Limpyu a baginumen sa barangay Ambalgan investigation ... · Limpyu a baginumen sa barangay Ambalgan investigation potable water problem Ambalgan 3 Kapantekan Nya bagapasen nu nya

Limpyu a baginumen sa barangay Ambalgan investigation potable water problem Ambalgan

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Preface You are about to be introduced in the world of barangay Ambalgan. This report shows you all ins and outs of the drinking water situation in this

Maguindanaoan community. In the past month I really enjoyed the investigation of the water issues: climbing on water tanks, surveying

people thinking I could speak quite some Maguindanaon, building a large

dam for scientifically purposes and more. I already know this is an experience I will never forget. And the adventure has just started.

In the past weeks I tried to write down all our observations and

investigated data in a clear way. I hope this report gives you a complete and clear insight in the situation in Ambalgan, even when you are more

than 10,000 km away, in The Netherlands. It is my prayer that this

research will contribute to a reliable solution which will result in mapia i nanamin, clean drinking water for the people in Ambalgan.

I want to thank all people who contributed in the investigation: the fantastic people of the Davao City Water

District, who helped me a lot. John, thanks for all really cool steak-lunches. All the kambing-boys who helped in

the house-to-house survey and who still help me to adjust and to learn the culture. I really enjoy it. And of course kaka Alvin and kaka Norhaya: for all your love and care about me, all the nice meals, all my first

experiences and all your time and effort you put in this project.

Although this might look like to „some final thankful words‟, that is not the case. I have still 2 months left, so I am really looking forward what the result will be in the end. But I just felt like to thank some of the people

already right now. Enjoy reading this report.

Harmen van der Laan, August 1 2007


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Kapantekan Nya bagapasen nu nya ba a kinapanugituk na asal lemuakat i pinaklaru a problema nu potable water sya kanu dalepa sa Ambalagan enggu para maka makapangaden sa mapya a solution pantag kanu kaped-shortage sa ig.

Su baranggay Ambalgan na communidad‟a Maguindanaon a nakaludep kanu munisipyo na Santo Nino a tampal sa ligid‟a lalan sa pageletan‟a Sto. Nino enggu Surallah kanu probinsya na South Cotabato. Su nya a probinsya

na sakup‟a Mindanao, su pinakamasela a isla sya tampal sa sedepan‟a Pilipinas. Nya kadakel‟u tiwalayan kanu nya a communidad na 640 enggu su kadakel‟a taw nin na manga 3200 na 65%ka pulsintu na Muslim enggu su

33%ka pulsintu na Ilongo anggu 2%ka pulsintu bu i Ilocano enggu Cebuano nin.

Na para kapangagyan bu sa mapya su entu a problema tembu nangaden sa dwa balang a survey kanu dalepa.

Muna-muna na su pinakadalidip a kinasurvey para makakua bu sa mapya a atulan. Ikadwa na su house-to-house survey taman sa 80%ka pulsintu kanu edtiwalay i na-interview. Sabap kanu nya ba a manga kaletas na

linemuakat su mapya a atulan makapantag kanu problema sa ig.

Nem timan i ukit‟u manga taw sa Ambalgan asal bu na makakua silan sa ig su. Manga 50%ka pulsintu i aden

connection nin kanu barangay water system. Su nya a water system na pakabpun sa deep well a ya nin kadalem na 120ft enggu kanu 1980 pan kinapatindeg lun. Nya nin kapasidad na manga 40gpm galon uman sakaminuto

(2.5 liters/sec), basi kanu level‟u ig. Dwa balang i kabangagi sa pidtalu a kapya nu ig a ipedsupply. Aden tig‟ilan a microbiological test na dala makaludep su ig kanu ini-require na WHO (world health organization) ugayd‟a dala

matakapala a makagkayd lun. Tembu ipebpalyugat i mangaden pan sa ped a microbioloical research para

maylay sa mapya u panun i ka-improve kanu quality nin. Lyu pan san na madakel abenal i pidtalu a manganese nin. Nya ba i sabapan‟u ipembuku abenal a egkananam‟a tina kanu ig. Dala matakapala a makagkaud kanu nya

a nalabit a problema. Nya bu nabproblema nu Barangay Water System (BWSS) na kagina inumbal bu su nya a project para kanu 90 bu a tiwalayan ugayd‟a saguna na mana napeges sa makasupply sa labi 250 ka tiwalayan.

Na matakapala abenal i nya ba i sabapan‟u masela a kaped-shortage. Nya kanu kinapanugituk na 52%ka pulsintu kanu naka-connect kanu BWSS i dala ig‟in kanu kalalagabiyan enggu 22%ka pulsintu menem i aden bu i

kabagukit‟in na su 26%ka pulsintu na aden ig kalalagabyan. Ya nin maena na su pinakamasela ped-short-„an na

ig na sya sa 10X10 area. Nya alaga nu ig sa uman i saka-kubiko na P8.00

Ped menem a ukit‟a kakua sa ebpaginumen‟a ig na kemonect kanu aden compressor a nya alaga nu uman i sakakubiko na Php10.00

Aden bun 70 timan a bumba sa kanu nya a dalepa a nya nin kadalem na 67ft. Katatapan gayd a egkanggastus lun na Php6,000 enggu linemuakat bun sa laboratory test i madakel abenal i tina enggu manganese nu ig sya

ba. Na 27%ka pulsintu kanu manga kigkuan kanu bumba i ipembuku nilan su nanam‟u tina. Nya masela a lidu makpantag kanu manga kigkuan sa nya a bumba na su groundwater level ka di abenal egkakua su pinakahustu

a ig.

