Location: Kigumba Sub County, Masindi District

Population: Approximately 600

Pump Installed: April 17, 2010

Donor: Deerfield Foundation

The village of Rwamudopyo is home to roughly 600 people.  Residents are primarily maize farmers and grow crops twice a year during the rainy seasons.  Eventhough the rains are becoming more and more unpredictable, when they do come they provide ample water to the region.  The hilly topography of the area channels the rainwater into shallow valleys and creates small, open pools.  Local residents collect water from these sources for all their domestic needs because there is no systematic water provision in the area.  Such a practice poses a huge threat to the health of community members because all sorts of contaminants can be swept into the pools during rainstorms.  The village chairperson, David Buhiiro, stated the following in his application for a well;

“The village has over 117 households fetching water from shallow pools around.  Because the village has no proper clean water there are constant diseases like dysentery, diarrhea and bilharzia.  Due to this problem the village has a high death rate”.

The diseases Mr. Buhiiro mentions can be fatal to young children or can make life very uncomfortable.  The dehydration caused by dysentery and diarrhea requires people to drink water, but without other options people must resort to drinking the very water which made them sick in the first place.  It creates a cycle of illness which can be life threatening.

Busoga Trust has responded to Mr. Buhiiro’s request for a well and constructed one in cooperation with community members in early February, 2010.  The clean water provided by this well will significantly improve the health and quality of life of Rwamudopyo residents.

Well Data

Depth:  19 ft

Water Column:  9 ft

Recharge Rate:  10 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: 33

BTA Well: 1

Percent Change: -97%

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

Turbidity/NTU

Old Source: 50

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.

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