Location: Pakanyi Sub County, Masindi District

Population: Approximately 3750

Pump Installed: June 23, 2009

Donors: The Deerfield Foundation

Located 15km north of Masindi on the Murchison Falls National Park Road, Kidwera II is a massive sprawling community. According to the local chairman’s estimation, there are a staggering 750 Households, which at an average household number of 5 give us a population of 3750. Almost four thousand people (including roughly 2250 children) who have as their drinking water supply a boggy, marshy puddle surrounded by bushes at the bottom of a steep sided valley. This topography makes life all the more difficult for the children of the village, who do the majority of the water collection. This is because the boggy surroundings mean that they cannot take their bicycles up to the water source to help them ferry the jerrycans, so instead they labour up the hill with their burden until the land levels out and they can collect their bikes. While the nearest health centre is only 3km away, if any serious incidents occur, the only hope is to get them to Masindi hospital. The case which was cited in this village by the LC1 Chairperson was of kids who have gone to collect water from the well, and while waiting for their turn to collect from the pond, the kids are being bitten by snakes. When asked which type they said that they have seen, the villagers reported cobras and mambas, both black* and green, near the water source. In this case the children survived but this is perhaps a function of Kidwera only being a 15 minute drive from Masindi. It was lucky as well that someone managed to flag down a vehicle. The Chairperson told us that another big problem with the collection of water in this community is the length of time spent, usually in queues, waiting to collect water. This isn’t something that would be solved by one BT water source, but with a strategic use of the clustering approach it could be solved in time with continued support from our donors. * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_mamba

Well Data

Depth: 20 ft

Water Column: 8 ft

Recharge Rate: 6 ft/hr

The water column is the height of the water within the well or the distance between the water table and the bottom of the well. The recharge rate is a measurement of how quickly the well refills after water is removed.

Water Quality Data Before and After Busoga Trust Intervention

Fecal Coliforms (E. coli) organisms per 100 ML

Old Source: 500

BTA Well: 20

Percent Change: -96%

E. coli is a fecal bacteria which causes diarrhea, violent stomach cramps, and fever. It can be transmitted through contaminated food or water. US EPA water standards require E. coli and similar bacteria to be completely absent from 95% of the water samples taken from a system.

Turbidity/NTU

Old Source: 5

BTA Well: 0

Percent Change: -100%

Turbidity is a measure of water clarity; it is an indicator of how much solid mass (silt, sand, clay, algae) and potentially disease-causing organisms a water source contains. Turbidity is measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units.  In the United States, the allowable standard is 1 NTU; Uganda strives for a turbidity level of less than 15 NTU.