Ika pat a ukit na lu kemua sa ig kanu manga pagubay enggu pagali atawaka pakat. Na 50%ka pulsintu kanu

manga taga-Ambalgan i maya ba i ukit‟ilan. Aden antu su pedsiris kanu pamilya nin na pedtabang bun mambu sa kapembayad aden bun menem antu na pendepinde sa kanu egkapantyali. Masupeg abenal su Ambalgan sa

ligid‟a allah river ka katatapan na lu ba pebpaygu su taw. Aden bun baginem lun ugayd‟a pegkalut silan kanu ligid‟u ig. Na linemuakat kanu kina-microbiological test i di bun kapakayan a baginumen su nya ba a ig ka

nasisita bun a benal i kalimpyuan sa mapya entu pan ka mainum. Madakel bun i manganese nin enggu

linemwakat bun i aden pesticide nin kagina madakel i farmer lu tampal sa unan. Aden menem antu pedsalud sa ulan ka bagistaken sa drum ugayd‟a penggamiten‟ilan bu sa kabamipi enggu kabangagas.

Nangilay bun sa ped a ukit para makapangaden sa ped a kakwayan sa ig. Aden manga bwalan a nya nin

kawatan gemanat sa Ambalgan na 3.5km. Nya kabagel‟u entu a bwalan na pakagaga sa 23gpm kagalon uman

sakaminutu (1.4liters/sec). Matakapala a mapya su ig enggu mangiseg pan i kagkapya nin amayka, tig‟u Microbiological, amayka kabetadan den sa watershed su entu a bwalan. Ugayd‟a paydu bu i magamit kanu nya a

ig kagina sya bun ba pegkwa sa ig su manga bamenggalebek sa lupa para kanu manga palayan. Na su bwalan ba nya na lu nakabetad tampal sa kapuluan na allah river sa munisipyo na Surallah. Na maumbal bun i nya ba a

polictal problem kagina su barangay Ambalgan na sakup‟a munisipyo na Sto. Nino.


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Lyu san na nangaden pan sa ped ukit a technical investigation a magamit para kanu mauma a technical design.

Su estimated a kapegkadakel‟a taw uman lagun sya sa Ambalgan na 4%ka pulsintu. Aden bun plano para sa expansion sapulu lagun iganat saguna a ya nin maena na su kadakel‟u taw ma madobli. Su katatapan a

kapenggamit‟u taw kanu ig na gemanat sa 6 enggu 8am daka 6pm enggu 8pm. Aden timpu a malubay i kapenggamit ka uman bu malulem. Medyo mapya su manga katilyas kanu dalepa ka dikena sekanin makagkayd

kanu ig a baginumen. Katatapan na aden kalut simpli bu a kalut kanu padsudan enggu su ped menem a aden

katilyas nin na inumbalan sa septic tank.

Interesado gayd su taw mayad ugayd‟a sabap sa sitwasyon na kapegkukuleta na aden ntu na di gayd pakagaga pembayad sa bil na ig. Mapulu abenal su problema sa kadala na galebek sya sa Ambalgan. Labi-labi den sa kanu

timpu na panenang ka egkapasangan a benal sa kapembayad sa bulanan a water bill apya ya nin pan alaga i

Php 50 bu. Guna den makapangaden sa atulan pantag kanu kaped-shortage na ig enggu u ngin i posibli a kakwayan sa ig

na nakapangaden sa sapulu timan a solution. Na pat timan a criteria i mambityala sa kanu nya ba alternative - ka mana gasuts sa project, su community development, matigkel enggu kasaligan enggu maytu bun su timpu

nu ka-implement lun. Nya ba i mission na Taytayan Development Project na madevelop su communidad sa ukti a kaenggan mismu sa bagel nu dumadalepa sa ukit a kabalebegan nilan i ginawa nilan. Na kanu langun‟u

solution na naamad u ngin i manga posibilidad sya kanu pidtalu a community development. Su katigkel enggu

su kasaligan na makasigulu sa mapya a quality na ig su asaligan a supply na ig sa magabi-sa-malamag uman sakapadyan. Mailay sa baba nu nya a kaletas su pidtalu antu a sapulu a kapamilyan.

Muna-muna sya kanu bamilyan na DALA MAKADTABANG. Ika dwa a oportunidad na angaden bu sa paydu a

improvement kanu operation nu water system sya kanu barangay. Su alternative A na nasisita su masela a kaumbaya kanu BWSS enggu kapatindegan sa bagu a water tower enggu bagu a makina. Su solution B menem

na mana su kapatindeg sa bagu enggu independente a deep well. Na su ika-telu menem a groundwater option na mana su tumpuk-tumpuk a manawt a deep well - uman i walu ka walayn na saka-grupo enggu silan i

kigkwan kanu entu a manawt a deep well taman sa silan i pendumala lun taman kanu manga connection nin. Su alternative D enggu E na su allah river i pegkwayan sa ig - lu ba bagumbal sa deep well kanu pulangi a nya

bagumbalen a filter nin na su pedtad. Su option E na mana su pidtalu a „ram pumps‟ para makapapusug su ig

ganat sa pulangin (a di den nasisita i kuryenti) lu kanu filter a pedtad ka entu ba i belimpyu kanu ig. Alternative F menem na mana su manawt a water treatment a ipagenggay sa uman sakatiwalayan ka entu ba i mabaluy a

makalimpyu kanu ig a baginumen. Na su alternative G na entu ba su ig a lu pegkwan kanu bwalan a ebpun sa lupa na Surallah a mana su naypus a nambityala. Su mauli sa langun a solution na H a mana su ig‟a ulan

ugayd‟a kena i nya makatabang kanu masela a problema sa ig.

Na langun nu nya a alternative na nambityala den kanu dumadalepa taman den kanu datu. U sya kwan sa kana-

engineering a kapagitung na nya pinakamapya a baginumen na su ig ebpun sa liwawaw na lupa a mana su

G

50

ft

0A

dala

makatad-tabang

A B

2x big upgrade existing system

engine

C

8 houses

Small Scale Deep Wells

Deep well Allah River Bank

D E

Slow Sand Filter ram

pump

F

Household water treatment

< water from river H+

ram pump

Spring capture Rain catch ment

small optimization

0+

existing system

Final chosen solution


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bwalan kagina sya intu pedsabap kanu quality nin. Tembu ba su alternative G na mas mapya sana ugayd‟a

sabap kanu kapasang‟u nambetadan‟in kanu dwa timan a munisipyu enggu su ped pan a manga mapasang a

sabapan na da den intu papanalusa. Su option 0 taman den sa H na mana kena makatabang para kanu problema sa ig.

