07:03 pm - You call this a water catchment?
When in south central Somalia, I saw this water catchment which was dug as part of a Cash-For-Work programme with the NGO I am working for. As you can see, it is completely ineffective as a water catchment.
Because it is so wide and shallow, there is a lot of infiltration (water seeping into the ground) and evaporation (water evaporating from the surface). The result? The water only lasted one month. Yet, it is meant to provide water through the dry season.
I asked the NGO staff why they chose this design, which was too wide and shallow. Furthermore, it has steep sides. They said this was the design the beneficiaries wanted. No shit. Of course they would want to only dig the top 1 m of soil, given that it would be the easiest part to dig. There was also mention that they wanted something shallow so that if a child falls in, he or she can still stand. This is not a valid reason given that a toddler can drown in 20 cm of water. And besides, if this was the valid concern, then surely the sides should be sloping?
Needless to say, I'm going to change the design.
Current Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/smileys/blah.gif) disappointed
|
