The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project team in Turkana has invented a new technology through which rural populations in Turkana can access piped water that is safe and clean from boreholes equipped with hand pumps.
Prior to this technology, piped water was only possible from boreholes equipped with solar energy or connected to electric power.
The technology dubbed “elevated hand pump” works by raising the normal hand pump by three to four meters above the ground, fitting it with a reservoir tank, and connecting homesteads and communal water points to a pipeline through which water is supplied by gravitational force.
JICAs’ team Lead in Turkana, Fumiaki Murakami, said that the technology provides the beneficiaries with clean and safe water without necessarily having to walk long distances or using lots of energy to pump water.
“So far, we have installed the elevated hand pump technology at Kawarnaparan Primary School and Nakitoe Akwaan village near Kakuma, JICAs’ team leader Murakami said.
Director of Water Services, Engineer Paul Lotum described the technology as a low-cost approach to upgrading hand pump-equipped boreholes without having to rely on solar.
Director Lotum urged beneficiaries of the new technology to protect the installations from misuse and vandalism so as to serve them longer.
“As a department, we welcome innovations aimed at ensuring residents access clean and safe water for domestic consumption, agricultural production, and animal use,” Engineer Lotum said.
Jacob Bobei, a beneficiary of the technology at Nakitoe Akwaan, acknowledged that the technology had saved the residents of the area from dirty water resulting from direct pumping from the water point.
“We no longer have to scramble at the pump and compete with our livestock for water access.
Once the water is pumped into the reservoir tank, we access it in our taps near our homes for both human and animal use,” beneficiary Jacob Bobei said.
While the technology protects the hand pump from overuse and the potential for breakdowns, it also has the advantage of allowing the borehole time to recharge, thereby increasing the water yield.
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