Mauli den sa nya na alternative A,B enggu C i nasama. Apya maytu sa mana mapya a solution su C para kanu

community development, na su tumpuk-tumpuk a water system na di makasiguro sa mapya a quality na ig.

Tembu nya den abenal pinakamapya napamili nu dumadalepa na su option B a mana su kapatindeg sa bagu a deep well enggu bagu taman sa malambeg a tangki enggu su manga bagu a tubu para sa connection. Na su

nya a napamili a alternative na mapaginantang sa kanu nya ba project.


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Summary The objective of this investigation study is to obtain a clear problem description of potable water issues in the community of Ambalgan and to develop a solution how to deal with the water shortage.

Barangay Ambalgan is a Maguindanaon community situated in the municipality of Santo Niño, along the highway between Santo Niño and Surallah, in the Province of South Cotabato. This province is a part of Mindanao, the

largest island in the southern Philippines. The community has around 640 households with a population of approximately 3200 people, from which 65% Muslim, 33% Illongo and 2% Illocano and Cebuano.

To analyze the problem two surveys were performed in the community: one extensive survey to get a first insight, after which a second house-to-house survey was done wherein 80 percent of the households was

interviewed. With this data a precise insight was obtained in the potable water problem.

The people in Ambalgan have six ways to get their drinking water. Around fifty percent has a connection with the existing Barangay Water Supply System (BWSS). This system

consist of a deep well of 120ft, constructed in 1980. The capacity is estimated on 40 gpm (2.5 liters/sec), based

on water level measurements in the reservoir. The water quality of the water supply was analyzed on two different places. Microbiologically the water does not meet the WHO-standards, but there is no immediate high

risk. It is recommended to do more microbiological research to see how to improve the quality. Further the amounts of iron and manganese are too high. This explains the complaints about the irony taste. There are no

direct health risks with these physical parameters.

The problem with the BWSS is that initially it is designed for 90 households; now it need to supply more than 250 households. Obviously this causes the shortage: 52% of the connections does not have water all day, 22%

only a part of the day and 26% has water all day. The biggest shortage is in the 10by10 and expansion areas. One cubic water costs 8 PhP.

Another possibility for drinking water is to connect to a private suppliers, where the water 10 PhP per cubic cost. There are also about 70 private owned deep wells in the community with an average depth of 67 feet. Normally

it costs about 6000 PhP to construct such a well. The laboratory test proved that the concentration of iron and

manganese is too high in this water. Twenty-seven percent of the owners had complaints about the irony taste. A concern for all these private wells is effect on the groundwater level: it is not possible to withdraw an infinite

amount of water. The fourth possibility is to get water from neighbors, relatives or friends. Fifty percent of Ambalgan gets (a part)

of their water in this way. Something sharing families share also in the costs, sometimes it depends on the

financial situation of the people. Ambalgan is situated along the Allah River, which is often used to take a bath. Some people do also drink the

water, using a small riverbank well. This water was also microbiological tested. Based on this outcome it is advised not to drink the water; proper treatment is required before it is clean enough to drink. Further the

amount of manganese is also too high and it is expected that there are pesticides present in the water, because of the many farmers in the upstream region.

Last of all just a few people use a large drum to catch some rainwater. This water is only used for washing and

bathing purposes.

Also an exploration was performed for alternative water sources. There is a spring at an estimated distance of 3.5 km. The yield of this spring is 23 gpm (1.4 liters/sec). The physical quality of the water is really.

Microbiologically the water is expected to be good when the watershed would be protected. Only a part of this

water can be used, because nowadays (rice)farmers use this water source too. The spring is situated at the other side of the Allah-river in the municipality of Surallah. This could cause local political problems, because

Ambalgan is situated in another municipality.

Further some technical aspects were investigated, which can be used as starting points for a future technical

design. The population growth is initially estimated on 4% a year. There are also expansion plans in the next ten years, through which the population doubles. The consumption pattern of the people has to peak: between

6 and 8AM and 6 and 8PM. There is also a small peak expected around noon. The sanitary situation in the community is quite good, at least it does not threat the drinking water supply. Most of the people use a simple

hole in the backyard, some have a CR with a septic tank.


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Financially are people willing to pay, but not always able to pay. The unemployment rate is high and especially

in dry season many families are having a hard time to pay the monthly water bill, even when it is only 5 USD.

Once there was a clear insight in the water shortage and all the possible water sources, ten different solutions

were developed. These alternatives are examined on four main criterion: costs (investment and operational costs), community development, robustness and reliability and implementation time.

It is the mission of Taytayan Development Projects develop communities in such a way that they empower

themselves in a sustainable way. For all solutions it is determined what the possibilities are for so called community development. Robustness and reliability takes the water quality into account and the reliability of a

constant water supply, 24/7. The ten alternatives are depicted below.

The first option (0) is to do nothing (dala makatadtabang in Maguindanao). The second opportunity is to only perform a small operational optimization on the existing water system. Alternative A consists of a thorough

upgrade of the BWSS, with the construction of a new water tower and a new engine. Solution B is the

construction of complete new independent deep well. The third groundwater option consists of separate small scale deep wells: groups of 8 houses operate and maintain their own deep well, with a small distribution

network. Alternatives D en E both use the Allah river as their resource: the first one constructs a deep well in the river bank, using the soil as filtering media. Option E applies so called „ram pumps‟ to pump the river water

up (without the use of electricity or gasoline) to a slow sand filter where the water is treated. Household water

treatment systems are small treatment systems distributed to each household, in which river water is treated to reliable drinking water (F). Alternative G is the capture of the earlier described spring in the municipality of

Surallah. The last solution H is to catch rain water, however this could not supply enough water through the whole year.

