stone shed shelters concrete well facilitating free access to drinking water in senegal

The project was developed with sustainable and natural architecture that allowed for training and involvement of the community and the local Balouo Salo construction team. The stone shed design focused on offering an easily identifiable and recognizable protected well. Using local, cost effective materials – mainly dry-stacked stones recovered from the village quarry – the design gives the structure very high stability and strength against weather factors. In addition, following the gabion technology, which is a dry stone construction technique, extends the longevity of the well and the structure itself. 

‘Talicourtou’s Well for drinkable water’: a humanitarian intervention

all images courtesy of Balouo Salo Humanitarian organization

18m deep well stores cleaner and less polluted water 

The team at Balouo Salo Humanitarian organization designed a space that allows for water recovery in shade, with a technical room that houses the filters and solar system, facilitating and monitoring maintenance. The realized well has an 18m (59 ft) deep pit, while excavation is protected from erosion and from collapses through reinforced concrete cylinders. The pit fills with water as a result of the water pressure from the underground aquifer that is recharged seasonally depending on the rainfall cycle. This well has a deeper depth than other conventional wells in the area, resulting in cleaner, less polluted water with fewer fixed residues. 

Within the pit is a 24V submersible pump powered by solar power through a small photovoltaic station, equipped with 250W solar panels and batteries to store and reuse solar power. This is monitored by a control station and a solar controller and inverter. The water extracted by the pump is sent to a phased filtration system: an initial filtration takes place through a pre-filter with membranes that removes sediment and dust, the water then passes through an Inox pipe with a UV lamp that sterilizes the water and eliminates bacteria, which is the same system normally performed to disinfect surgical instruments. 

the sheltered well is surrounded by a protective stone structure

A community driven initiative to raise awareness 

The project was implemented with the direct participation of the local community in order to raise awareness and knowledge about environmental issues and the phenomena that cause groundwater contamination. Above that, the execution of proper water resource management practices tackles the risk of desertification in the area. Children under 5 years of age, elderly over 60, and pregnant women are most at risk for contracting diseases and infections from drinking contaminated water, which can bring short- and long-term harm at an estimated 70-80%. However, this estimated percentage will be reduced below 20%, thus making it possible to reduce the risk of infant mortality and malnutrition, increase life expectancy, and avoid the weakening of mothers. 

The well is constructed using modern methodologies to enable it to have enough water even in dry seasons when many traditional wells become empty. The implementation of the project will allow free access to potable, filtered and purified water to a large community of more than five villages– improving health conditions and reducing cases of infant mortality due to giarda cholera and diarrhoea, a consequence of contaminated water in other wells. Henceforth, the villages will have all-year-round free access to water even in the dry season–reducing distances for procurement of drinking water.

deep well constructed with reinforced concrete cylinders

playing the dry stones in a metal skeleton to structure the shed

local stones used for the construction of the shed using the stone gabion technology

project info:

name: Talicourtou’s Well for Drinkable water
designer:  Balouo Salo Humanitarian organization

location: Talicourtou, Senegal

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edited by: zaha mango | designboom