Improving the water situation in Goaldihi Village

Around 25 million people in Bangladesh are lacking access to clean drinking water and approximately 40 per cent of the population face problems with sanitation and hygiene due to impure water. Water issues as these can cause devastating consequences, such as limiting access to education and a decent standard of living, especially for children in socioeconomic exposed areas. Many children in these areas have to quit school when their parents become sick from consuming impure water. Therefore, improving access to clean water also improves the standard of living and health for the people in Bangladesh.

The population of Goaldihi Village in the north-western parts of Bangladesh currently suffers from this issue. Diseases that are related to the consumption of impure water, such as diarrhea, are common occurrences and have sometimes led to tragic deaths in the neighborhood. The reason for this is that the villagers get their drinking water from tube wells that easily get infected. A water test confirmed by our local partner organization BRIF (Bangladesh Rural Improvement Foundation), showed the presence of coliform bacteria in one of the wells. The health issues increase during the monsoon season due to mosquitos and other bacterias that are spread into the water through the heavy floods and rainfalls. Either the water is boiled or “filtered” through a piece of cloth, which have come to be inefficient methods in fully disinfecting the water from harmful particles.

We believe that access to clean drinking water is a prerequisite in developing societies. The project has already done a pre-study of the water situation in Goaldihi village, and will use as the result from the study as a base and guideline for further actions in improving the water situation. The pre-study received financial support from Vatten and Miljökonsulterna AB, HVR Water purification AB, and Marcus Nilsson’s GoFundMe campaign “Unicycling across Sweden for improved water access.”

The project is now on the second phase where we will implement a sustainable, robust and safe drinking water solution for the village. The project will build a water tower with submerged UV-lights. We will have a pump house which will be built from bamboo to have the pumping systems, and the whole system will be powered by solar panels and deliver water to households through gravitation. The project also aims to spread awarness about the importance of safe drinking water as well hold workshops and involve the local community in order to create ownership of the technical solution.

The project will contribute to fulfilling the UN SDG 6 - Clean water and sanitation for all, as well as UN SDG 3 - Good health and well-being, and UN SDG 11 - Sustainable cities and societies.