Turner Doggett likes to get his feet wet – literally. This budding young geologist was part of a mission team that spent two weeks in southwestern Uganda this summer around several Batwa settlements which ring the perimeter of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Turner traipsed up and down elevations, tested, and hiked through streams and mud, and over hill and dale, setting his sights on the water needs of the people around him. His main job was to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current need for water across four Batwa communities and make recommendations to improve it.

Water pumps and piping to supply clean water to communities in developing countries like Uganda is crucial for people such as the Batwa. Most of the 11 communities which comprise the Batwa Development Program currently have water, but the supply, location, and quality must be carefully maintained and upgraded as these communities develop and grow. Some communities have sources which have dried up or are very far away from homes.

Turner Doggett is co-leading the initial phase of the project along with Penny Lalanne, the Volunteer and Program Coordinator of the Kellerman Foundation. Their focus is to address the need for new or upgraded pumps, spring boxes, and storage tanks in the Kitariro settlement. They are now bringing together the right group of people for the start of what is hoped to be a larger scale solar water project across several Batwa communities.

Turner and Penny are collaborating with three student engineering teams, two of which are part of the EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) Program at the University of Texas at Dallas that include both the mechanical and electrical engineering aspects of the project. The other group will be a civil engineering team based out of Uganda Christian University near Kampala, Uganda. These teams have begun meeting to review project requirements based on the site surveys, testing, and analysis completed in July.

EPICS Team at the University of Texas Dallas collaborate on the pump design parameters

Even though some of these settlement communities have had hydrologists evaluate the sites, the assessments occurred years ago, and in some cases, home and school development have occurred in the interim, too far from water sources. Some existing pumps, wells, and spring boxes are not functioning properly due to silt or flow pipe blockages. In some communities, springs can be freshly tapped which have much better water flow, and where collection and storage can be more easily accessed. Even new pumps can be added, in some cases, to supply water for irrigation of crops and even stock water for fish ponds.

During site analysis this summer, Turner conducted water testing at Kitariro and three other settlement communities and discovered that the pH of the water was too acidic. Levels were well below WHO international drinking quality standards. The team’s plan is to implement remediation, filtration, or amendments to solve the acidity issue at certain spring box locations.

The other locations needing water improvements, and where site surveys, data collection, analysis, and assessment were conducted were the Byumba community, Kebiremu community, and the Kishanda community, where the new Kishanda School with its large student population is located.

Even though the need for better water quality, increased supply, and easier access is evident, the requisite funding to enable the installation of pumps and spring boxes must be secured. The initial cost of the first phase in the Kitariro installation is estimated to cost a maximum of $40,000. This cost includes two pumps powered by solar panels, 2 large storage tanks, and all piping and materials including materials for a spring box relocation. The successful completion will ensure the continued supply of fresh and higher-quality water to the Batwa residents for decades to come.