IMPROVING THE WATER SUPPLY FOR THE VILLAGES OF BUTUO AND JINYANG
The villages of Butuo and Jinyang have experienced worsening drought conditions over the last decade. For half the year little rain falls and little water is available to the communities. What water they can gather is poorly collected with little water storage available. Lack of water has reduced crops and made hygiene maintenance difficult. Whole crops have been lost in the past 2 years through drought. Diarrhea and similar hygiene-related conditions, together with malnourishment, and poor disease resistance are commonplace and can be fatal.
Improving the supply and use of water in the communities can save lives and improve the community's health and opportunities.
Butuo and Jinyang are two clusters of villages located high above the Xixi River, A tributary of the Jin Sha / Yangtze River. The two clusters are approximately 20 kilometres apart but there is no direct access between them. The nearest town of any size is Duiping, on the banks of the Yangtze. It is a 4 hour journey from Jinyang and one to three hours from the Butuo cluster. Duiping has a population of about 3,000 people and is 140 kilometers from Xichang.
BUTUO
Butuo is a cluster of 4 villages. The clusters are located in a deep valley above the Xixi River. Villages 3 and 4 are at 3800 feet and villages 1 and 2 are higher at 4800 feet. It is a 2 hour hike between the two groups. The clusters’ main buildings, school and clinic are at the higher elevation and serve all the villages. Villagers keep livestock and tend terraced fields. They irrigate some for paddy fields at the lower villages only. Water is from natural springs some distance from the villages and is reduced by 80% and more in the winter months. There is one shared source for villages 1 and 2. Villages 3 and 4 each have their own source. Each village has a concrete collection tank to hold water but these are not well placed for additional field irrigation
JINYANG
Jinyang is a cluster of 2 villages. The villages are located on narrow ledges very high above the Xixi River at an altitude of around 3000 feet. The housing groups are within a ten minute walk of each other. The clusters’ main buildings, school, and clinic are at the lower village. Water for all the villagers and their fields comes from a single source spring some 5 Kilometres away and about 1000 feet higher up the mountain. The villages irrigate some paddy fields in the lower terraces but most of the fields are too steep and winter water is not sufficient to cover more than a handful of small terraces. Water is currently collected in three concrete tanks for domestic use with run-off used for irrigation when it is available. In summer this is adequate but in winter there is insufficient water for crop irrigation and even manual watering of trees is difficult.
COMMON PROBLEM
Both village groups rely on natural spring water sourced several kilometres from the point of use. Water travels in small, flexible pipes across rough terrain to the tanks or to standpipes on which villagers rely. In the months from October until April water from the springs is reduced by up to 80% and in drought years can stop completely. Most winters the water supply is just sufficient for personal use – drinking, cooking and basic cleaning and livestock – but completely insufficient for any form of irrigation. Consequently little can be grown in the winter months and nutrition levels drop well below WHO standards and sanitation issues lead to increased illness within the communities.
In addition, the pipework infrastructure is not robust enough and damage to pipes occurs with great frequency. When water is abundant the pressure over long distances of small-bore piping breaks seals between pipe-sections. Pipes are crushed or separated by rock falls and landslides in this highly mountainous area that is subject to seismic movement almost every day. With access to the pipeline extremely difficult repairing the system is often slow and hazardous. Villagers estimate that they suffer complete loss of water supply from pipe damage once every three weeks on average.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
After reviewing the on-site situation and having in-depth discussions with the village representatives and residents, the proposed solution is to largely replace the existing pipework in areas most damaged, to provide better fixings of the pipe system either by tie-backs to stable rock faces or by submerging the pipes into the soil reducing exposure generally. By using stronger and more flexible pipe materials and manufacturer recommended jointing details between pipework sections it is expected that the system can be made more durable and can deliver the maximum water volume to the villages.
In addition, the intent is to add water outlets to each household, giving greater distribution within the villages for domestic use and to add irrigation points and stored-water holding tanks that will increase the area of fields that can be irrigated year round, and to allow for additional ‘gardens’ to be cultivated close to homes. Sprinkler irrigation points fed from stored water tanks and direct pipe connections will enormously improve field irrigation on a daily basis, allowing for a wider variety of crop growth which will in turn alleviate chronic malnutrition.
It is proposed that although the supply of water at source will not increase, the amount that reaches the communities and which can be stored and utilized by them will increase over 100%.
It is proposed that the intended works will provide the following improvements:
COMMUNITY PROJECT
The project team does not believe in simply providing a complete and alien solution to a local problem. We have spent considerable time with the villagers in both locations surveying the existing water supply points and distribution systems. We have held community meetings to understand their concerns and to gather local knowledge. Together with them we have developed a realistic and affordable solution that includes significant community involvement.
