RP-01638

Sri Lanka
Pathirana Dharmadasa,
lJpali Wickramasinghe, and
Douglas Chandrasiri
The majority of the rural people in Sri Lanka
obtain water for daily use from rivers, canals,
lakes, irrigation tanks, and uncovered wells.
The water from such sources is often unsuitable
for drinking and most other domestic
purposes. Because few people boil the water
before drinking it, this results in many
diseases: a fact that village people do not
understand.
The Sarvodaya Movement is playing a
major role in setting up health-education
programs and in providing facilities for
improving the health of the rural masses in
Sri Lanka. One composent of this program is
the covered-wells program (Fig. 1). The main
emphasis of this program is the introduction
of low-cost handpumps made from locally
available materials as a means of providing
clean drinking water for household use.
During this project, three new designs were
developed for the above-ground components
of the Waterloo pump developed with
funding from the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC). As well, several
modifications were made to the piston and
check valve, which was used in place of a foot
valve, to make the pump easier to manufacture
with local resources. The goal of this
design work was to develop a pump that
incorporated the following features: the use
of low-cost materials available in Sri Lanka;
easy maintenance and repair without the
need for highly skilled labour; and the use of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic to eliminate
corrosion problems.
Organization of the Project
A preliminary survey was undertaken in
January 1979 in several villages in the districts
of Galle, Matara, and Hambantota to investigate:
the economic situation in the villages;
the existing social conditions; the irrigation
facilities; and the attitudes of the villagers
toward handpumps. Based on the findings of
this survey, it was initially decided to install
60 pumps in six villages, but later, due to
Fig: 1. View of well showing drainage channel to remove spilled water and stone layer to assist drainage.
11