Students Assist in Wastewater System Test
The newly lighted classrooms are a beacon of hope in the darkness
Great accomplishments are being made by the Lehigh Valley Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA on their project to restore the infrastructure of the Centennial Secondary School in Sierra Leone (West Africa). Founded in 1955, the Centennial Secondary School (CSS) educated students in the 7th through 12th grades in the sciences, establishing a regional reputation for excellence. The school is a complex of 30 buildings.
CSS graduates include engineers, doctors, professors and government leaders. That legacy has been seriously compromised by the Civil War in Sierra Leone that lasted from 1991 to 2002 – a lost decade of education in that country. Rebels occupied the school and destroyed its infrastructure. A school that once had central water and power supplies with western style flush toilets now has no power, no access to an adequate supply of clean water, and has only the most rudimentary of pit latrines for sanitation. A school that was built to educate 500 students with about 300 borders now tries to educate 1,500.
In 2009, the Lehigh Valley Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-LVP) began a partnership with CSS and its international Alumni Association to rebuild the school’s infrastructure. An EWB-LVP team first visited CSS in February 2010 to develop relationships and gather data. A program was developed to improve all facets of the school’s infrastructure.
Sanitation – In February 2011, an EWB-LVP team returned to CSS to convert the existing bath houses into an urinary. The existing wastewater system at the school is undersized to handle the total load of 1,500 students + staff that live on campus, however it was determined that the existing system could handle liquid waste. The EWB-LVP team worked beside students, parents, faculty, and other local volunteers to refurbish the girls bathhouse. They built a urinary and a hand washing station that utilizes water brought from a nearby river in buckets each morning. Based on this example, the school successfully refurbished the boys bathhouse in the absence of the EWB-LVP team – a great achievement in them taking ownership and responsibility for the project. A second phase of improvements will be made in early 2012 to begin construction of waste treatment capacity to handle solid waste. Testing for these facilities was completed during the February 2011 trip with an army of students carry 5 gallon jugs of water on their heads to do a capacity test on the future system. In a future phase, a piped potable water supply will be re-established.
Potable Water – Solving the potable water supply problem has been arguably the most challenging for the EWB-LVP team. They identified several potential water sources, including: pumped surface water extraction from the Jong River that abuts the school property; gravity flow from the Sowa Creek that about a quarter mile from the school, and groundwater extraction with a well. The topography prohibits the establishment of a gravity flow to the school. Pumped extraction from the Jong River was seriously considered but ultimately discarded in favor of a well option because there were concerns about the long term operations and maintenance (O&M) costs of the river extraction system as well as concerns about contamination from upstream mining operations that are not well regulated. Use of surface water is considered an optional alternative for non-potable use and will be reassesses for that purpose at a future date. The well presents its own challenges as the school is founded on about twenty feet of soil underlain by igneous rock. EWB-LVP consulted with several drilling companies and has determined the groundwater option to be feasible and have the potential to be the most cost effective option when taking into account long term O&M costs.
The next step will be to drill the bedrock well during the upcoming dry season in the March-April 2012 time frame. Initially, the well will be equipped with a hand pump. Point of use potable water disinfection, if necessary, will be set up at the same time. Testing of the well when installed will give a good indication of what the expected yield of the well will be. After the installation, EWB — Lehigh Valley will work with the school to determine the best options for pumping and distribution of the water. Potable water, sanitation and hand washing will be the initial primary uses for the water. Other uses will be dependent on the availability of water, equipment cost and sustainability of operations.
Classroom Lighting – When the CSS students were initially polled by EWB-LVP on what their first priority was in rebuilding the school, their response was overwhelmingly in favor of establishing lights for evening study – there is no central power in the region and the sun sets promptly at seven pm. Evening study would have an enormous impact on the students’ education as most have chores to do at home to support their families during daylight hours. They need time to study for exams that permit them to advance to successive years of high school as well as for college eligibility.
The EWB-LVP Team developed a context-oriented solution for the school with battery system charged by photovoltaic panels. This solution was arrived at after careful consideration of alternatives such as standard gas/diesel generators, wind and hydro power, and even a human-powered bike-generator. Wind and hydro were found to be unfeasible. Gas/Diesel generators are typical in Sierra Leone, however the cost of fuel is the same as here, creating an enormous challenge of keeping up with O&M costs for a country where the average annual income is less than $700 per year. The EWB-LVP team chose to pursue the photovoltaic option because the parts and equipment can be procured in country and there is little operational cost once it is installed.
In November 2011, a third EWB-LVP team traveled to Sierra Leone to install a pilot photovoltaic installation. This project provides light for three classrooms. Not only does this project have an immediate impact on the student’s education, but it also affords EWB-LVP the opportunity to measure the school administration’s capacity to operate and maintain this type of system before making a commitment to increase the scale of the system to expand access to lighting and electricity throughout the campus.
The installed system consists of two 185 watt solar PV modules, one charge controller, one 225amp-hour battery and one 220 VAC inverter. Each of the three classrooms has four 11 watt CFL lights. There are also three security lights on the classroom building and one at the Administration Building where the PV modules and the rest of the equipment are housed. The system is designed to provide light for 3 hours a night, 7 nights a week, 52 weeks a year. When fully charged, it can run for two days with little or no sun. The battery should last for five years based on the environmental conditions and operating parameters.
The system was installed ahead of schedule and is working very well. It was tested for several days and then officially commissioned with a formal lighting ceremony.
Education – In addition to infrastructure improvements, EWB-LVP members have volunteered their efforts to boost the quality of education at CSS. Bethlehem middle school teacher Lori Cirruci spent time giving classes during the time the team was there this past November. Various groups are helping to equip chemistry labs, workshops, and home economics classrooms. Quilting bees have donated money to purchase sewing machines. The Easton Rotary Club is helping to collect and refurbish music instruments to establish a marching band – something the students want nearly as much as electricity and water. All in all, there is a project for almost anyone to get involved in and EWB-LVP could use all of the help, no matter how small, to keep the mission moving forward.
You are Invited to get Involved – Many people and organizations contributed to the success of EWB-LVP: Rotary International, which provided much of the funding for the hardware and in-country travel; members of the CSS Alumni Association who volunteer their time to travel and work with us in-country; the CSS administration, teachers and students; Energy for Opportunity, an NGO bringing solar power to Sierra Leone; and the many members of EWB-LVP who worked on the project.
Go to EWB-LehighValley.org to learn more about EWB-LVP, join and make donations.
By Bethany Ashman