EveryDrop: Water Harvesting Project

Water scarcity remains a huge problem around the world. Yet water is the most abundant resource that earth has. So the issue lies squarely on how we the users manage it to serve us better. When water becomes available, everyone has it in excess but in no time the precious commodity is no more. Conservation of water makes a big difference in how we run our every day lives. Conservation will involve harvesting the available water, storing it and then managing its usage till it is available again. The focus of this solution is simply trapping runoff water during rainy seasons in huge reservoirs where it's conserved from leaching and evaporation using plastic lining then pumping it into hoisted storage tanks and then piped for use. The usage ranges from domestic to agriculture. The immediate problem that informed this project is lack of food in the dry parts of Kenya. Numerous populations live in agriculturally potential yet disappointing places as far as crop and animal production is concerned. Earlier, these areas used to receive sufficient rainfall for these activities but with the ranging tide of global warming, rains are only short-lived. It is because of this aspect that conservation of the available water becomes very critical if these practices, and by extension the livelihoods of these populations, are to be salvaged. EveryDrop project also aims to provide clean drinking water to shield the populations from diarrheal diseases. For wet areas, the project will install setups for individuals and every person has control over their water but for very dry areas communal systems are preferred where distribution and usage is rationed and cropping is limited to produce the best results. Communal ponds and drinking points are also provided for livestock and aquaculture. Options for heating domestic water are also available. Pumping of water into tanks relies on wind and solar energy and heating relies purely on solar energy. The secondary problem is desertification which is common in dry areas. To tackle this, Everydrop plans to establish perennial plants in all dry areas it covers. Along the distribution channels,  trees are planted at intervals and are watered automatically as water flows. Use of smart meters and moisture sensors manage water use in all aspects.

EveryDrop traps and conserves run off water to sustain live beyond the rainy season in dry places in Kenya. Recycled plastic is used to reduce leaching and evaporation of conserved water. Naturally occurring forms of green energy i.e. wind and solar are used to pump and heat water respectively. Wind turbines will power lift pumps to get water from the surface to propped storage tanks. Solar pumps are set on stand-by to complement the wind pumps when the winds are weak. From tanks, water is distributed to users as gardening water and some is purified at user level for drinking. Solar concentrators are used to heat water for domestic uses which significantly cuts on overdependence on conventional yet climate-unfriendly heating options.  EveryDrop aims to enhance life sustaining activities in dry areas which are inhibited by lack of water. Foods crops will feed the beneficiaries and also uplift them financially from sales thereof. Livestock production will also be bettered by availability of water and straw from crops. Besides food crops which help regulate green house gases, EveryDrop will promote plantation of perennial trees along its distribution channels as a part of a long term reforestation activity in dry areas. 

Kenya has a fair share of dry places. Counties like Marsabit, Turkana, Wajir, Isiolo, Mandera and Garrisa are in arid category while Machakos, Laikipia, Baringo, Samburu are in semi-arid category. Other counties are fairly wet but have patches of dry areas like Murang'a and Nyeri counties in the central region. With the current state of climate change, populations living in these dry areas are frequently hunger-stricken a situation that has seen the government divert resources from time to time in a bid to mitigate the situation. Famine in the post-Covid years has claimed so many lives in these areas where government and food donors have fell short of meeting the food requirements of the populations. This would not be the case if water was available. Lack of water means poor or no agricultural activity and therefore no food source which makes the situation more chronic than acute. Inadequate water also leads to reduced vegetation cover aggravating the harsh climatic conditions. Green house gases are not properly recycled and sustainable hydrological cycle is broken.  Soils are scorched and poorly conserved further worsening the problem. EveryDrop initiative recovers these ills a household at at time. 

Basically, majority of people in Kenya have experienced a dry episode in their lives especially in this current year that has seen rivers, lakes and glaciers dry up resulting from the insufficient rains during the last quarter of 2022. In Kirinyaga county, the current location of operation of EveryDrop, crops dried up at a delicate stage and animals started starving to death. (Kirinyaga County is known for horticulture and many forms of agriculture given its good climate, constant supply of water from rivers and rich soils). Kirinyaga County borders Machakos, Nyeri, Murang'a and Embu Counties which have at least one dry part. Team leader has tried some irrigation projects in Mbeere sub-county in Embu county and faced huge challenges to get the crops thrive. one striking aspect of these areas is the potential of their soils and many people aspire to tap it but are limited by lack of water.

Big Dot has established a prototype on a small portion of land that mimics real-life circumstances with the aim of learning the challenges associated with the initiative. 

Due to financial constraints and the magnitude of the initiative,  Big Dot is yet to run a pilot. 

The aim of applying to take advantage of the network and the global platform provided by Solve that is highly admirable. This will enable Big Dot to sharpen its approach and provide the much needed resources for the initiative.

Positive criticism and mentorship will enhance our outlook in a big way if the
project is selected. Rewards will boost the team's morale if the project
wins. Any monetary or non-monetary assistance accorded to project will 
see the project to another level. 

