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Drilling for clean water in remote villages

Drilling for clean water in remote villages
Drilling for clean water in remote villages

Advice on location

“I was one of the first PUM experts who was able to travel after the COVID-19 pandemic.” tells Eelco Borsboom enthusiastically. “Upon my arrival, representative Ingutu Mubita Mwase introduced me to Mr. Sanderson of JZone and his wife Mrs. Lweendo. They instantly took me to the project site. An air rotary drilling was started there that day, after three weeks of delay due to a broken compressor and gearbox. I immediately added the topic ‘maintenance’ to my list of what to discuss with them.”

That day and the day after, drilling was carried out to a depth of 55 metres, but no water was found. With Eelco’s instructions, they found the right location by means of an electromagnetic survey. The following two days, the drilling rig was converted and set up again, and finally successfully drilled for water at a depth of 40-50 metres. Eelco clearly remembers: “The people of the remote village literally danced with joy; there was now clean accessible water  for their own use, for agriculture and for cattle.”

Second part of the project was a training which took several days. It included the following topics: preparation for drilling, setting up the drilling rig, drilling with high air pressure, stability of a borehole, finishing a well and maintenance of the drilling rig. Representative Ingutu Mubita Mwase adds: “Furthermore, Eelco included information of the WASH Programme in his training. This initiative from UNICEF helps provide access to clean water and reliable sanitation and promotes basic hygiene practices in rural and urban areas. Together with their partners, UNICEF supports communities to improve systems and practices that fulfil the human – and especially children’s – right to water and sanitation.”

At the end of his visit, Eelco went to find materials together with the client to build the right deep well. This will increase its lifespan from one to two years to as much as 25 to 30 years. The training and new materials resulted in interesting additional questions, which Eelco tackled on the spot: making a maintenance schedule, discussing the drilling rig on site, and teaching JZone how to use them.

Eelco Borsboom
PUM expert and sector coordinator Water

“JZone is a special client. I enjoyed their enthusiasm and admire the wonderful ideals they are fully committed to. Really proud of JZone, the work they do and the impact they make.”

 

More drilling in the future 

The project was really successful. With Eelco’s instructions, JZone’s water wells will be successfully drilled, and the lifespan of the well is extended by a factor of 10. JZone already expressed the wish to expand the drilling possibilities with water-based rotary drilling. Then they will be able to not only drill in rock and sandstone, but also in loose soils such as sand, clay and peat. This will allow them to reach even more remote communities to provide them with clean water.

Josephine van Galen, country coordinator Zambia visited JZone a few weeks after Eelco Borsboom left. She confirms: “It was great to hear how incredibly pleased JZone was with this PUM expert! He has done a tremendous and important job. They can’t wait for him to come back in November to give advice on drilling the sandy soils.”