Safe Water Kiosk Project: The SkyJuice™ Foundation works together with our partners to provide access to clean water systems vital for health, well being and prosperity. In March 2007 the SkyJuice™ Foundation in conjunction with the Tweed Shire Council Kenya Mentoring Program provided 3 SkyHydrants™ to the remote Obambo-Kadenge village in the South Central Alego region of Kenya. The scattered village of several thousand people is situated 11 kms west of Siaya town along a dirt road which is impassable in the wet season. There is little paid employment and the vast majority of people live on less than USD1.00 per day relying on subsistence agriculture. Staple crops subsistence farming and small scale livestock rearing is practiced.The communal grazing land is where the dam water source is located.

Safe Water Kiosk Committee Structure and Function: The first step in the development of the Safe Water Kiosk Project was the development of a representative committee. They were instrumental in overseeing site selection, land acquisition, construction of the water kiosk, tank stand and selection of the windmill and wind generator. The committee decided that the wind generator and electric pump would be the most sustainable option for the communities’ water requirements. Installation of the SkyHydrant™ array of water filters quickly established a reliable safe water supply from the water kiosk.

The system utilises Memcor® low pressure membranes with a nominal daily output of 20,000 – 30,000 litres, depending upon feed water conditions. As the feed water from the Gona Dam was extremely turbid, more frequent cleaning of the filters is required.  The sub committee advised that despite the high turbidity, the cleaning process took approximately 5 minutes for each filter, including a one minute agitation phase.  Turbidity was not detectable after filtering.  THe SkyHydrant™ filter provides filtration down to 0.1 microns which is sufficient to filter out all solids, bacteria and significantly reduce virus levels.

Training, Maintenance and Security: The Safe Water Kiosk Committee nominated a subcommittee to be trained in operation and maintenance of the filters and pumps. The SkyJuice™ Operations and Maintenance manual was used as the training tool by the committee and the subcommittee quickly grasped all aspects of operations and maintenance with relative ease. Although the SkyHydrants™ were housed in the water kiosk the committee thought it prudent to employ a security guard to protect their newly installed valuable community asset.

The committee charges the community a small fee for the potable water and monitors water usage. The collected funds cover the cost of the security guard and any ongoing maintenance. Fees are levied on an ability to pay basis, however, as SkyHydrants™ have minimal maintenance requirements; real operating costs are essentially limited to indirect pumping.

The Outcome: Although output is down-rated due to high turbidity, the system is still efficient and the end result is affordable safe drinking water for a community that previously had no choice but to rely on unsafe water. The significance of safe water to the overall health and prosperity of the community has already been acknowledged. The major funding and resources for the Safe Water Kiosk Project was through the Tweed Shire Council, the wider Tweed Shire community, the SkyJuice™Foundation and the International Riverfoundation.  This project is more than just an infrastructure project; it is a community project both in Australia and Kenya, fueled by the creative energy, enthusiasm and generosity of the communities in both countries.  The project demonstrated the power of combining community participation, cost effective appropriate technology and education to provide an essential service. Ongoing monitoring of the installation and further projects are anticipated by the Tweed Shire Council Mentoring Program and the SkyJuice™ Foundation. Project Manager:  Dr Marty Hancock - Tweed Shire Council Mentoring Program.