Thank You, Tata Cornell Institute!

AguaClara Reach as it currently stands, was born out of AguaClara LLC. One of our first partners (as AC LLC) was the Tata Cornell Institute (TCI). TCI was aware of the success of AguaClara water treatment plants in Honduras and wanted to find ways to bring this state of the art technology to India.

In March of 2013, TCI and AguaClara jointly visited Jharkhand, India to meet with  potential partners and visit representative communities that needed water treatment. During that visit, the team was connected to Pradan, an NGO working nationally in India on a variety of rural development projects, including community-built water supply systems. Pradan showed interest in AguaClara technologies, and together we decided to pilot our then new EStars Filters (low flow stacked rapid sand filters) to treat water supplied from lowland sanitary well at two villages - Gufu and Ronhe. Ronhe would go on to win an award from the State for being an exemplary water treatment project.

Our work with Pradan showed that while the EStars Filters were successful, Hydrodosers (automated chemical dosing system used for disinfection) were often sufficient to treat water derived from the sanitary wells. The water was already meeting WHO drinking water standards for turbidity year-round, but needed disinfection to remove waterborne pathogens. Following this, we piloted two stand alone Hydrodosers in the villages of Jolhakarma and Durgunia. Around this time, Gram Vikas was partnering with Pradan on a statewide village sanitation program and was able to see our water disinfection technology in action. They were interested in piloting the systems in the state of Odisha. We initiated the pilot in the village of Lahanda, where, seeing its potential, Gram Vikas sought to implement a plan to build their own capacity to scale the systems to as many of their partner villages as possible.

The completed Hydrodoser tower in Lahanda, India. 

That initial pilot led to our most recent work with Gram Vikas and the Hydrodoser installations in Patimul and Majhi Ukhura, which were inaugurated earlier this year (previous blog posts). With the continued support of TCI, we have been able to focus not only on these installations, providing clean water to 360 people, but also on capacity building and training with Gram Vikas.

Commemoration plaque at the Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser.

AguaClara Reach would like to extend a big thank you to the Tata Cornell Institute for supporting us early on and in our continued growth in India. Without TCI we would not have been able to position ourselves for long-term growth in Orissa or to establish in-country capacity to pilot numerous new and innovative AguaClara technologies for a variety of communities with diverse needs.

We also cannot forget those who made our early work possible: Pradan and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust for supporting the first pilots in India in the state of Jharkhand. Additionally, we thank Tata Steel for funding the first Orissa pilot. We thank the Ithaca Rotary Club for supporting our continued efforts to build capacity in-country, and Gram Vikas for partnering with us in our long-term vision for increasing access to safe drinking water on tap globally. 

We’d also like to thank several employees who were integral to our pilot work in Jharkhand: Dhaval Mehta, Sarah Long, Richa Gwalani, Guneet Sandu who helped on the ground in Jharkhand, Harrison Gill who worked from the US on the EStars design for the Jharkhand villages, and Chuck Brown and Sarah Weidel who helped at the US office home base during the Jharkhand pilots. We also want to recognize our past and current employees who have continued to scale the successes from Jharkhand to new frontiers - May Sharif, Subhani Katugampala, Emily Spiek, and Fletcher Chapin.

ACR Employee Fletcher Chapin with an inauguration banner at the Patimul Hydrodoser.

We also thank Shiulu Vanaja, a TCI scholar, for her study showing that women used the time saved in collecting drinking water in AguaClara villages was put towards other pro-health and income generating activities. Thank you all!

On the Road with AguaClara Reach: Hydrodoser Inauguration

After the Hydrodoser installations were completed in Patimul and Majhi Ukhura, the Gram Vikas (GV) and AguaClara Reach (ACR) team prepared for system inaugurations on February 14th. 

In Patimul, the entire community gathered to welcome the Hydrodoser team back with a celebration filled with song and dance. The inauguration ceremony was led by Dr. Joe Madiath, Gram Vikas’ Chairman. After the ribbon-cutting, Fletcher Chapin (ACR employee) gave Chairman Madiath a walkthrough of the Hydrodoser system.

Chairman Madiath during the Patimul ribbon-cutting ceremony.

