TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
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Image by Coronium
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en
Image by SuSanA Secretariat
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
The two primary technical challenges to solve are the topography of the environment and the sanitation of water.
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These are universal. Every single water system has to grapple with them. In some cases, one or the other is easy to solve: communities may be directly downhill from a lake, or enough electrical energy may be available to engage a large pump system.
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In South Sudan and many other developing countries, they persist.
Topography
Much of South Sudan lies on the flat Nile watershed, pictured at right. Each color represents an elevation, and it is readily obvious that only minimal elevation change exists across South Sudan. In fact, a typical elevation gradient in South Sudan is 1 meter per kilometer traveled. That prevents most gravity-fed systems from operating.
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One possible solution would be to implement ram pumps, a diagram for which is at right. However, ram pumps are technically complicated systems that would prevent local maintenance of the system.
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A better solution is less effective, but easier to repair: a screw model. Archimedes screws, used for millennia, have low efficiency but can be improved by changing their shape.
The Question of Sanitation
Image by Janicki Bioenergy
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
Sanitation solutions claiming to be revolutionary often fall prey to excessive complication. If the sanitation cannot be troubleshot on the spot, it will fail every time a problem occurs. This requirement leaves two primary sanitation methods: UV and chlorination.
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It may seem as though UV is the better method for rural areas. No active ingredient is required, so technically no resupply is required. However, powering the UV lamp required may be an issue, and moreover the efficiency of that lamp declines as water is less clear. The lamp may also be clouded due to hard water. Since much of the water in South Sudan is groundwater, that would adversely affect water quality. UV sanitation also only works at one point, meaning pathogens introduced at the point of use can proliferate.
Chlorine sanitation, in contrast, persists in the water supply and can be done at any point in the water supply, even at the point of use. Furthermore, it requires only solid chemicals to be transported (admittedly worse than UV but better than some other methods) and does not rely on clear water to work. Chlorine sanitation is relatively cheap and easy to troubleshoot, making it a useful method for South Sudan.
