Location: Pakanyi Sub County, Masindi District

Population: Approximately 1230

Pump Installed: December 3, 2009

Donor: The Deerfield Foundation

The village of Kiruli lies roughly 15 miles outside of Masindi town.  It is a rural and vast community with 1230 people calling it home.  Like most communities in Masindi, the majority of households grow crops for their own consumption and for sale.  Busoga Trust came to know of Kiruli after receiving an application for a well from the village chairperson, Sebatine Kigundu. He highlighted some of the problems the community faces in relation to water.  One issue is the high population and the great demand for water which is not being met.  He also mentioned that during the dry seasons the small streams and pools from which people currently collect water dry up leaving residents with few options.

The primary source of water for the community is a sizable open pool which lies at the bottom of a fairly steep slope.  It is dangerous to walk up and down the steep paths when they’re wet, especially if you’re carrying one or two jerry cans filled with water.  When visiting the site Busoga Trust staff were told that a community member slipped and fell in the pool a few years ago and drowned.   The fact that collecting water can be a hazardous even fatal activity is unsettling, especially since children are often the ones sent to get water.   Additionally, the quality of the water is poor which is indicated by it’s opaque color.

Not only is clean water unavailable in the village, but a lack of proper sanitation is also a pervasive problem.  Over half of the population has nowhere to defecate within their home so they do it discreetly in bushes.  This practice poses a tremendous threat to the health of the community as contact with fecal matter is a main route of disease transmission.  These feces can also easily be carried down hill by heavy rains into the open pools from which people collect drinking water, contaminating the source.

To approach both issues Busoga Trust will be working with the community to construct a protected source of clean water as well as assist households to dig pit latrines and provide an improved place to relieve themselves.  These two interventions will help to considerably reduce the disease burden suffered by the community of Kiruli.

Well Data

Depth:  22 ft

Water Column:  7 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: 5

Percent Change: -99%

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 standardsrequire Ecoli and similar bacteria be completely absent from 95% of the water samples taken from a system.

Turbidity/NTU

Old Source: 1

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.

Click Below to View Water Being Collected from the Open Source

Click Below to View Kids Dancing by the New Pump in Kiruli

Click Below to View Pictures of Kiruli