After the system walkthrough, community members enjoyed fresh coconuts and children gave bouquets of freshly-picked flowers to each GV staff member. Chairman Madiath and Fletcher gave speeches in Oriya and English, respectively. They thanked Apriya Maharana and Debashish Mohapatra (GV employees) for their work and the community members for their kind welcome and enthusiasm for the project. Chairman Madiath reflected that the villagers are “born masons, born architects... born everything,” highlighting the expertise that the community members showed in the fabrication and installation of the Hydrodoser system.  

Everyone expressed excitement for the system completion and hope for its continued maintenance and success into the future. After the speeches, women of the community led a song in Sora, the local dialect. Fletcher thanked the community and said his goodbyes,  bittersweet that their time together had come to an end.

Community members singing during the community celebration in Patimul.

Following the inauguration in Patimul, the team returned to the community of Majhi Ukhura for their Hydrodoser inauguration. There, they were welcomed again with a procession filled with songs and dances, which continued from the road all the way to the Hydrodoser at the top of the hill.

Community members during the Majhi Ukhura inauguration.

Chairman Madiath led the ribbon-cutting and Laxminarayan Panda, the GV cluster manager, gave a speech to the community as people sipped on coconut water. Fletcher shook hands with all of the children while saying his goodbyes to everyone he worked with. Before leaving, he made sure to fill his water bottle with safe water, thanks to the chlorination process of the Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser.

Commemoration plaque at Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser.

Together, the Patimul and Majhi Ukhura Hydrodosers serve 360 people with chlorinated water. With the proper care and maintenance, these Hydrodosers will continue serving these communities for years to come.

Our work in India is made possible by our incredible partners at Gram Vikas and the Tata Cornell Institute. Thank you so much for your support. 

On the Road With AguaClara Reach: Majhi Ukhura, India

Hydrodoser Installation, February 2020

After completing the Hydrodoser installation in Patimul, the next Hydrodoser installation was slated for the community of Majhi Ukhura. In order for the system to operate without electricity, through the gravity-power of water alone, it is required to be mounted on a stand. Community members constructed this concrete stand prior to the team’s arrival so that they were able to begin construction of the Hydrodoser when they arrived on January 31, 2020.

Having just completed the Patimul Hydrodoser, the Gram Vikas (GV) and AguaClara Reach (ACR) team was able to efficiently construct and install the new disinfection system in Majhi Ukhura. Their first step was to install the chemical delivery plumbing. Following this, the Hydrodoser was connected to the existing drinking water system for the community. The tie-in involved digging trenches and installing pipe to feed raw, untreated water to the Hydrodoser, and feed disinfected water from the Hydrodoser to the existing water storage tank.

Installation team members connecting the Hydrodoser system to the existing water distribution network.

Construction was completed on February 4th. During start-up and testing, minor system modifications were made to ensure correct chlorine dosing. The Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser is designed to provide a chlorine dose of 0.2 mg/L to 2.0 mg/L in the raw water. This design addresses two driving factors - delivering a maximum chlorine residual of 2.0 mg/L, capped so that chlorination does not adversely affect the taste of the water, and to maintain a minimum chlorine residual of at least 0.2 mg/L at the farthest tap in the system. Chlorine residual tests were conducted at multiple system taps with results showing the Hydrodoser was delivering the accurate dose of chlorine to successfully disinfect the drinking water!

Hydrodoser chlorine residual testing results (at tap closest to Hydrodoser), showing safe dosage of chlorine for disinfection.

The installation in Majhi Ukhura is another success in the GV and ACR partnership. Follow us next time as we wrap up our field work in India on the road with ACR!

One of Fletcher’s favorite aspects of his job is getting to know members of the communities he works with.

A community member gathering fresh coconut water for the Hydrodoser installation team.

Our work in India is made possible by our incredible partners at Gram Vikas and the Tata Cornell Institute. Thank you so much for your support. 

On the Road with AguaClara Reach: Patimul, India

Hydrodoser Installation, January 2020

AguaClara Reach (ACR) India Program Project Manager Fletcher Chapin arrived in Bhubaneswar, India on January 10th to continue our work with Gram Vikas (GV) to deliver safe drinking water in the Indian communities of Patimul and Majhi Ukhura.

