Water Lifting Devices

Goal of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme is to provide every rural person with adequate safe water for drinking, cooking and other domestic basic needs on a sustainable basis. This basic requirement should meet minimum water quality standards and be readily and conveniently accessible at all times and in all situations. This is necessary to relieve women and girls especially, from the drudgery of fetching water, address malnutrition issues, and increase the time available for education and leisure, while also preventing contamination likely while fetching water from a distant source.

In Maharashtra, in terms of provision of safe drinking water, more than 90 percent of the rural habitations have been covered but it is also a matter of fact that much remains to be done to improve levels of service delivery, water quality and sustainability, in hilly remote habitations situated in and Satpuda Hil ranges. GSDA taken it as a mission and carried out survey of 216 hilly remote habitations located in Sahayadri and Satpuda hill ranges. It is identified that the habitations left to be tackled are located on the top/slope of hills. Their traditional drinking water sources are basically natural springs. Mostly on the top/slope of hills. Their traditional drinking water sources are basically natural springs. Mostly on the slope of hills near by the habitation. Small collection wells/ponds are also observed.  These sources are accessible by very difficult slippery paths.  Injuries due to slip on these path for daily collection of water are common to them. It was also observed that they are using traditional and very ancient water lifting devices made from the available wood and trees to fetch water from the natural springs Hence water lifting Devices is the main problem. Efforts of the women and girls of these habitations reach to the fatigue during summer and rainy days. School Girls and boys have to fetch the water from wells far away. Electricity is not sustainable. These habitations situated on the elevated plateaus of inaccessible and hilly terrain are technically not feasible for construction of bore wells due to their hydro geological setup and mostly not accessible for heavy vehicles due difficult geographic conditions. Also the conventional dug wells are seasonal and are not capable of catering the demand of water particularly in summer season.

Innovative Solutions of GSDA

• GSDA have innovated and installed successfully some low cost, human efforts saving lifting devices like Universal Pumps – Wire Rope type and Suction Pumps, in these habitations. .
• Hydram Pumps are also used in two habitations which use Kinetic energy of flowing water.
• Solar Dual Pump Based Piped Water Supply Schemes developed by GSDA in these areas for the bore wells are now being replicated in thousands in all states. Spring Based water supply schemes have been implemented with house hold concept

HYDRAULIC RAM PUMP(HYDRAM )

Hydraulic ram pumps are water-lifting devices that are powered by filling water. Such pumps work by using the energy of water falling a small height to lift a small part of that amount of water to a much greater height. In this way, water from a spring or stream in a valley can be pumped to a village or irrigation scheme on the hillside. The main and unique advantage of hydraulic ram pumps is that with continuous flow of water, a hydram pump operates automatically and continuously with no other external energy source – be it electricity or hydrocarbon fuel. It uses a renewable energy source (stream of water) mid hence ensures low running cost. It imparts absolutely no harm to the environment Hydraulic ram pumps are simple, reliable and require minimal maintenance. All these advantages make hydraulic ram pumps suitable to rural community water supply mud backyard irrigation in remote and hilly areas .GSDA have implemented these schemes on pilot basis in two habitations of Raigad District named Aenghar and Ghotavade

Aenghar : Number Wadi Hydram – Raigad District

A small habitation at the foot hill of Sahyadri mountain Range (Western Ghat), named Number wadi of Aenghar village in Roha Block of Raigad District is situated on the bank of a small river which emerges from the peak near by the village. This small habitation was deprived from safe and clean water supply. Poor tribal were unable to bear energy charges for water supply scheme if provided. No question of irrigation. Hence socio economic status was far below. GSDA observed a 2 meter fall in this stream near the habitation and used it for an old technique of Hydram pump.Pumped water is distributed through 5000 liters elevated storage tank and two stand posts. Now due to 24 X 7 working of Hydram pump 50000 liters of water is available daily. Balance 45000 liters of water they are using for a small brick kiln and for irrigation also without any kind of energy charges. Certainly their socio – economic standard is up lifted due to this Hydram Pump based water supply scheme In 20 more such habitations in this hilly area, Hydram pump based schemes are under progress.

Jhadani Ghotavade Hydram

Jhadani is another small habitation of Ghotavade village of Raigad District in Sahyadri mountain range. There are six more habitations of Ghotavade village which are covered joint piped water supply schemes. Source is open well on the downstream side of Ghotavade Dam. Jhadani being small habitation of 130 population and 1.5 Km away was not covered under this scheme. One bore well with hand pump was provided there. It remains defunct during summer. Water was also not potable. Here GSDA have installed Hydram Pump on the using leakages of distributaries. Hydram pump is now daily pumping 50000 liters of water through a rising main of 1.5 Km long at 25 metre head through 5000 liter elevated over head. Five stand posts made it easier for the villagers. Carbon filters and use of TCL powder providing clean and safe water. Balance water is being used for agriculture.

UNIVERSAL HAND PUMP

i) Wire Rope Type Universal Pump

This device is innovated by GSDA for the very small habitations to fetch the water from available source either well or spring as the bore well drilling is not possible due to inaccessibility. India mark II hand pump is installed in this case in the habitation without riser pipes and connecting rods. Cylinder of the hand pump with necessary riser pipes and connecting rods is installed in the well/spring. Upper end of the connecting rod is tied to the wire rope which is connected to the front end of the handle with the help of pulleys through the pedestal of the pump. When the handle is moved, effort is passed to the plunger with the help of wire rope. Delivery of the pump is routed through a HDPE pipe up to spout of the handle. This type of universal pump can be used up to head of 30 metre. These type of pumps are working successfully in two hilly habitations named Chafe of Ratnagiri District and Gavdhan Wadi of Chavni habitation in Raigad Districts.