This programme exists for a reason that took us a while to see: the paths worn down to the water by people fetching it are themselves a significant source of bank erosion.
The connection to the river
A school of four hundred pupils fetching water from the river twice a day produces a well-worn path down the bank, and that path becomes the channel down which rain runs and soil leaves. Multiply by every institution and homestead on a stretch and it is a meaningful contribution to sediment load.
It is also several hours a day of children's time, which is the argument that actually persuades a head teacher. The conservation benefit and the educational benefit point the same way, which is rarer than it should be.
The catchment receives between 690mm and 1,300mm of rain a year. A school roof is a large collection surface. The constraint is storage, not supply.
How an installation works
- 1
Assess the roof and the demand
Collection area, expected rainfall, number of users. A tank too small is an annoyance; a tank too large is money that should have gone somewhere else.
- 2
The institution commits to maintenance
In writing, with a named person responsible. Tanks fail from neglected gutters far more often than from anything structural.
- 3
Install guttering, first-flush and tank
The first-flush diverter matters — it sends the dirty first minutes of runoff away rather than into the storage.
- 4
Train the maintenance person
Gutter clearing, tap repair, and how to tell when the water is not safe.
- 5
Return annually
Same principle as the planting work. An installation nobody checks is an installation that fails quietly.
Institutions in the catchment can apply
Schools, health centres and community facilities in the catchment districts. We prioritise by distance to the nearest alternative water source and by the state of the bank being used.