnerabilities for the
family member, usually a woman or child, sent for the water since the
journey is often made early in the morning or at night in the dark. I
have been drilling wells with a Kenyan team since 2010 using a simple,
manual percussion hydraulic method developed by
WaterForAllinternational.org whereby we can install a well generally for
less than $200 US dollars excluding labor. Through their own
participation in the drilling process, this low-cost enables families to
pay for and drill their own well. In this way, they gain access to a
much larger supply of water at or close to home, and eliminate the need
and vulnerability associated with walking long distances to procure
water for their family. Both the drilling apparatus and the cased well,
including the pump, is constructed from materials available
off-the-shelf at local hardware stores. Over the years I have made
several modifications to the pump design, other infrastructure, and
manufacturing process to improve the longevity, simplicity, and
interchangeability of the final product. The drilling method is
primarily applicable to aquifers lying above bedrock and it is feasible
to drill wells to a depth of several hundred feet. The greatest
challenge in the endeavor is earning the trust and cultivating the
participation of the local community. This presentation will address the
drilling process, the well infrastructure, and some socio-cultural
aspects of the project.