Rainwater Harvesting in Kamuli, Uganda

So this isn't really research, but it is a project I spend time on, so I am including it here.  With the ISU chapter of the Engineers for a Sustainable World, I have been working on rainwater harvesting systems for a dry rural area in Uganda.  We did a scouting trip in March 2005 and sent students over in summer 2006.  I did the initial planning and Ryan Asman of the University of Iowa began the implementation in 2006.  This work was continued in summer 2007 by ISU students.

How did a bunch of Iowans end up in Uganda?

In 2004, ESW-ISU began a partnership with the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program at ISU.  They connected us with Makerere University and a Ugandan NGO, VEDCO.

Dr. Mazur of SRL and I with one of the families we visited.

Me, Dr. Ong, Dr. Mazur, Dorothy, Tom, and Harun at Makerere University		 A surveying mission

March 2005 – two ESW members and faculty advisor venture to Uganda with Bob Mazur from SRL

Mission:
  1. To establish relationships with the agricultural engineering department at Makere University.
  2. To figure out what sort of engineering projects were wanted/needed in the Kamuli District of Uganda, where SRL and VEDCO were focusing efforts.
The water shortage problem
  • Lack of irrigation
  • High dependence on rainfall
  • Two dry seasons: June-August, November-March
  • Need method of rainwater harvesting so that water can be stored for the dry season
A rooftop catchment and a shallow well

Students from the US and Makerere working on the project		 Implementation: A Process
  • Building relationships
  • Meeting with the community to determine needs
  • Adjusting design to meet current needs
  • Finalizing
  • Build
VEDCO
  • Project completion
  • Sustainability of the project
Community/Family Meetings
  • Establish trust
  • Collectively determine a solution
  • Explain the plan
  • Terms of agreement
Design Modification
  • Changes made daily
  • Existing design ok, but family needs/desires varied from day-to-day
  • Communicating ideas
  • Design Spreadsheet (from ISU) > Unlined basin > Lined basin > Catchment Area > As-built
A kitchen and crops

Ryan working with the family to dig the hole for the surface water runoff.		 Final Design
  • Plastic Lined detention basin
  • Grass catchment area around perimeter of basin
  • Gravel lined ditches to convey water
  • Additional ditch running from compound to detention basin
  • Silt basins before entering detention basin
Construction
  • Arrange for workers
  • Get them to site
  • Form of payment
  • Supervise the work
  • Repeat