Aptech Africa recently installed, trained the water facilities’ operators in operations and maintenance and commissioned three water towers and nine standpipe kiosks. Operation ensured water distribution in Bougouyo and Foulbe, two local communities in Ippy, a town located 13 km north-east in the Central African Republic, Ouaka.
The town of Ippy was affected by the 2013-armed crisis in the Central African Republic. Water sources like tapped groundwater have been significantly affected by the damage and neglect of critical infrastructure since the crisis. The people of Bougouyo and Foulbe reported that before this installation, they used to fetch drinking water from private shallow wells but due to the high presence of germs, the water extracted was undrinkable, necessitating the use of water purification tablets such as “Aquatabs”. Most households still drink untreated water, despite the health implications. In addition, the massive arrival of displaced people and returnees on site makes accessing water for everyday use even more challenging. With this project, they now have clean water within their reach for everyday consumption.
The project involved an 11 Kwh PV system to facilitate pumping water from the borehole using Grundfos pumps SQFlex 5-70 to polytanks and later to the 9 kiosks. Manholes chambers were constructed for the pipes and fittings. Two shelters were built to protect the diesel generators that power the pumps in the absence of solar radiation. Different diameters of HDPE pipes were used to connect the two Grundfos SQFlex 5-70 hybrid pumps, six 30-m3 capacity polytanks, which were installed on 3 concrete towers 8 m above the ground, in order to obtain better pressures of operation.
The Bougouyo site system consists of a ground mounted metallic support structure array kit holding 20 Soleil Power solar panels with a capacity of 320 watts connected to the pump control unit to serve 6 standpipes with 3 taps each and a hybrid brick and mesh fencing installed to guard the technical room and generator room.
The Foulbe site system consists of 12, 320W solar panels fixed and mounted on two reinforced concrete water tank support structures and a hybrid brick and mesh fencing for security purpose. With 2 kilometers of network pipes installed in addition to the 9 kiosks, the system is capable of improving access to sterilized water services in Ippy town for a population of 33,846; consisting of men, women and children. APTECH AFRICA is proud to have delivered the first water stations project providing essential water supplies to the communities. With the success of this project, APTECH AFRICA has enabled others to develop and design similar systems with the aim of making water accessible to other neighboring areas such as BRIA and BAMBARI.
