Low tech systems improve water and sanitation in remote Afghan communities

Years of war left Afghanistan’s power and water infrastructure in ruins, often forcing people in remote regions to use contaminated water sources. Low-tech systems, and an innovative water treatment method developed in New Zealand, are providing good quality water, reducing disease, and helping community groups earn revenue they can use for other social projects.

Empower, an NZ development consultancy that specializes in community-scale infrastructure and sustainable local management structures, had installed ozone-based water treatment systems, powered by solar and micro-hydro, in Nepal. (Ozone uses minimal amounts of energy and is highly effective against waterborne disease.) These systems proved durable, easy to operate and maintain, reduced plastic litter from disposable bottles, and improved local health. Local mothers groups owned and operated the systems, using the profits for their own development agenda.

Empower, which had worked in Pakistan since 1996 and visited Kabul during 1999, thought that combining the Nepalese water treatment systems with wind and solar experience from projects in the neighboring Pakistan province of Balochistan could dramatically improve water quality in Afghanistan.

With special NZ government funding, Empower worked with the Afghan Ministry of Rural Reconstruction (MRRD) to develop a team of local water and sanitation engineers and social mobilizer/health educators who could travel to remote communities, install the small water treatment units and train village-level operators. Empower did a training needs assessment and site identification visit in September 2002 and returned to Afghanistan, after the equipment was shipped, to assist with the first five field installations which included the wind and solar installations. Each installation was preceded by a visit by the MRRD team, whose female health educators and social mobilizers did a household survey and also provided water and sanitation education to women in the household.

The 11 stand-alone systems have been installed in villages in the districts of Parwan, Wardak and Kapisa, home to thousands of refugees returning home from Pakistan and Iran after the fall of the Taliban regime. Installation was simple; the first was supervised by Empower and the rest done independently. One water treatment installation was also done in a Kabul high school to provide clean water to the school and community residents, and has proved very popular.

The power system consists of a Bergey XL.1 1 kW wind turbine on a 42 ft tilt-up tower, 280 W of PV, a small battery bank, and an inverter. The small scale ozonation system generates two grams/hour of ozone, using about 160 watts of power. Lots of 500 liters are treated and dispensed at a time. Most communities are using the system to treat around 2000 to 4000 liters of treated drinking water per day.

This story is adapted from Bergey Windpower Case Study of Parwan District, Afghanistan. Used with permission.

 

For more stories about solar power, see:

Bhutan’s yak herders prefer solar power to kerosene and firewood

Grameen Shakti, empowerment through renewable energy

Unique rental model brings solar power to remote Lao villages

Solar power hearing aid battery offers hope for deaf in developing world

Solar-powered boats bring education, sustainable energy to poor communities

Solar lamp replaces hazardous kerosene in Indian villages

Micro-hydro electrifies remote South American communities

 


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