All these alternatives are presented to the community and the datu. From the engineering point of view groundwater is always preferable above surface (river) water, because of the water quality. Initially alternative

G was preferred, but because of the difficulties with the different municipalities and its other disadvantages it was at last abandoned. Option 0, 0+ and H are not seen as satisfying choices to deal with the water shortage.

In the end alternative A,B, and C remain. Although solution C has some good opportunities for community

development, the separate small scale systems make it hard to ensure the water quality. Finally the choice

made by the community is option B: the construction of an new deep well, an elevated reservoir and a new distribution network. This chosen alternative is elaborated in the next phase of this project.

G

50

ft

0A

dala

makatad-tabang

A B

2x big upgrade existing system

engine

C

8 houses

Small Scale Deep Wells

Deep well Allah River Bank

D E

Slow Sand Filter ram

pump

F

Household water treatment

< water from river H+

ram pump

Spring capture Rain catch ment

small optimization

0+

existing system

Final chosen solution


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PREFACE .............................................................................................................................................. 2

KAPANTEKAN ...................................................................................................................................... 3

SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................ 6

1. WHAT? | THE PROBLEM DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................... 9

1.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 9 1.2. DESCRIPTION AMBALGAN .................................................................................................................... 9 1.3. INVESTIGATION .............................................................................................................................. 11

1.3.1. Approach ............................................................................................................................ 11 1.3.2. Present water supplies ........................................................................................................ 11 1.3.3. Present situation of sanitation .............................................................................................. 22 1.3.4. Presence of alternative water sources: a spring .................................................................... 23 1.3.5. Technical aspects ................................................................................................................ 25 1.3.6. Cultural and community aspects ........................................................................................... 26 1.3.7. Financial / resource aspects ................................................................................................. 26

2. HOW? | THE (MAINLY TECHNICAL) SOLUTION ........................................................................ 28

2.1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 28 2.2. SELECTION CRITERIA ....................................................................................................................... 28 2.3. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS ....................................................................................................................... 29

2.3.1. Alternative 0: Dala makadtabang ......................................................................................... 29 2.3.2. Alternative 0+: Optimization BWSS on short term. ................................................................. 29 2.3.3. Alternative A: Thorough upgrade of the BWSS ...................................................................... 31 2.3.4. Alternative B: Another deep well in the community ............................................................... 32 2.3.5. Alternative C: Small scale deep wells / existing wells ............................................................. 33 2.3.6. Alternative D: Riverbank filtration (deep well in the riverbank) ............................................... 35 2.3.7. Alternative E: River surface water treatment (slow sand filters) ............................................. 36 2.3.8. Alternative F: Household Water Treatment Systems (river water) ........................................... 37 2.3.9. Alternative G: Spring catchment ........................................................................................... 38 2.3.10. Alternative H: Rain catchment .............................................................................................. 39

2.4. DISCUSSION AND ADVICE .................................................................................................................. 40 2.5. FINAL CHOICE BY THE COMMUNITY ...................................................................................................... 42

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................. 43

APPENDIX A LOCATION AMBALGAN ................................................................................................. 44

APPENDIX B SURVEY I ...................................................................................................................... 45

B.I THE QUESTIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 45 B.II THE ANSWERS ...................................................................................................................................... 47

APPENDIX C SURVEY II: HOUSE-TO-HOUSE .................................................................................... 48

C.I THE QUESTIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 48 C.II MAP SURVEYED HOUSES ........................................................................................................................ 49 C.III MAP BWSS CONNECTIONS AND SUPPLY.................................................................................................... 50 C.IV MAP LOCATION DEEP WELLS ................................................................................................................... 51 C.V MAP SHARERS / NON-SHARERS ................................................................................................................. 52

APPENDIX D RESULTS LABORATORY TEST ....................................................................................... 53

D.I MICROBIOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................ 53 D.II RESULTS LABORATORY TEST .................................................................................................................... 53

APPENDIX E RAM PUMP .................................................................................................................... 63

APPENDIX F REFERENCE PROJECT: SURALLAH WATER DISTRICT .................................................. 64


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1. What? | the problem description

1.1. Introduction

The objective of this chapter is to get a clear problem description of potable water issues in the community of

Ambalgan. This is first phase on the way to a reliable water supply for the whole community of Ambalgan. First

a description of Ambalgan is given in paragraph 1.2. The next paragraph presents the investigation of the problem, with all its different aspects.

1.2. Description Ambalgan

Barangay Ambalgan is a Maguindanaon community

situated in the municipality of Santo Niño, in the Province of South Cotabato. This province is a part of Mindanao, the

largest island in the southern Philippines.

The community has around 640 households with a population of approximately 3200 people. As to ethnic

representation, Barangay Ambalgan has 2100 Muslim,

1050 Illonggo, 10 Illocano and 15 Cebuano.

A municipal document says: “Barangay Ambalgan was considered as a land of converged efforts and unity. This is

once said because of the different people ethnic affiliations

who joined hand in hand and offer their tears in creating a land that was considered multi-culturally splendid

nowadays.”1

At March 30 1967 the barangay was officially approved by the Provincial Board of Cotabato. The name Ambalgan was proposed honoring the great contributions of Datu2 Kapok Ambalgan, as a donee of the land and

having exceptional bestowments in the improvement of the barrio. The total area is 414 ha of which about 60

ha is built-up area. The other area is used to cultivate various crops as rice, corn, coconut, mango and sugar cane. The National Highway is crossing the area, which gives a great benefit for easy transportation of the

products to the nearby markets.

The major occupation is farming (39%), followed by the drivers (27%). Although there is a small rate of

unemployment, the rate of poverty is high. This is because farmers have to lowest income in the Philippine situation. The average income is about 2500 PHP/month, which equals 53$3.

The barangay has an elementary school, a public

market, a barangay hall and quadrangle, public solar dryers, a health center, and two day care centers.

The educational situation of the citizens is depicted in

figure 1.24

All households are served with electricity. The costs are collected by the barangay council. 80 percent of

the households is connected to the water supply

system, although not all of them are benefitting from the supply. A detailed description of the water and

sanitation situation is given in the next paragraph. This

1 Chapter 1: Overview of Barangay Ambalgan, Municipal document Sto.Niño 2 Maguindanaoan for king or chieftain 3 Exchange rate June 2007: $1 = 46 PHP 4 Figure source is the community description Sto.Niño. The figure is not completely consistent with the other numbers given in the report, but is gives a rough impression of the situation.

