Technologies we use

• Water Supply
• Sanitation
• Hygiene promotion activities

Water supply

Spot spring development (SSD): This involves protecting the spring and then guiding the water to a collection chamber (reservoir). This is then connected to a water point and, if needed, a cattle trough. Each spring capping can serve up to 1,000 beneficiaries.

Small gravity schemes: Use gravity flow through pipes to provide water from a higher source to the community below. They are protected springs with a collection chamber connected to reservoir and water points. The size of the reservoir and public water points depends on the yield of the spring and number of beneficiaries. Small gravity springs could have distribution pipes of between three and six kilometres in length and have between three and five water points. The number of beneficiaries is usually 3,000 to 5,000 people.

Large gravity schemes: Use the same gravity flow principles as above, but involvw higher discharge springs. The springs are capped and main lines are attached linking to a number of reservoirs and water points. The number of public water points could be more than 80 and the length could reach up to 140kms. The number of beneficiaries could be more than 50,000.

Combination of gravity and motorised schemes:  These are built wherever the topography prohibits building gravity schemes. They are built to pump water from capped springs located in valleys and gorges up to elevated topographies in order to provide safe and clean water to villages. The schemes will also have reservoirs and water points.

Hand-dug wells (HDW): This water supply technology is recommended where there are no spring resources, and where the water table is close to the surface. The wells are dug manually by digging down about 15 metres. The wells are then lined, sealed and fitted with a handpump. Hand-dug wells can serve up to 350 people.

Shallow well construction (SWC):  This system is an advanced type of hand-dug well which is constructed in accessible areas by a medium drilling rig which can reach greater depths than hand-digging. They are fitted with a handpump and PVC pipes to draw water from deeper reservoirs. The major advantages of using shallow wells over hand-dug wells are:

• They can be reach up to 60 metres in depth
• They are not risky during the dry season
• They cannot be polluted easily

Boreholes (BH):  This is an advanced type of water supply technology recommended for a population of more than 2,000 in small towns. Boreholes are constructed using high capacity drilling rigs and are fitted with submersible or mono pumps. Generators have to be used to draw the water from deep down to a reservoir. Pipes are then used to distribute the water to community water points.

Sanitation

Communal ventilated improved (VIP) latrines:  WaterAid supports the construction of communal latrines for institutions like schools and health centres. Often these are built and used as demonstration latrines to show what others can also achieve. Due to the complexity of their management, communal latrines are not advisable for community use.

Traditional pit latrines (TPL): This type of latrine is constructed in scattered settlements for individual families. All the materials used are local so that they are available to everyone. There are also TPLs with sanitary platforms, which are safer for children and elderly people to use at night. It is also easier to clean latrines with sanitary platforms.

Shared ventilated improved pit latrine (VIPL): This type of latrine is commonly used in the slums of Addis. The shared VIPLs will have four to eight toilet rooms and a couple of households share each room. This is useful in areas where there is shortage of space and people live in a crowded area.

Refuse disposal pits (RDP):  Some household waste must be stored in pits and can later be composted or buried. Solid waste is not a big problem in rural areas as communities dispose of it on their farmland and use it as a soil conditioner. However, WaterAid Ethiopia advises communities to try a composting system for degradable waste that could help their plants and crops, and to dispose of all other waste in pits. In urban slums where the management of solid waste is becoming a problem, WaterAid supports the purchase of skips for communal use and small bins for individuals.

Liquid waste management: Unlike the urban slums, liquid waste management is not a problem in rural parts of Ethiopia. The situation in urban slums is worsened due to poor and/or absence of proper sewerage lines. In response to this, WaterAid is piloting a closed sewerage system with its partner Progynist in one of the slums of Addis.

Hygiene promotion activities

The hygiene promotion work mainly focuses on key behavioural issues that are related to water supply and sanitation. These are:

• Safe water handling from source to use
• Safe human waste disposal systems
• Personal hygiene like hand washing at critical times
• Safe handling of food and food utensils

The main approaches used for hygiene promotion are:

• Training hygiene promoters (selected members of the community)
• Training water and sanitation committees and clergymen
• Mass hygiene promotion (in public meeting places like churches and mosques)
• School sanitation clubs (drama or role play)
• House-to-house (by trained hygiene promoters, water and sanitation committees or clergymen)
• Production and distribution of hygiene promotion guidelines (used by hygiene promoters)
• Production and distribution of posters and flip charts (produced using local languages)