Lecture 3: Water in a Rural Setting

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Water in a Rural Setting
• Water as a human need: how can it be
obtained?
• Open water: ponds, rivers: problems in
delivery, quantity available, drought etc.
• Groundwater: what sources? How can this
be accessed safely?
• Conditions to sustain supply.
Underground water is a useful source
Water Table: what is it? How can we use it?
An unconfined aquifer is underground water
confined between impermeable strata and the
surface
This is just a device to
ease the lifting of water:
there is no means for
protecting the water
from surface
contamination, not only
animals but children can
fall in. It is definitely
NOT SAFE.
Water in a rural setting-2
• Drilling for water: the Von der Rig
• Replenishing aquifers with dam
construction
• Simple dam scoops
• Water springs: how to protect and exploit
them.
Water purity
• Point source purification
–
–
–
–
Pro:
Cons:
Cons:
Cons:
avoids pathogen transmission;
limited supply (water washed diseases)
cleanliness of containers
expense and inconvenience