The proposals for funding are entirely for materials, technical support and transportation. It is intended and agreed with the communities that all labour to install the new systems will be provided by the communities themselves. Given the relatively small size of the communities and their obligations through the year for basic subsistence, this is a significant responsibility to place onto them. They have without exception, however, helped to develop and have agreed to the proposals noted in this report. They recognize that they cannot achieve these ends on their own but that they also have a responsibility to build success.
COSTS
Funding is being sought for materials, technical assistance and delivery of materials only. All on-site labour will be provided by village residents. Costs are currently Estimated at 578,480 RMB for Butuo and 295,400 RMB for Jinyang. A SUMMARY OF COSTS are as follows:
BUTUO JINYANG
ITEM QTY COST IN RMB QTY COST IN RMB
Main distribution pipes 4,700 m 310,200 2,300 m 152,000
Secondary distribution pipes 7,600 m 30,400 4,200 m 17,000
Connectors and fittings 1,440 22,000 800 12,000
Valves, etc. 62 2,600 28 1,200
Storage tanks 5 140,000 2 63,000
Depressurising tanks 13 12,000 8 7,400
Field sprinklers 150 8,280 85 4,700
Household taps 90 2,000 50 1,100
Welding & genset equipment sum 6,000 sum 6,000
Repairs to existing reusable installation sum 9,000 sum 4,500
Transport and training sum 9,000 sum 6,000
Making fish tank usable n/a n/a 1 6,500
TOTAL 578,480 RMB 295,400 RMB
TIMELINE
Over the past years water supplied by rain has been significantly reduced from expected norms. In the past year alone villagers at both communities have lost the majority of three crops of maize and two of rice due to their inability to irrigate the fields sufficiently. Many of the fruit trees planted last year have died. The dry season begins again in October this year and it is TLP’s intention to have the infrastructure for improved irrigation in place by this time or shortly after so as to harvest as much as possible of the reduced water supply over the winter months. The work to install the pipes and tanks will be done by the villagers and is expected to take about two months from the arrival of materials on site. Most materials are easily procurable once funds are available.
Improving the supply and use of water in the communities can save lives and improve the community's health and opportunities.
Butuo and Jinyang are two clusters of villages located high above the Xixi River, A tributary of the Jin Sha / Yangtze River. The two clusters are approximately 20 kilometres apart but there is no direct access between them. The nearest town of any size is Duiping, on the banks of the Yangtze. It is a 4 hour journey from Jinyang and one to three hours from the Butuo cluster. Duiping has a population of about 3,000 people and is 140 kilometers from Xichang.
BUTUO
Butuo is a cluster of 4 villages. The clusters are located in a deep valley above the Xixi River. Villages 3 and 4 are at 3800 feet and villages 1 and 2 are higher at 4800 feet. It is a 2 hour hike between the two groups. The clusters’ main buildings, school and clinic are at the higher elevation and serve all the villages. Villagers keep livestock and tend terraced fields. They irrigate some for paddy fields at the lower villages only. Water is from natural springs some distance from the villages and is reduced by 80% and more in the winter months. There is one shared source for villages 1 and 2. Villages 3 and 4 each have their own source. Each village has a concrete collection tank to hold water but these are not well placed for additional field irrigation
JINYANG
Jinyang is a cluster of 2 villages. The villages are located on narrow ledges very high above the Xixi River at an altitude of around 3000 feet. The housing groups are within a ten minute walk of each other. The clusters’ main buildings, school, and clinic are at the lower village. Water for all the villagers and their fields comes from a single source spring some 5 Kilometres away and about 1000 feet higher up the mountain. The villages irrigate some paddy fields in the lower terraces but most of the fields are too steep and winter water is not sufficient to cover more than a handful of small terraces. Water is currently collected in three concrete tanks for domestic use with run-off used for irrigation when it is available. In summer this is adequate but in winter there is insufficient water for crop irrigation and even manual watering of trees is difficult.
COMMON PROBLEM
Both village groups rely on natural spring water sourced several kilometres from the point of use. Water travels in small, flexible pipes across rough terrain to the tanks or to standpipes on which villagers rely. In the months from October until April water from the springs is reduced by up to 80% and in drought years can stop completely. Most winters the water supply is just sufficient for personal use – drinking, cooking and basic cleaning and livestock – but completely insufficient for any form of irrigation. Consequently little can be grown in the winter months and nutrition levels drop well below WHO standards and sanitation issues lead to increased illness within the communities.