Ambalgan

Figure 1.1 Province South Cotabato

Figure 1.2 Educational situation in Ambalgan


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short description of the barangay Ambalgan is concluded with a characterization of the people in Ambalgan,

quoted from the community description by the municipality of Sto.Niño:

Although Ambalganian‟s life is now slowly giving way to forces of change, its community has the mutual helpfulness, traditional, personalized and neighborliness pattern and way of living. The contacts of the Ambalgan community are direct, personal and immediate despite the fact that the contact of the community is few. The prevailing relationships are personal and intimate. Most Illongos and Muslims, major populace of Brgy. Ambalgan, exhibits Gemeinschaft spirit. The family visiting is common and the bond friendship is strong. This is just evidence that family and the kinship group play a dominant role in the community of Brgy. Ambalgan.

Community description Ambalgan Sto. Niño _


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1.3. Investigation

1.3.1. Approach

The investigation of the situation is partly done by surveying people in the community. Two surveys were performed. In the first

extensive, long survey several people from different groups were questioned, in order to get a general insight in the situation. In

table 1.1 the different groups are listed. The survey questions with

the complete answers are attached in Appendix B.

After this first survey it was decided to perform a house-to-house survey, with only a few questions. Some of the youth of the

community helped surveying the whole community. About eighty

percent of the community was surveyed. The data is expected to be representative for the whole community.

With the data from this survey it was possible to draw a precise map of the community, situating all the self-owned wells and to get a overview of the shortage and the need in the community. This survey and all the maps

can be found in Appendix C.

Other information is gathered by questioning the Datu5, the barangay council and the local operator of the water

supply system. Information was also given by the municipality of Santo Niño and the Department of Natural Resources.

For the determination of the water resources several water samples were sent to the laboratory of the Davao City Water District (DCWD). Other data was obtained by self performed measurements and calculations. In the

concerning paragraph, the specific methods will be described.

1.3.2. Present water supplies

The people in Ambalgan have six ways to get their potable water:

a) Connection to the Barangay Water Supply System (BWSS) b) Connection to a private water supplier

c) Self-owned deep well, situated on their own lot. Constructed by a local contractor with an average depth of 65 feet. The deep well can be manually operated or used with an electric submerged pump.

Sometimes a compressor is connected to the well to obtain a higher water pressure for domestic use.

d) Connection with relatives, neighbors or friends. i. Connection through a tube and a tap at their own house

ii. Daily getting the water manually, using a large water drum. e) The river(bank). Mainly used to fill up the water shortage. The water obtained at the river(bank) is

mostly not used for drinking water purposes, but only for bathing and washing clothes.

f) Rain catchment. This is only a small amount of water, not for drinking water purposes. Mainly used for washing and toilet use.

The Barangay Water Supply System (BWSS) (a)

The existing water supply system of the community is constructed in the year 1980. It consists of a well of 120

feet deep.

The water pumped by a submersible pump of 2HP6. This

pump is renewed every 10 years. A schematic drawing of the system is depicted in figure 1.3.

5 The Datu is the king of the Barangay 6 HP = HorsePower

Questioned people People with a personal deep well People who get sufficient water from the

barangay deep well People who don‟t get sufficient water

from the barangay deep well People who have to wait at night for

their water from the barangay well People who sometimes get water from

the river bank „poor‟ people & „rich‟ people

Figure 1.3 Schematic drawing BWSS

overf

low

to barangay

8 f

t

20 f

t

Table 1.1 Different examined people groups


12

The system is operated as follows:

The pump is switched on, until the water overflows. In practice this happens after 2 to 4 hours, depending on the present water demand. When the water overflows, the operator switches the pump off. This is a

manual process.

Always four hours after the previous overflow the pump is switched on again.

The reservoir is filled until is overflows, and so on.

All the time the valve to the barangay is open. Water flows from the reservoir to the consumers in the barangay. Thus, the water to fill the reservoir and the water for the consumer flow partly through the

same tube. This is drawn as the grey rectangle in figure 1.3.

The measured perimeter of the reservoir is 28.2 feet (8.6m). Divided by 2·π gives the radius of 4.5 feet (1.37m)

with a surface of 19.3 square feet (5.9m2) The maximum water level is 19.75 feet (6.02m), because of the position of the overflow. Hence, the maximum water volume in the reservoir is 9350 gallons

(35.4 m3).

Initially the capacity of the well and the pump were unknown. Therefore a

measurement was performed by putting a floating object in the reservoir (1). A 20 feet long rope (2) was connected to this object and hang outside the

reservoir. At the end of rope a small object (3) was tied up. (Figure 1.4) During a day the position of the end of the rope was measured. In such a

way the water level in the reservoir is known, which is used to estimate the

capacity of the pump and the total demand of the community. This gives also an insight in the daily consumption pattern of the community.

At the first day, 13th July, the operator of the BWSS changed his normal

pattern because of the measurement. The reservoir was overflowing when the measurement started at 5.15 AM. Then the pump was turned off, and

after 4 hours switched on until the reservoir was full again and so on as

described above. Both data series of the two days are plotted in Figure 1.6, on the next page.

Because the operation schedule was adjusted, a second measurement was

performed, while the normal pattern was followed. This was only done during

the morning hours. In such a way the common water level was measured. The normal operation schedule is:

4.00 AM Pump is switched on

± 9.00 AM Reservoir overflows, pump is switched off.

The exact time depends on the demand. ± 1.00 PM 4 hours after the previous overflow, the pumped is

switch on again. 4.00 – 5.00 PM Reservoir overflows, pump is switched off.

8.00 – 9.00 PM Pump is switched on ± 11.00 PM Pump is switched off, when the reservoir overflows.

