At long last !!! WATER !!!!

Submitted by Ben Sholes

So, after 6 years, some hard work digging ditches & laying pipe, a little sweet talking to the water company (thanks, Michaela and Ben), and a whole lot of follow up with said water company, Kpong Airfield now has access to the main water supply. And, it is such a relief!

Prior to this day, all water for drinking, washing, and construction has been transported on-site via Polytank or sachet. You can read more about the dark ages here (Bens Blog). Without a doubt, this advent will save us major time, money, and effort. My favorite part is how it all works:

Instead of being able to use three different water sources that can be split up and sent to different parts of the compound, we now had to figure out how to split up one source of water for drinking, washing, construction, and cooking which take place in very different parts of airfield. The answer was very simple: tank + pipe. At the heart of the system, is a 3,000 liter tank on a water tower that is directly connected to the main water supply. This bad mamma jamma keeps us in water for roughly 3 days depending on "consistency" from the water company and our usage on a day-to-day basis.

From this point, we're basically set up with underground pipe to 3 different places around the airfield: accommodation, visitor washroom, and the office kitchen. These direct connections (once completely finished) will provide water to spigots outside the house for laundry, sinks inside the house for dish and hand washing, and the most important thing...showers! We've also hooked up what we call stand pipes at strategic places around the airfield where we may need water for washing planes & cars, refilling construction water tanks, and extinguishing bush fires.

Mark this day as one step closer to sustainability and standardization for the airfield and for MoM. With this new supply line, we will be able accelerate construction on the mini-clinic, more easily provide adequate water to big groups to host training sessions, and ultimately help MoM staff better utilize their time. Today is a good day.