Start Date: 2008-01-01

Completion Date: 2008-12-31

Technology Used:

Modified conventional dugwells are constructed at carefully selected sites. The diameter of each dugwell is one meter and the depth is generally less than 30 feet. The design and practice of the Project Well dugwells differ from the traditional ones mainly in the following ways:1. A layer of coarse sand six inches wide envelops the outer wall of the concrete cylinder;2. The mouth of the well is covered with a nylon mosquito net and a tin sheet that is padlocked;3. Water is extracted using hand pumps to reduce potential bacterial contamination;4. Flexible pipes that float with the fluctuating water table are installed. 5. The dugwells are disinfected once a month with sodium hypochlorite solution containing 5% chlorine, following USEPA guidelines.The water in these shallow dugwells originates from rainwater or surface water from the surrounding water bodies that have low arsenic concentrations.

Phases:

One Phase.

Community Organization:

The local government bodies like the Block Development office and gram panchayats will be notified about the more dugwells to be constructed in their area so that they can be invlolved in the program. At the proposed villages the field workers will organize villages meetings. Door-to-door campaigning is carried out, during which field workers cover the methods of the program and distribute information sheets on the effects of arsenic poisoning. 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 this donation of a plot of land for the dugwell that is shared by the neighbors. 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.The family that donates the land becomes the chief caretaker. To maintain the well, training is given to an educated 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 literate persons, a field worker chlorinates the water. Every month Rs. 10/- (25 U.S. cents) is 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 take notes on all the technical wear and tear of the dugwells 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 ask about outbreaks of diarrhea and dysentery among users of each dugwell. There have been no such outbreaks linked to any particular dugwell water use over a period of five years.

Other Issues:

Research and Development is ongoing on the dugwells in which the water contain organic odor and high fecal coliform that occurs mainly when the dugwell is fairly new. The water is treated with lime and in case of high level of fecal coliform the water is treated regularly with theoline, the disinfectant that contains 5% chlorine. Villagers are advised not to use the water for a few days during the period of shock treatment. Some villagers complain about the slight odor of chlorine for which a new program has been introduced in July 2006 to assess the efficacy of the locally available cheap domestic filters that would remove the unwanted smell. The analysis of the observation is under process of writing and will be publised shortly. The earthen filters are the cheapest about 80-100 INR and affordable and favored by the villagers because it also keeps water cool that is appreciated almost throughout the year. The only limitation of such filters is the need to handle with care.