Lack of clean drinking water is a major problem in developing countries. Water-borne diseases are rampant in economically depressed rural areas because clean running water (typically provided by the municipalities) is simply not available. The only alternative is to install hand pumps or deep wells (drilled wells) to draw clean water from the ground depending on the depth of the water table. The depth of the potable water table varies from 20 to 3000 feet (~ 6 to 910 meters) depending on the region and local topography. Hand pumps are normally installed for obtaining water at the maximum depth of 130 feet (~ 40 meters). Over 130 feet deep wells (drilled wells) are installed with pumps which can reach 3,000 feet (910 m) or more.
Water Hand Pump
Until recent centuries, all artificial wells were pump-less dug wells which were excavated with diameters large enough to accommodate men with shovels digging down to below the water table. Such wells were at times lined with stones or bricks; extending this lining into a wall around the well to reduce both contamination and injuries by falling into the well. Modern dug wells are hand pumped.
While the cost of drilling is directly proportional to the depth of the water table, the average cost of installing a hand pump, along with maintenance of the hand pump for 5 years is approximately $200.
Deep Well
Deep wells can get water from a much deeper level by mechanical drilling. Drilled wells with electric pumps are currently used throughout the world, typically in rural or sparsely populated areas. Most shallow well drilling machines are mounted on large trucks or trailers. Such wells typically range from 20 to 600 feet (6 to 180 meters), but in some areas can go deeper than 3,000 feet (910 meter). Deep wells over 600 feet (180 meters) with purification plant costs $30,000 and up. Currently, Hidaya is working to provide a deep well in the Shahdad Kot district in Pakistan. For more information on theQambar-Shahdad Kot Water Project,click here .
The sister organization of Hidaya Trust, Hidaya Foundation was awarded Sitara-i-Eisaar (Star of Sacrifice) by the Government of Pakistan, in recognition of the results-oriented relief efforts of both the organizations during the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. It was awarded during a special ceremony held at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, DC.
In Keeping with our commitment to the communities in which Hidaya Trust operates, it hires its work force as an equal opportunity employer. It means that employment decisions are based on merit and business needs and not on race, color, status in the society, ancestry, sex, age, religion, creed and marital status.
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