1 2

3

Figure 1.4 Measuring water level

Figure 1.5 Photo measurement


13

The graph shows an bit unexpected course. In survey I the people were questioned at what time they used

most of the water. This is for practically everybody between 6 – 8AM and 6 – 8PM, and also around noon (12AM). Hence, it was expected that the water level should decrease much faster during these peak hours. For

example: in the Netherlands 1.8 times more water is demanded during peak-hours compared to the average

demand.

The equations of the linear approach of each part of the graph are also depicted in figure 1.6. Based on these equations together with the known dimensions of the reservoir, the discharge and the filling of the reservoir is

calculated in gal/sec and liters/sec. The results are shown in table 1.2

Day Period

Change water level [ feet / 24h]

Flow in/out the reservoir

[gal/sec] [liter/sec]

Pump

activity

Fri 07/13 5:15 AM – 8 AM -59.40 -0.33 -1.23 Off

8 AM – 10:35 AM 63.07 0.35 1.31 On

10:35 AM – 2:35 PM -45.20 -0.25 -0.94 Off

2:35 PM – 5:17 PM 67.52 0.37 1.40 On

5:17 PM – 8:15 PM -43.52 -0.24 -0.90 Off

Sat 07/14 5:15 AM – 9:50 AM 53.66 0.29 1.11 On

Several remarks can be made on the data presented in the above table.

As mentioned before, the differences in demand between the peak-hours in the morning and the

average hours during the day are quite low. There is a difference of 0.08 gal/sec between early morning and noon. This is only a peak-factor of 1.3.

The difference between noon and evening hours are also remarkable. There is almost no significant

difference. There are two possible explanations:

y = 53.66x - 1.941R² = 0.991

y = 63.07x - 7.981R² = 0.999

y = 67.52x - 28.70R² = 0.995

y = -59.40x + 32.79R² = 0.998

y = -45.2x + 39.60R² = 0.997

y = -43.52x + 51.22R² = 0.998

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Wat

erl

eve

l (ft

)

Time

Water level in reservoir

Friday 13 July 2007

Saturday 14th July 2007

Figure 1.6 Graph water level measurements

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Table 1.2 Discharge and filling of the reservoir


14

o The consumption in the community is more concentrated in the morning. This seems logical,

because most of the people take a bath before going to school or work. This could cause a

higher water consumption compared to the evening. o The problem is the low capacity of the water

supply. The shortage causes that the system already reaches its maximum supply fast.

Therefore the supplied water is all day more or

less in the same dimension, because the system performs all the time at its maximum. This

situation is clarified in the figure beside. But this is a bit contradictory to the examined differences

between morning and afternoon.

In fact it is better to use the term „supply‟ instead

of „demand‟, because the demand is much higher than the supplied amount of water.

During three periods the pump was shut off. Thus all water flowing out of the reservoir was supplied to

the community. Based on these values a check can be made if the measured values resemble to the general consumption figures, given in the literature. In table 1.3 this calculation is presented.

Day Period Water supply

[liter/sec]

Domestic water use/capita

7/day

[gallons] [liters]

Fri 07/13 5:15 AM – 8 AM 1.23 18.8 71.0

10:35 AM – 2:35 PM 0.94 14.3 54.1

5:17 PM – 8:15 PM 0.90 13.7 52.1

average 1.03 15.6 59.1

The calculation is made with the assumption that the BWSS supplies approximately 1500 people. Based on the second survey this value seems a bit lower, about 1225. With this amount the average comes out

on 72 liters per capita per day.

Both averages fit perfectly in the values given by the literature. In an overview about water quantity per capita per day the book „Small Community Water Supplies‟ shows figures with uses between 40 to 80

liters/capita/day, applied on the situation in Ambalgan. This gives an indication that the measured and calculated values are reliable.

Still it is a bit strange that in this calculation it seems everybody gets sufficient water per day, namely 60 to 70 liters. This does not resemble with the perception and the observation about the shortage of water

for most of the families.

Production of the well Based on the measured values the production of the well can be estimated. This can be done by comparing the

values of Friday morning and Saturday morning, because on the first day the pump was off and the next day it

was on. Although the consumption patterns on Friday and Saturday are not completely the same, still an estimation can be made.

The flow on Saturday is 0.29 gal/sec inwards and on Friday morning 0.33 gal/sec outwards the reservoir. For a

first indication it is assumed that the demand on Friday morning is 15% higher than on Saturday morning. Thus

the production of the well is 0.33 + 1.15 · 0.29 = 0.66 gal/sec (2.5 liters/sec). According to the information of the barangay council, this is the maximum capacity of the well in its present configuration.

7 Based on the assumption of a supply of around 50% of the community, that is 1500.

Figure 1.7 Maximum supply

Table 1.3 Check on domestic use water


15

Quality of the water9 Two samples were taken from the system the

analyze it on physical and microbiological characteristics. One sample was taken directly from

the reservoir. Another was taken from a house-yard tap, located at approximately 300 feet distance

from the reservoir.

The samples were analyses by the laboratory of Davao City Water District. The results are presented in table

1.4. In the next table below the microbiological requirements for drinking water are shown. It is recognized that fecal contamination is widespread in the majority of rural water supplies10. Therefore these values do not show

much unexpected figures.

The guidelines for all parameters can be found in appendix D.I. The

most important parameters are the total and fecal coliforms. According to the WHO guidelines the total coliform should not detected at all in

100ml water sample. Both samples have obviously a too high amount of coliforms. Comparing the values with the risk classification in table

1.6 for the amount of fecal coliforms shows that there is a low to

intermediate risk in the reservoir and at the tap. At the moment the water was sampled from the tap, the owner of that specific house-

yard connection mentioned that at that time her whole family was suffering from diarrhea. She suspected the water supply from being

contaminated, which seems reasonable looking to these analyses.

It is expected that the contamination takes place in the reservoir. Groundwater is normally microbiological stable

when it is extracted from the ground. The lid on the opening at the top of the tank does not close perfectly and therefore contamination could take place there. Other possible risks should be more investigated.

