Location: Pakanyi Sub County, Masindi District

Population: Approximately 550

Pump Installed: January 5, 2010

Donors: …be the example! Long Island, NY and GOAL  (Giving Open Access to Learning) New York, NY

Located roughly 20 miles outside of Masindi town, Kyabatiti is a diverse community made up of several ethnic groups including the Luo, Kebu and Banyoro people.  Swahili is used as the common language among residents due to the different languages spoken by each group.  Communities like Kyabatiti are typical due to the influx of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled insecurity in northern Uganda and settled in Masindi district.  Around 550 people currently live in Kyabatiti and the majority are subsistence farmers.   There is a lot of water in the area that extends from a stream which helps to naturally irrigate crops, but when it comes to  having clean water to drink there is no such luck.  The stream is contaminated because it passes through several fields where farmers have laid fertilizers or graze their livestock.  A local man commented;

“People don’t drink the water from the stream.  It’s not good.  It doesn’t taste good.  We only use it to wash clothes and for bathing.”

The people of Kyabatiti primarily access a number of small pools to collect their drinking water, but these pools also become contaminated because they are open and form in low lying areas where all sorts of things can be swept into them during heavy rainfall.  Theses pools then become sources of disease for the population spreading diarrhea, typhoid and intestinal worms.  Not only is the water dirty, but Kyabatiti residents also claim that the average distance they travel to fetch water is over 2 kilometers.  This is literally a hike for some because of the numerous hills in the area.  Accessing water, even dirty water, is a chore in Kyabatiti.

Well Data

Depth:  24 ft

Water Column:  6 ft

Recharge Rate:  2 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) per 100 ML

Old Source: 26

BTA Well: 4

Percent Change: -85%

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: 135

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 a Short Video

Click Below to View a Short Video

Click Below View Pictures of Kyabatiti