India Water Project – 2007
The Centennial Rotary Club (Matching Grant #59243) was involved in a project that took place in the Thane District of Maharashtra State in Eastern India. The area is roughly 90 miles north northeast of Mumbai. This project provided potable water to a village that has little or no water except during the monsoons. The women of the village spent an hour or more traveling outside the village to get water each day. With potable water in the village, the health of the villagers is improved, the women spend less time carrying water, and some villagers have cultivated kitchen gardens that provide more healthful food and in some cases food to sell.
Forty-one deep borewells were planned (can be up to 100 meters deep to reach a permanent underground aquifer), which can provide potable water all year long. Drilling was done in the spring of 2007. These wells were to be equipped with manual pumps because the area sited does not have electrical power. There were some delays in trickle release of funds from the Rotary Foundation that resulted in drilling delays. By 1 June, some money had been saved in the drilling process (some wells coming in less than 100 meters, thereby providing a saving in casing and drilling costs).
By June, considering the savings, 5 additional wells were planned. However, the monsoons hit which terminated the drilling. At that time just 41 wells had been completed, so the goal was met; but we were disappointed not to get the other wells. The Mid-town Bombay Rotary Club of Mumbai performed an excellent management service. Their project management and fund management were virtually flawless.
India Water Projects
Rotary International Matching Grants # 51715 & #59243