The physical characteristics are shown below on the main parameters on which they were analyzed. Most of the

time the WHO guidelines are used as guideline. Sometimes the standards from the South African Bureau of

Standard Guidelines are used or the limit values given by the Davao City Water District laboratory.

Physical Reservoir Tap Guidelines Color TCU 2 648 15

Odor - No object. No object. No objectionable odor

Turbidity NTU 3.31 36.07 <5

Chemical Calcium mg/l 71.25 61.40 80 – 300

Chloride mg/l 9.13 4.57 250

Total Hardness mg/l 227.74 212.58 300 as CaCO3 Iron μg/l 1005 17300 10 - 1000

Magnesium mg/l 12.19 14.49 30 - 100 pH - 7.36 8.00 <8.0

Manganese μg/l 1000 5500 100 - 400

These analysis shows an increase of the amount of iron and manganese between the reservoir and the house-

yard tap. The color and the turbidity increases also a lot as a result of the higher concentration iron and manganese.

There are several explanations for this. Most likely there is a high concentration of iron and manganese in the groundwater source. Once the groundwater gets in contact with air, the iron and manganese react and form

8 TNTC = Too Numerous To Count 9 Tables 1.5 is taken from Small Community Water Supplies, 2002 10 Small Community Water Supplies, page 69

Determinants Units Reservoir Tap

Heterotrophic plate count

Count/ml 76 TNTC8

Coliform plate count Count/ml 15 10

Total coliform Count/100 ml >16 >16

Fecal coliform Count/100 ml >16 >16

Count per 100 ml Risk category

0 WHO guidelines

1-10 Low risk

11-100 Intermediate risk

101-1000 High risk

>1000 Very high risk

Table 1.5 Risk classification for fecal) coliforms or E.coli for rural water supplies9

Table 1.4 Results microbiological analysis of the BWSS


16

little flocks, which can be filtered out from the water. This so called aeration process is normally applied with a

sand filter to remove the iron and manganese. One of the samples was taken from the tank, specifically from

the top of the tank. Hence, it was taken from that part of the water which has contact with air. Therefore it is possible that in this part of the water the concentration of iron and manganese is lower than the concentration

in at the bottom of the tank, because the reaction with air. The supplied water to tap comes directly from the well, without any contact with air. This could explain the difference in concentration between both samples.

Another explanation is that this is a strong indication that the tubes between the reservoir and the tap are in

bad condition and most likely quite much corroded. There are no direct health risks with these physical characteristics. All other parameters are in the good range.

The taste of the water from the BWSS was by 87% of the respondents qualified as good. The only general complaint about the taste concerns the monthly cleaning sessions. Every month the operator adds chlorine for

disinfection matters and every three months they clean the reservoir from the inside. After these sessions

consumers complain of the yellowish color and the iron and chlorine taste of the water. Operational costs The operational costs for this system are shown in Table 1.6.

The information is given by the operational staff involved in the system.

The initial costs to connect to the water supply system are 2000 - 3000 PHP (water meter and tube) and are paid by the

consumer. Some households do not have a water meter, but pay a fixed price each month.

The costs are collected by the Barangay council. A collector records monthly the consumption on the water meters at the connected households. The costs for the consumer are 7 PHP / m3, with a minimal fee of 21 PHP.

According to the administration of the Barangay the total amount of water is on average 1000 m3 each month. In July 2007 it was 700 m3, but this is seen as a low usage month.

The collection of the money is regularly a laborious difficult process. Especially in dry season (January to March)

people do not have much money and are often not able to pay their water bill. Officially the rule is that all the

people who have not paid their water bill before the 21st of the next month, their connection is closed. The operational staff of the BWSS reported that sometimes they do not get enough money to pay the electricity

bill, which is about 4000 to 5000 PHP. The Barangay Council normally helps out in such situations, but overall this is not a financially healthy situation.

Another problem is that the water meters do not measure small streams. Thus some households who only get a really small stream all day, are officially using no water. With these houses the Barangay council tries to set a

fixed price.

11 A new pump costs 56,000 PHP and has a lifespan of 10 years. Thus the costs are approximately 500 PHP a month.

Description Costs/month

Equipment 500 PHP11

Operational staff 2000 PHP

Electricity 5000 PHP

Administration 1500 PHP

Total 9.000 PHP

Table 1.6 Operational costs BWSS


17

The problems with the BWSS

The system is designed and constructed in 1980 for

200 households. Now, in 2007, the community consists of 640 household. Obviously the system cannot answer

to this demand. The barangay already decided that it is not possible for new members of the community to

connect to the system, because they cannot guarantee

the supply.

In figure 1.8 the situation is depicted. A enlarged version of this map can be found in Appendix C.

It is obvious that the greater the distance to the

reservoir, the more worse the situation is. The shortage is the biggest in the left-down corner, the so

called 10by10 region12. It is remarkable that even some people living close to the reservoir answered that

they do not have water all day (orange color). Because the pressure is really low, people dig holes to

lower the tap on their lot, to get at least some water

(figure 1.9)

In percentages 26 percent gets water all day, 22% only a part of the day and 52% of the connections

does not get water during day time hours.

Another observation is that about 48 percent does not

have a BWSS connection at all. If the objective of the new system would be to supply everybody with a

house-yard connection, a lot of new infrastructure will be necessary.

One of the major challenges for a future solution is the fact that many people

switch to self-owned deep wells, because of the insecure supply for drinking water. The question is if these people will switch back, when a future supply can

handle the total demand. The investment for a personal pump is high, hence it is

expected that these families are not willing to make this investment for no use. Then the question rises if the total number of households who will participate for

a new system is large enough to effort high investments. If not, it could be challenge to improve the existing system and to prevent it from staying in this

negative vicious circle.

Another challenge are the future expansion plans. The municipality and the

barangay council already reserved around 30 hectare for expansion in the next 10 years. For the first part of these expansion the lots are already sold, but not

so many houses are constructed. One of the reasons the postpone the house construction is the lack of water supply. This part is the right-up

corner of the map (figure 1.8 or Appendix C.III).