ACR and GV partnered in 2017 to design, construct, and install Hydrodosers in several locations throughout the Indian state of Odisha. The Hydrodoser is AguaClara’s gravity-powered chlorine doser which automatically and accurately provides flow-paced disinfection of low-turbidity water. Ground or spring water enters a building which houses the Hydrodoser, where it is disinfected before heading to the storage tank used for distribution.

Fletcher joined GV manager Joseph Kalassery, GV technician Apriya Maharana, and the rest of the team at their offices in Bhubaneswar. They then traveled to the village of Lahanda to replace a broken design tube in a Hydrodoser system that GV installed in 2018. After working with the operator to replace the tube, the team continued to the next Hydrodoser site in the rural community of Patimul. The Lahanda system operator has since reported that the Hydrodoser is working well following the tube replacement.

On January 17th, Fletcher, Joseph, and Apriya met GV engineer Debashish Mohapatra in Patimul. Upon arrival, excitement grew among community members in Patimul as the ACR water project designed to bring safe water to Patimul was becoming a reality. Community members helped the team unload supplies, and haul tools, pipes, and water system fittings uphill to the building where the Hydrodoser would be installed.

As a nonprofit technical support organization, ACR seeks to promote and facilitate the implementation of AguaClara water treatment technologies around the world. We fulfill this mission by transferring technical expertise to local partners, and with the hard work of GV and ACR team members, work in India has progressed exceedingly well. While in Patimul, Fletcher trained Debashish on the Hydrodoser’s design and operation. GV’s team and Patimul’s community members skillfully constructed and installed the Hydrodoser within three days of the team’s arrival in Patimul. The system was calibrated a week later and began disinfecting the town’s drinking water one week after that, with the system fully functional by January 28th.

Following the Hydrodoser startup, the team prepared to operate the raw water pump, which pumps source water from the well and up to a tank, where it combines with gravity-fed spring water, and is then treated by the Hydrodoser prior to flowing out to the community. The pump operated as intended, water flowed through the pipes and was treated by the Hydrodoser! Plumbing was successful, the team was overjoyed, and everyone celebrated! This Hydrodoser is the first of its kind in Gajapati District, and its completion marks an exciting step for the community of Patimul, GV, and ACR in our joint endeavors to secure safe water on tap.

GV and ACR members with the Hydrodoser installed in Patimul. From left to right: Sudanshu (GV Supervisor), Fletcher, Debashish, Apriya, and John (GV Driver).

Throughout the entire experience of installing the Hydrodoser in Patimul, Fletcher was grateful to experience the generosity of the community. Every day, the team was treated to fresh cups of chai and delicious chicken curry to savor during breaks in the day. Schoolchildren, upon discovering that Fletcher was from the US, were eager to practice their English and converse with him. In the evenings, the team would join families around a fire as they shared stories in Oriya, the native language of Odisha. These evenings became a time for cultural exchange, as Fletcher would share pictures from the US as the community members shared stories of their own.

The next Hydrodoser installation is in Majhi Ukhura, where Fletcher arrived on January 25, 2020. We’ll catch up with Fletcher in our next blog post and provide updates on our work in Majhi Ukhura, India, as we travel on the road with ACR!

Our work in India is made possible by our incredible partners at Gram Vikas and the Tata Cornell Institute. Thank you so much for your support. 

206 people. 54 households. 1 AguaClara Hydrodoser.

By Subhani Katugampala

Following a 7 hour train journey from Bhubaneswar to Bileipada, you get on the always crowded bus heading towards Joda. You manage to grab the last window seat, making it possible to take in all of the sights on the short stretch of road to the village. After passing the Tata Sponge Iron Ltd factory gates and the truck inspection sites, you begin to see the array of yellow-and-blue toilet and bathing room structures typical of a Gram Vikas village. “Lahanda! Lahanda! Lahanda!” The conductor’s yell is your cue to get off; you have arrived at the village — Lahanda. You walk on the dirt path past one of the six hand pumps that have been the villagers’ primary source of water. You finally reach the place you have traveled long and far for — the Lahanda water tank, home to the AguaClara Hydrodoser.

Circa December 2017: An unpainted Lahanda Water Tank against a cotton candy painted sky.

