Project Details
Location: Mafi-Zongo, Ghana
Phase: Post-assessment Project Managers:
Professional Mentors:
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The Beginning of the Mafi Zongo Water Filtration Project
In 1995, approximately 30 communities (population 10,000) in the Mafi Zongo area of Ghana’s Volta Region initiated a grassroots effort organized around the desire for improved water quality and accessibility. Their motivation centered on combating the endemic and debilitating Guinea Worm parasite, which was having a serious impact on health in the area. As a first step, the communities approached the locally-active non-governmental organization Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT) for guidance and support. AMURT was in the process of implementing a water treatment project in a nearby community, and agreed to help the Mafi Zongo communities in their quest for a safer source of drinking water.
While AMURT had agreed to help the Mafi Zongo communities, it first needed to gauge the community support and dedication for a large-scale water project. Over a period of two years, the communities formed a Water Management Committee (WMC) comprised of village elders, whose purpose was to help organize the villagers and enable the project to move from concept to reality. Once it was clear that the communities were dedicated, AMURT began seeking technical assistance and funding for the design and construction of a water treatment plant and distribution system. The communities agreed to provide construction labor, logistical support and individuals to be trained in the operation and maintenance of the system to ensure the long-term sustainability of the project. The Mafi Zongo Dam
By 2000, AMURT was able to secure funding through the United Nations Development Programme for construction of an earthen dam. The proposed dam would block a small, event-driven watershed and provide source water for a water treatment facility. As a preliminary benefit, in the period following completion of the dam, the newly-created reservoir would serve to lessen the distance that the villagers were required to travel to fetch water. Prior to the construction of the dam, some villagers had to walk more than 15 kilometers each way to fetch water for their families.
By early 2002, the dam was completed and the reservoir was filled to capacity during the region’s major rainy season (May/June). Unfortunately, due most likely to improper construction, the dam was breached shortly after being filled to capacity. Undeterred, the villagers repaired the breach by building an mason block wall in the area that had been eroded by the rush of water emptying the reservoir. |
The Initial System is Built
By the end of 2002, the Mafi Zongo communities completed construction of the treatment facility, which was modeled after the water project with which AMURT had previously been involved. The process design utilized source water pretreatment followed by slow sand filtration, with distribution achieved by pumping the filtered water to the top of a nearby rock outcropping and gravity-feeding a network of subsurface pipes.
Between 2002 and 2005, the new water treatment plant was idle as the villagers, AMURT and the WMC completed the pipeline network and storage tank construction. During that period, the WMC coordinated the hand-digging of over 30 kilometers of trenches for the distribution network. All material costs were covered by AMURT donors and all labor was completed by the villagers.
As they had done during the construction of the treatment plant, women hand-chipped rocks collected from local sources for use as aggregate in the concrete necessary to build the water storage tank. Groups of men, women and children worked together to construct the water storage tank, which included carrying all of the building materials to the top of a steep, 70 meter tall rock outcropping. Construction of the 100 cubic meter capacity storage tank was completed in March 2005 and the first bucket of water was delivered in May 2005. After some initial setbacks including pipe failures, regular water service distribution to ten villages began June 2005.
Between 2002 and 2005, the new water treatment plant was idle as the villagers, AMURT and the WMC completed the pipeline network and storage tank construction. During that period, the WMC coordinated the hand-digging of over 30 kilometers of trenches for the distribution network. All material costs were covered by AMURT donors and all labor was completed by the villagers.
As they had done during the construction of the treatment plant, women hand-chipped rocks collected from local sources for use as aggregate in the concrete necessary to build the water storage tank. Groups of men, women and children worked together to construct the water storage tank, which included carrying all of the building materials to the top of a steep, 70 meter tall rock outcropping. Construction of the 100 cubic meter capacity storage tank was completed in March 2005 and the first bucket of water was delivered in May 2005. After some initial setbacks including pipe failures, regular water service distribution to ten villages began June 2005.
EWB-USA University of Arizona Chapter Finds a Solution
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However, the community-owned and operated system experienced operational difficulties immediately after water delivery began. The primary concern was an unacceptably slow filtration rate through the treatment plant, which was allowing water to be delivered only every two or three days. This forced many villagers to seek water from a far away reservoir. In addition, after consecutive years of low rainfall, the villagers were concerned that the earthen dam and reservoir were not large enough to provide water to the more than 30 villages initially included in the project’s service area. As a result, the communities and AMURT appealed to Engineers Without Borders (EWB) for technical assistance.
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The project was awarded to the University of Arizona (UA) student chapter of EWB-USA in August 2005. Since then, UA students and local engineers completed several trips to the region. Our chapter used their first two trips to delineate the watershed and determine the reservoir’s capacity to gain insight into concerns about water quantity, as well as address some of the concerns surrounding unaccounted for water losses in the distribution system and improper drainage around the treatment facility. However, the primary purpose of these visits was to determine the cause for the slow filtration rates that was hampering efforts to distribute the clean water on a regular basis. After evaluating both the treatment plant and the source water quality, they ultimately determined that the slow filtration rates were caused by inadequate pretreatment of the source water, which was allowing the slow sand filter to become clogged.
In response, EWB-USA University of Arizona Chapter designed and built an improved pretreatment facility. Although the design work went without unnecessary delays, securing enough funding to cover the massive project delayed the implementation to 2009. Our chapter had to use three implementation trips in 2009 to finish the project. Two professional mentors supervised the building of the structure, and community volunteers worked together to provide and wash the large amounts of filter media required. Because the community supported the project continuously, they gained empowering construction skills and learned about maintaining the system themselves. Completed in the summer of 2009, the new facility processes up to 250 cubic meters of raw water daily and over 10,000 people now have clean water available at community faucets.
In response, EWB-USA University of Arizona Chapter designed and built an improved pretreatment facility. Although the design work went without unnecessary delays, securing enough funding to cover the massive project delayed the implementation to 2009. Our chapter had to use three implementation trips in 2009 to finish the project. Two professional mentors supervised the building of the structure, and community volunteers worked together to provide and wash the large amounts of filter media required. Because the community supported the project continuously, they gained empowering construction skills and learned about maintaining the system themselves. Completed in the summer of 2009, the new facility processes up to 250 cubic meters of raw water daily and over 10,000 people now have clean water available at community faucets.
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