Bundibugyo, Uganda is a rural district located in western Uganda along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many household members in Bundibugyo walk significant distances to collect water in plastic containers from public tapstands, protected and unprotected springs, and local streams. This responsibility generally falls to women and children and exerts a significant time requirement on daily life. And often women and children will collect water from an unsafe location, due to lack of proximity to an improved water source. Bundibugyo has a high infant mortality rate with one of the primary causes being unsafe water. In addition, there continue to be significant waterborne illnesses due to lack of access to safe drinking water sources (Typhoid – Fall 2011, Cholera – Summer 2012).
On many mountain communities in Bundibugyo District, there are no community water systems and the time and energy fetching water from unsafe surface streams is even more accentuated due to the terrain. Women reporting >2hrs daily spent fetching water.
The Bundibugyo water project (BundiWater) seeks to share Christ through sharing water.
Project Scope
The design project is two Gravity Flow Schemes (GFS) on neighboring ridges located on the slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains. The project will capture water from a stream intake and implement a technologically appropriate water treatment solution that can achieve a target of 3log bacteriological removal. In addition, the project will include distribution piping throughout the water supply area to deliver the water nearby the village residents and treated water storage as necessary. The project is located in a rural, hard to reach area, where transportation access is limited to hiking. Slopes can be in excess of 30%. The design will need to be optimized to reduce the weight of construction materials. It is expected that each of the GFS will serve a population of 1000-1500 people.
— Thomas Gruen, EMI Uganda trip leader
Needs
Civil Engineering: Position filled