DVHS Activate: A Closer Look

Around 800 million people in the world at this moment do not access to clean water and about four million people die each year from a water related disease, whether it is a lack of water or a product of ingesting contaminated water. Almost all of these 800 million reside currently in developing countries, where privileges like plumbing and running water that are taken for granted in the states, are not available, creating unsanitary environments that foster infectious disease and illness. Our mission is to spread the urgency and importance of helping those in need of life’s basic necessity that everyone should be entitled to: an access to clean water. As an interactive project with those who are interested in participating, we are proposing a “two week challenge” (a fundraiser created by “The Water Project”), in which for two weeks, we will only commit to drinking water and donate the money we save by drinking water (as opposed to drinking soft drinks or tea or other choice beverages) to help construct wells, rain water collection tools, and other innovations that bring people access to clean water.

ARE WELLS THE SOLUTION?

You know about the global water crisis. You've seen the photos of children drinking out of streams and mud holes---and you've seen them drinking water out of hand pumps after a new well is drilled in their village. However, what does this shiny new pump mean for these children and their community?

Although wells are not the only solution to clean water, they are the most common. The vast majority of water projects undertaken by The Water Project are water wells, because in most parts of the world, clean water can be found under your feet, in underground layers called aquifers. These later are continually refilled by rain and other surface water that filters down through the earth. Water in aquifers is usually very clean; sand and porous rocks provide a natural purification system, filtering out sediment and bacteria.

WHAT IS A WELL?

A well is simply a hole in the ground that reaches down to an aquifer. Traditionally, most people in the developing world have dug their wells by hand, which means only the shallowest aquifers can be reached. Shallow aquifers, rarely exceeding 50 feet, are usually left open and becomes vulnerable to pollution from agricultural fertilizers, industrial waste, or seepage from nearby latrines.

With the right equipment, wells can be drilled to deeper, safer water.

A pipe and pump are used to pull water from the ground and a screen filters out any unwanted particles. Drilled wells are lined with PVC or galvanized steel to protect the water from contamination that could otherwise seep in. These wells are sealed systems, with pumps that only allow water to flow out of the hole, keeping it safe from pollution near the surface.

HOW CAN PEOPLE USE WELLS?

Since safe water can usually be found within 100 feet of the surface, wells can be installed with just a manual hand pump. While not as convenient as an electric pump, a hand pump is usually a much more appropriate solution for a rural community: hand pumps are cost-effective and simple to maintain with minimal skills and few tools. Wells can also be utilized to supply irrigation systems and factories for the agricultural industry. The rate of flow on a village hand pump, about five gallons per minute, will never deplete a healthy aquifer and will ensure users plenty of water for future generations.

THE WATER CHALLENGE

As the DVHS Activate Water Team, we are proposing a "One Week Water Challenge", in which we challenge you to:

1) Abstain from other drinks and make water your only beverage for one week.

2) During this period of time, take the money you would spend on soda, juice, sports drinks, coffee, tea, even bottled water, and just put it aside.

3) After one week, calculate the amount of money saved by your sacrifice, and donate that amount to our cause at https://thewaterproject.org/community/profile/doris-liou

4) If you do not want to partake in the "One Week Water Challenge" - We are just asking for a $5 donation for the cause. (If you can donate more, that would be fantastic! If you want to donate less, any amount would help!)

AFTERWARDS?

Our goal is set at $300 at the moment, but our hope to surpass this goal and donate the proceeds to "The Water Project" to create these wells and other water collecting and cleansing technologies for those in developing countries.

As Dougherty Valley High School Students, we reside in a "San Ramon Bubble" and are ignorant of the others in impoverished countries that suffer from lacking every human's most basic need: water.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS

Through these donations we aim to not only change ourselves by getting involved in global issues, but to open the eyes of others, and together, ultimately make a progressive footprint in this world.