Hi Lara and Loc
Yesterday saw 12 hours on the road, 9 plus hours solid driving for 647Km some of it in the pouring rain over slippery dirt roads!! I’m getting a tad too old for this!
The trip was worth it though and the large rainfall the night before pointed out that the location of the borehole has the potential for flooding.
My findings:
- Site potentially very difficult to get to if raining and a march installation is in the rainy season.
- Borehole location has potential for flooding (see photos after one night of heavy rain) so recommend that borehole riser pipe be kept long as currently is in order to avoid surface water contamination of the borehole
- Higher area 40m away ((south of borehole) good location for SIm Tanks
- The soil in the area is sandy and devoid of rocks
- Recommend plinth installation for the tanks in order that they are raised up from ground level sufficiently for people to get their buckets under the tap
- Can be built so that there is space to add more tanks as/if required at a later date
- For 10 tanks recommend installation in pairs with the last pair being used first. All tanks to be linked using overflow pipes so that tanks fill in sequence first pair, second pair etc. Using last pair first will give indication of water reserves available. i.e. once fifth pair empty move to fourth pair and so on. Inking in pairs means that any tank damage causing leakage will only jeopardise 1/5th of the total water storage available.
- If to go for plinth tank mount I recommend that you contract locally to have it built. I can give the dimensions. You may need to seek structural advice as to what to build on sandy soil to hold 5 tons of weight. Brick/concrete walls on an appropriate foundation with sand infill? My concern would be that heavy rains could start to wash the sand in fill out over time undermining the tanks. May need a concrete lid. Logistically it is just too difficult for me to be able to set up the contractor/construction from somewhere as far away as Arusha
- Recommend that the solar array be mounted at the tanks location in order that all assets in one place so as to facilitate security.
In order to quote I need to know the following:
How to manage the tank mounting and whether there is any cost impact to us.
Sim tanks transport. This appears to be a thorny issue and hauliers have been reluctant to quote for this job. The Simm tanks are light but bulky and it will need a big truck to carry 10 of them. I continue to follow and will secure a price as soon as I can – I expect it to be high.
Look forward to your feedback.
Thanks,