First solar powered Villagepump 500 delivers clean water to ‘forgotten’ Bangladeshi

#Bangladesh #Clean water

Villagepump announced the installation of its first solar powered drinking water pumps in the villages of East Degholia and West Degholia, close to Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The two Villagepump 500E-24V units provide more than 500 liter safe drinking water per hour, covering the need for 4,000 people in the two villages.

Boy gets clean water from first solar powered Villagepump in Bangladesh

By a push of the button, villagers can tap clean water up to 500 liter per hour. The people are instructed to use the water only for drinking purposes. (Photo: Villagepump)

Forgotten villagers

The villages are located 5 km outside the Rohingya refugee camp near Cox's Bazar in southern Bangladesh. The residents are also called the ‘forgotten’ villagers because they are now being put to the test 'hosting' large amount of refugees.

For the villages there is sweet surface water available in shallow wells. However, due to the increasingly amount of people and cattle living in this region, this water is bacteriological contaminated and not safe to drink anymore.

Press a button

Each Villagepump is powered by two standard 12V batteries with a capacity of 80Ah. These batteries are charged by 2 solar panels that deliver a maximum of 550W, enough to keep the Villagepump in operation during daytime (max 6 – 7 hrs per day). The pumps are equipped with Capillary Ultrafiltration Membranes to clean the water that is pumped up from the wells with a light submerged pump.

A staff of the international development organisation BRAC in Bangladesh manages and monitors the pumps, in collaboration with a selected group of men from the villages. The first results are promising reports Villagepump as people prefer to press a button rather than having to push the handle on the standard version of the pump.