In addition, the pipework infrastructure is not robust enough and damage to pipes occurs with great frequency. When water is abundant the pressure over long distances of small-bore piping breaks seals between pipe-sections. Pipes are crushed or separated by rock falls and landslides in this highly mountainous area that is subject to seismic movement almost every day. With access to the pipeline extremely difficult repairing the system is often slow and hazardous. Villagers estimate that they suffer complete loss of water supply from pipe damage once every three weeks on average.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
After reviewing the on-site situation and having in-depth discussions with the village representatives and residents, the proposed solution is to largely replace the existing pipework in areas most damaged, to provide better fixings of the pipe system either by tie-backs to stable rock faces or by submerging the pipes into the soil reducing exposure generally. By using stronger and more flexible pipe materials and manufacturer recommended jointing details between pipework sections it is expected that the system can be made more durable and can deliver the maximum water volume to the villages.
In addition, the intent is to add water outlets to each household, giving greater distribution within the villages for domestic use and to add irrigation points and stored-water holding tanks that will increase the area of fields that can be irrigated year round, and to allow for additional ‘gardens’ to be cultivated close to homes. Sprinkler irrigation points fed from stored water tanks and direct pipe connections will enormously improve field irrigation on a daily basis, allowing for a wider variety of crop growth which will in turn alleviate chronic malnutrition.
It is proposed that although the supply of water at source will not increase, the amount that reaches the communities and which can be stored and utilized by them will increase over 100%.
It is proposed that the intended works will provide the following improvements:
- Provide drinking water directly to all households
- Provide sufficient water for livestock and allow for livestock increase in future
- To provide direct and stored water to existing and new fields
- To provide water storage against future drought conditions.
- To provide sprinkler irrigation systems to better distribute irrigation to existing and to extended fields
- Increase total irrigated paddy area to 5 hectares in Butuo and 6 in Jinyang with potential to harvest two crops per year
- To enable a 3x expansion of community vegetable growing, and to enable individual household vegetable gardens for child nutrition improvement.
- Add irrigation to 7 hectares of existing farmland in Butuo and 5 in Jinyang to increase yield.
- Develop and spot-irrigate a further 9 hectares in Butuo and 4 in Jinyang of currently dry, unused land to grow fruit and walnut trees for nutrition improvement and for trade.
COMMUNITY PROJECT
The project team does not believe in simply providing a complete and alien solution to a local problem. We have spent considerable time with the villagers in both locations surveying the existing water supply points and distribution systems. We have held community meetings to understand their concerns and to gather local knowledge. Together with them we have developed a realistic and affordable solution that includes significant community involvement.
The proposals for funding are entirely for materials, technical support and transportation. It is intended and agreed with the communities that all labour to install the new systems will be provided by the communities themselves. Given the relatively small size of the communities and their obligations through the year for basic subsistence, this is a significant responsibility to place onto them. They have without exception, however, helped to develop and have agreed to the proposals noted in this report. They recognize that they cannot achieve these ends on their own but that they also have a responsibility to build success.
COSTS
Funding is being sought for materials, technical assistance and delivery of materials only. All on-site labour will be provided by village residents. Costs are currently Estimated at 578,480 RMB for Butuo and 295,400 RMB for Jinyang. A SUMMARY OF COSTS are as follows:
BUTUO JINYANG
ITEM QTY COST IN RMB QTY COST IN RMB
Main distribution pipes 4,700 m 310,200 2,300 m 152,000
Secondary distribution pipes 7,600 m 30,400 4,200 m 17,000
Connectors and fittings 1,440 22,000 800 12,000
Valves, etc. 62 2,600 28 1,200
Storage tanks 5 140,000 2 63,000
Depressurising tanks 13 12,000 8 7,400
Field sprinklers 150 8,280 85 4,700
Household taps 90 2,000 50 1,100
Welding & genset equipment sum 6,000 sum 6,000
Repairs to existing reusable installation sum 9,000 sum 4,500
Transport and training sum 9,000 sum 6,000
Making fish tank usable n/a n/a 1 6,500
TOTAL 578,480 RMB 295,400 RMB
TIMELINE
Over the past years water supplied by rain has been significantly reduced from expected norms. In the past year alone villagers at both communities have lost the majority of three crops of maize and two of rice due to their inability to irrigate the fields sufficiently. Many of the fruit trees planted last year have died. The dry season begins again in October this year and it is TLP’s intention to have the infrastructure for improved irrigation in place by this time or shortly after so as to harvest as much as possible of the reduced water supply over the winter months. The work to install the pipes and tanks will be done by the villagers and is expected to take about two months from the arrival of materials on site. Most materials are easily procurable once funds are available.
