Mt. Kilimanjaro, TZ – Phase 1 water infrastructure complete, dozens of families enjoy improved access – 10 August 2016

Phase 1 infrastructure is complete on the Mkyashi Water Project. The first phase provides nine families with direct connections to clean water at their homes. In addition to the nine direct connections, the project improves water access for dozens of families in the area.

Families in the area used to pay at least 200 TZS (US $0.10) for a 20 liter bucket of water. The project will reduce the price of water to just 40 TZS per 20 liter bucket.

A local Water Committee will manage the project’s sustainability. The committee agreed to begin charging 40 TZS per bucket to build up reserve funding for future maintenance needs. Eventually, they hope to lower the price of water to below 25 TZS per bucket.

Now that the project build phase is complete, next steps are to monitor the sustainability of the project’s infrastructure and organization.

The system begins by collecting naturally filtered water from a spring. A submersible pump inside the collection box pumps water uphill.

Water is pumped from the collection box to a raised 5000 liter tank. The system uses gravity to feed family connections from this raised tank.

Before water reaches family connections it passes through water meters which calculate each family’s water use for the purpose of billing. Water meters are locked shut to discourage tampering.