Rainwater Catchments: A Solution to Water Scarcity

The Friends of Burkina Faso (FBF)/ Give Water Give Life (GWGL) Program - Rainwater Catchments: A Solution To Water Scarcity continues to advance its leadership role to increase the supply of water in the African Sahel.  Support from Global Giving donors enables our FBF/GWGL Project using the latest technology to make it possible for rural villagers to have a continuous supply of water effectuating economic development.

GWGL is pleased to announce formation of a partnership with WA-WASH, a non-profit organization affiliated with Florida International University, currently funded by USAID, and based in Ouagadougou.  WA-WASH provides villages services in water pumps, sanitation and hygiene - all benefits complementary to GWGL's program.  Give Water Give Life has our first employee, a Burkinabe engineer, as our Program Coordinator in Burkina Faso, and we are renting office space in the WA-WASH headquarters.  In addition, a team of local engineers has been organized to assist with the creation of  SaRP - a Sahel-led Resilient Prototype of village rainwater catchment basin.

Two tasks are underway.  The first priority for the use of accumulated GlobalGiving funds is to repair the basin built by GWGL in 2008 in the village of Sisene.  In 2012, a portion of this basin collapsed at one end due to strong storms.  The basin should have had an emergency spillway, known as a weir, that would have controlled water flow during heavy rains. Sisene residents tried to patch the breach in 2013, but they were not successul.  Currently, Burkina engineers are developing a plan to construct the weir and repair the damaged basin.  After obtaining estimates from several contractors, one will be chosen to implement construction.  Villagers participate directly in the selection process and the work.  Work is to be completed before the next rainy season, which wil begin in June 2015.

Second is the design of the prototype village rainwater catchment basin (SaRP). The prototype includes in its design: a weir (emergency spillway); use of satellite imagery technology to determine the most appropriate field location of the basin; technology to maximize water yse; deternination of the correct porosity needed to help restore the water aquifer; an irrigation system; a water filtration system; and a solar/wind system to generate power.  Applied research methods and alternative engineering and agricultural technologies are being analyzed to determine the best design of the "prototype" village rainwater catchment basin.  Both the rain collection basin in Sisene and the concrete bouli (pond) in the village of Djonga are included in the study.  Partners in the design process include the villagers; local engineers; representatives from the National Institute of Agricultural Research in Burkina Faso (INERA); the Burkina Faso Departments of Agriculture and Water; private solar engineering and water irrigation companies; university graduate students; and individuals. GWGL is convinced that collaboration among our partners is key to the creation of high impact solutions..

In October, a GWGL team member spoke about SaRP village rainwater catchment basins with technology at the UN Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa held in Marrakesh, Morocco.  Many attendees from other African countries expressed interest in village rainwater catchment basins for their own villages.  There is strong interest in the Give Water Give Life program due to the positive effects it has to improve the availability of water.  Researchers and practitioners at the Conference also affirmed the need to have contributions of villagers in the program.  Pressure to advance development of the prototype village rainwater catchment basin is building.

During visits with the INERA representatives and the village farmers in the village of Djonga, located in the northern desert area of Dori, we had extensive discussions about the appropriate design of the prototype basin.  The assistant director and water engineer with INERA enthusiasticaly stated:  "This is INNOVATION!  The technology you can bring us is innovation! We can now create rainwater catchment basins that will not only hold water year-round, but that are resilient and can be sustained by the villagers themselves.  I am working now for over 30 years as a water engineer in rural villages in Burkina and I know that this is exactly what we need!"

Thank you so much GlobalGiving partners!  Your support is critically important.

GLOBALGIVING SEPTEMBER 2014:  RAINWATER CATCHMENTS

“Our Leadership Is Needed, So We Are Ready”   - By Kathleen McDonald – Project Helper

“With guidance from our own Solange, we women organized, talked, decided, and built a new rainwater catchment basin here in Sisene.” says Margarite, mother of a boy and a girl, and herself 34 years old. “That was in 2008 and we have had water each day since. The water saved our village and keeps us working. Both my children attend school. Most of our men returned from other countries because they can now work here. Our neighbors from other villages are asking us to help them have new rainwater basins. We have done well and our leadership is needed, so we are ready to help others do the same.”   The demand remains high from many villages in Burkina Faso to have water throughout the year. 

The village rainwater catchment basin in Sisene demonstrates an effective way to create a sustainable community, curb out-migration, promote girls’ education by removing the burden of searching for water, and empower farmers' productive ability.  To meet the demand, Give Water Give Life (GWGL) is designing a prototype Village Rainwater Catchment Basin that can be replicated throughout the country.

Give Water Give Life Team Members

Developing a prototype rainwater catchment basin requires local non-governmental organizations, communities, village leaders, engineers, graduate students, private manufacturers, farmers, agriculture experts from government, and other professionals.  The participation of the villagers in the creation of the rainwater catchment basin is a very important component to its success and long life. To improve sustainability, the prototype must include: emergency spillway, satellite imagery, and other technologies to determine suitable topography, locations, and porosity; and solar/wind powered micro irrigation and water filtration systems. Residents of the village of Sisene offer their input based on their direct experience. Our GWGL program director is a PhD in water and agricultural engineering, a citizen of Burkina Faso, and is directing the GWGL program and the prototype design.  Team members are determining roles and timelines.  A general meeting in October will solidify both.   

Adding A Spillway

The rainwater catchment basin built in Sisene faltered at one end due to strong storms in 2012.  After the fact, we learned that this basin should have had an emergency spillway, known as a weir, in order to control water flow properly.  Sisene residents tried to repair the basin in 2013, but it has been insufficient.  Give Water Give Life is now hiring an engineer to design the necessary weir.  The rainy season will end October 2014 and a contractor will be hired to construct, with labor provided by residents of Sisene, the engineered weir. Adding a spillway to the existing Sisene rainwater catchment basin will be completed before the next rainy season begins in June 2015.

Public Private Partnership

Private design and manufacturing companies in the United States are working with GWGL to create solar powered water filtration and solar powered water irrigation systems to be included when future village rainwater catchment basins are constructed. We envision that the existing Sisene basin and the rainwater “bouli” (pond) in the village of Djoiuga (northern Burkina Faso) will be retrofitted with new irrigation and filtration systems next year. These will serve as ground tests of the solar powered micro irrigation and water filtration technologies. The prototype rainwater catchment basin is being engineered to incorporate the factors needed for efficiency and productivity in the extremely harsh climes of Burkina Faso.

Once the rainwater catchment prototype is completed, the plan is to construct 3 or 4 new RCBs in 2015 and 2016.  On-going analysis and testing will be continuously conducted to assure quality design and installation, and comprehensive understanding, use, and maintenance by residents of each village. We hope that the prototype rainwater catchment basin will then be reproduced throughout Burkina Faso.

Global Giving

In June, GWGL requested assistance from our GlobalGiving donors to improve our project through our refocus on the prototype design, implementation testing, and addition of an emergency spillway to the existing basin. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and fruitful.  We are now using the funds to help pay the costs of the creation of the prototype and the addition of a weir to the existing basin in the village of Sisene. 

Look for new updated information on our GlobalGiving page that will delineate how money is used, and whether it is for the design of the prototype, the addition of the weir to the existing Sisene rainwater catchment basin, and/or the retrofitting of the water basins in the villages of Sisene and Djoiuga. 

Again, we want to thank you Global Giving donors!  Your support is wonderful.  Any additional suggestions for improving our communication with you and other potential supporters and any comments about our work are truly encouraged.  “Zod noogo!”, which is a Moore expression (one of the main languages of Burkina Faso), that translates to “the productive fruits of friendship”.