The Hydrodoser is a simple-to-use nonelectric chlorinator. The Lahanda Hydrodoser is the first of its kind in Odisha, as a project collaboration between Gram Vikas and AguaClara Reach. The Hydrodoser was jointly fabricated in the summer of 2017 in Gram Vikas’ head office in Bhubaneswar. By early August 2017, the system was dispatched to its current home in Lahanda, patiently awaiting four more months for installation. Just like fabrication, installation had its fair share of unexpected problems. However, adaptive innovations in the village ensured the system would still perform as designed. With the system finally installed, the time had come to prepare the operators for operation.

Installation Ready: All of the necessary materials and tools to attach the Hydrodoser to the room.

Purposeful Furniture Additions: A table has also been added to the room. The operators can use it as their workspace to fill out the system logbook, measure bleaching powder for solution preparation, and keep safety gear.

Installation Complete: The AguaClara Hydrodoser fully installed in the room atop the Lahanda water tank. A ladder has been added to increase operator accessibility of the system.

Ventilation and More: Not just good for allowing air flow into the Hydrodoser room, the windows offer scenic views of the neighboring landscape.

Training of the operators has been an ongoing task. Since operator selection in July 2017, there have been 6 training sessions with the operators, with an emphasis on daily operation tasks and responsibilities. The operators have been introduced to the design concepts governing the Hydrodoser system, including but not limited to how chlorine flows through the system, how the system automatically turns on and off, and how to adjust the chlorine dose based on water quality parameters. Even though the operators have been able to display both a theoretical and practical understanding of the Hydrodoser, the real test of system competence remains once the system is finally operational.

Focused Operators: The operators pay careful attention to Gram Vikas Field Engineer Soubhagya Behera who is identifying the Hydrodoser drain plumbing.

Open Training Session: An interested village member attended operator training along with one of the four operators to learn how the Hydrodoser works.

Practice Makes Perfect: Practical training was the main means of instruction after Hydrodoser installation, and Ms. Kasturi Nayak was the first of the operators to volunteer for chlorine solution preparation.

All that remains now is completion of the distribution network and individual household connections. This will finally open the door to start system operation. Although it has taken a long time to get to this stage and there is a long road ahead, this pilot Hydrodoser project is in good hands. Once the operators start running the system, they will begin the new age of water supply in Lahanda. No longer will the people of Lahanda have to spend time carrying buckets of contaminated water to their homes to use for drinking, cooking, and bathing. They will soon be able to access safe water on tap in the comfort of their own homes.

My First Month in Odisha

By Subhani Katugampala

It has now been a month since I arrived in Odisha, India to work with Gram Vikas on a new AguaClara project. By the end of August, the village of Lahanda will be home to a pilot Chemical Dose Controller system. Our first step was to visit the district of Keonjhar to see the progress of Lahanda’s water tank.

From the capital city of Bhubaneswar, we went on a 7 hour train ride to the village. While it was quite long, the train offered stunning landscapes from every viewing point. The area was lush green for the most part, with many crops and animals scattered throughout. At one point, we even came across beautiful mountains that painted the skyline.

The mountainous terrain captured on the train ride to and from Lahanda.

When we finally arrived in Keonjhar, we headed straight to the village to see construction progress of the water tank. Once completed, the water tank will also house the AguaClara Chemical Dose Controller (CDC) system. The project manager, civil engineer, and other Gram Vikas staff and village members walked us through the site, pointing out the eventual location of the CDC system and the constructed wells that will serve as the water source. Lahanda’s water tank is expected to be completed by the end of July.

Lahanda’s future water tank that will house the Chemical Dose Controller.

Gram Vikas’s civil engineer, Sobhagya, in Keonjhar walking up the bamboo steps to show the progress on water tank construction.

The next day, we met with Gram Vikas staff to give them a brief overview of the CDC system. This way, they can start familiarizing themselves with the disinfection technology and facilitate conversations with the village about the operator selection process and community education programs.

Once the presentation was complete, everyone seemed to become excited by how easy the CDC system was to operate, which was amazing to hear! Hopefully, they can spur the same level of excitement in the community so when the time comes that the village is ready to install the CDC system, everyone will be working together to get the system up and running.

Showing the schematics and the prototype of the CDC system.

The full team that will be collaborating on the CDC project in Lahanda.

After unpacking from a hectic two day visit, I realized that I had left my water bottle back in the village. Hopefully, the last time that I leave Lahanda, I won’t leave behind a water bottle; hopefully, I will leave a village that is one step closer to having safe water on tap.