Most water projects encounter huge initial and running costs because of relying on fossil fuels and electricity which are both expensive and unevenly distributed in the areas of interest. These are also less climate-friendly and their sustained use eventually contribute to global warming hence exacerbating the problem in question. EveryDrop taps the most abundant yet green sources of energy; it uses wind for most of pumping and solar for complementary pumping and heating. On water storage, most projects rely on manufactured water tanks that require high skilled labour to install and maintain. When left unused for sometime, these tanks rust and may require re-engineering to be used again. EveryDrop introduces plastic lining on iron panel tanks. While metal provides the structural stability and durability, the plastic holds the water. This lining is made by joining plastic panels of reasonable thickness made through recycling. The iron panels are simply jointed by nuts and bolts while the plastic lining is jointed by heat to make it leak-proof. Faulty pieces of plastic can be easily cut out and replaced as need arises. On water sources, EveryDrop shifts from the convectional boreholes and wells; these are not only costly to sink but their output is affected by the prevailing climatic conditions. We utilize run-off water from natural rainfall where cost is greatly minimized given the abundance of water during the wet seasons. The fact that this is surface water harvesting becomes easy as water is only directed to collecting reservoirs with no need of pumping. Lining the reservoirs with plastic and floating a plastic sheet on the surface may be a little costly but this is all that is required to see the water survive the dry conditions. It is also way cheaper than sinking a borehole and it help recycle plastic.

In one year, Big Dot aims to connect at least 50 households to the distribution line. Our five-year goal is to cover the whole of central  Kenya

EveryDrop addresses five critical goals of our time namely: provision of clean water and sanitation, hunger eradication, promoting sustainable production and consumption, climate action and also provision of clean and affordable energy as outlined by the United Nations. The project seeks to empower persons who are hard hit by lack of water in Kenya. Availability of water will improve the quality of life for these populations and enable them to run their daily economic activities better. Water in homes will greatly improve sanitation and hygiene from personal to environmental. The bulk of water will target small-scale farming and gardening with the sole aim of food production at the household level. This will reduce malnutrition and starvation that is associated with the dry counties in Kenya. EveryDrop is consciously pegged on circular economy with the aim of efficient production and minimizing waste especially to the ecosystem. The project promotes plastic recycling, reforestation and water conservation in a bid to salvage our much polluted environment. To cap it all, the project is powered by green energy options of wind and solar that are optimal in Kenya especially in the dry areas. Domestic heating using the sun will largely cut on dependency of LPG and firewood in homes. The success of the project will mean meeting these goals and the larger its scale the better the impacts.

The greatest hustle in the dry counties of Kenya is the search for water. The whole day is covered by the long walks with barrels on donkey backs while other drive huge herds of cattle to distant water points. Farming is desired but lack of water renders the idea a far-fetched dream. Perhaps the success stories from DANIDA project in Turkana County paints the potential of these sun scorched lands (https://www.danchurchaid.org//irrigation-boosts-food-security-in-turkana). It also shows us how much the populations would desire to produce their own food as compared to constantly looking up to the government and other organizations for food aid. Such project have covered very few farms and has had very desirable outcomes. If households are provided with water, the drought situation would have reduced effects on these areas. Malnutrition resulting from starvation will go away and human resource will find better ways of life. Cropping and tree planting will also modify the climatic aspects of these area for better in due time. Areas covered with sandy soils may not support cropping activities but provision of water will boost livestock rearing in a big way. The economic differences between these groups will bring entrepreneurship to life thus permanently cementing the activities into the communities. This is all that these populations dream about and any chance of realization will be greatly embraced and owned.

The project is pegged upon uses of wind and solar power to get water closer to people. It emphasizes on plastic use in conservation process and smart moisture detection is water management. Water is pumped from reservoirs to tanks by turbine driven water pumps. When wind are weak solar pumps are used. The advantages of using wind pumps is low maintenance seeing that the technology is largely mechanical as compared to the electrical-based technology in solar pumps; these require storage batteries that are regularly replaced.

The use of recycled plastic in reservoirs and tanks greatly reduces maintenance of metallic and concrete facilities and promotes circular economy idea that is key in environmental management. 

Smart moisture detectors helps management of water at user level. This turns irrigation of gardens automated and the user needs not to worry about irrigation schedules. Ordinary drip irrigation is done for trees along the distribution pipes as long as water flows in them.

Solar concentrators are used in heating domestic water. Again the systems are automated. to optimally harvest the energy smart focusing of the dishes is implemented electronically such that the dish orientation moves with the sun position throughout the day. Temperature detection is also implemented electronically such that heating periods depend on solar strength and re-heating of stored water is done when it cools below the desired temperature.

Convectional chemical water preservation methods are effected at household level. Chlorinated water have adverse effects on crops and only a small portion of water is treated. Physical methods such as stage filtering are exercised at collection points to guarantee sustainability of system. Though water may look clean at distribution level, complete elimination of micro-organisms from this run-off water is only guaranteed by chemical treatment.

The team has representation of youth, Muslim minorities and Arid area community member. This is to ensure diversity of views and life experiences. Gender parity is also observed in 3:2 male to female ratio; this is significant given the negative attitude of women to technological projects in Kenya.

Households are connected at a fee depending on the model installed. Options for one-off fee and installments are available. For communal project, small monthly fees for maintenance are charged on top of the initial installation costs. Individual household connections are slightly expensive than the communal option. EveryDrop will support aquaculture projects in a way of marketing and information free of charge. Communal water points and tree planting will also fall into the project's management with community groups involvement. 

Revenue will be generated through installation fees and funding from well wishers.

Currently not scaled up. Not serving anyone.