12 This neighborhood is called like this because all lots are 10m by 10m.

Figure 1.8 Map Ambalgan with BWSS connections and supply

®

® = reservoir BWSS

No connection

Connection before, not in use

Connection: no water all day

Connection: water only part of the day

Connection: water all day

Figure 1.9 BWSS connection

10

by1

0 a

rea

exp

ansi

on

are

a


18

Deep well, taste is good Deep well, taste is irony

Connection to a private water supplier (b)

Since the BWSS cannot supply sufficient water, some of

the community members switched to a private water supply. At right a private water connection is depicted.

It works exactly the same as the BWSS with the difference that the tube is black and there is always

water available.

The price for the water is higher compared to the

BWSS: 10 PHP/m3. The initial costs to get a connection are 800 PHP.

The taste of the water is good. There are only a few people with this connection.

Self-owned deep well (c)

Based on the survey there are about 70 deep wells in the community. Almost all pumps and wells are

constructed in the same way. The type of pump can be seen on the pictures in figure 1.12 on the next page. A few people (±8) have an additional compressor and an electric pump, to increase the water pressure for

domestic use.

The average depth of the well is 67 feet (20.4 m). The

costs to construct a deep well are between 3000 and 6000 PHP, depending on the contractor and the depth.

The average costs are 5700 PHP. For electric pumps the monthly costs consists of the electric bill, which is

related to the type of the pump and the water use.

In figure 1.11 the location of the wells are depicted. Obviously these are not exactly all wells, since 80

percent of the community was surveyed. To get an even more reliable insight 100 percent of the

wells in the 10by10 area were investigated.

It is remarkable that the great majority of the wells is

situated in the upper part of the community, though the water shortage of the BWSS is the lowest in that part.

In the part with the biggest shortage are minimum

wells.

The problem with the self-owned deep wells The main complaint with the deep wells is obviously the

costs. This is an explanation why most of the wells are situated in the upper part of the community. This is the

oldest part of population, the 10by10 area is relatively

new. People who live longer here had more time to save money and to construct their own well than the

new inhabitants, who already invested in a new lot and house.

The taste is also a problem for some of the wells. More

than a quarter (27%) of the owners of private wells state that the water taste irony. Because the wells are

quite new, it is practically impossible that the tube is already corroded.

Most likely this observation indicates that there is iron in the groundwater. Further a few users also describe a

Figure 1.10 Private water connection

Figure 1.11 Map Ambalgan with location deep wells

®

® = reservoir BWSS

10

by1

0 a

rea


19

greasy/oily taste in the water. In water storage tanks an

oily thin layer is observed on the water surface.

Quality and available quantity of the water A sample from one well was analyzed for its physical characteristics. These specific well is quite new (2006)

and has a depth of 90ft. The owner complains about an

irony taste and soap does almost not foam when the water is used.

Below the results from the laboratory are shown. The values which stand out the most are manganese and

iron. Manganese in particular is almost seven times higher than what the guidelines subscribe.

It was actually expected that the iron concentration would be higher, suiting the description of the owner. Most likely the irony taste is caused by the manganese concentration in the water and not by the high presence of

iron. Both concentration influence the color and turbidity, which explains the high values for these parameters.

The other characteristics are in the good range. The high amount of manganese and iron do not form a direct risk for health.

Physical Private well Guidelines

Color TCU 281 15

Odor - No object. No objectionable odor Turbidity NTU 16.4 <5

Chemical

Calcium mg/l 64.14 80 – 300 Chloride mg/l 8.93 250

Total Hardness mg/l 189.39 300 as CaCO3

Iron μg/l 1500 10 - 1000 Magnesium mg/l 7.17 30 - 100

pH - 7.12 <8.0 Manganese μg/l 2690 100 - 400

Other concerns During the investigation some people came up with a vague description about a former research and advise by

the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DNR). DNR should have investigated the groundwater

and soil characteristics of barangay Ambalgan. In the end

they advised and discouraged the community from constructing more deep wells because it could possibly

cause a landslide. The problem is that until now nobody knows the exact

specifications of that research, nor the time it was done,

nor the place where the report could be found.

Another concern is the groundwater level. The amount of

groundwater is not infinite. Figure 1.13 shows the

situation when water is extracted from the ground. It in secure how much water can be extracted in total, before the groundwatertable is influenced it such a way that nearby wells dry up. When everybody in the

community would have a private deep well it is expected that they do influence each other, with dried up wells as a consequence. And a dried up well is a major loss of investment for a family. The influence of the

groundwatertable and the risks hereby need to be more researched.

Figure 1.12 Self-owned deep well (a) with compressor or (b) manually

Figure 1.13 Drawdown of the groundwater table


20

Connection with relatives, neighbors or friends (d)

In order to supply their families with drinking water,

many people get their water from relatives, neighbors or friends.

From the second survey it came out that more than 50%

of the people in the community rely on the their

neighbors or relatives for their water. One third of them have also a Barangay connection but

that does not supply sufficient water for their household. Therefore they need their relatives and neighbors. In

figure 1.14 an overview is given from people who do and

who do not get their water from others.

Mostly the supply is done by filling a water drum of about 15 – 20 gallons (55 – 75 Liters). This is quite a

heavy everyday job. Just a few people made up a connection with one other

family, to share the water through a tube.

The costs for all these families differ a lot. Some pay

voluntarily every month, depending on the economic situation. The amount is then 20 – 50 PHP. Others share

in the electric bill of the water pump, between 300 – 400

PHP. When people use a manual pump they sometimes share in the maintenance costs.

Combining this figure with the other outcomes of the

survey, it comes out that about 15 percent of the community does not get water from a own pump, not

from relatives or neighbors and also not from the

BWSS, for a part of the whole day. A few (2 households) within this 15 percent can afford to buy

purified water, but all others have to deal with a serious shortage, since they seemed to have no

reliable water resource at all.

Figure 1.15 Water drums to get water

Figure 1.14 Map Ambalgan with people who get their water from neighbors or relatives

®

® = reservoir BWSS

Do not get from others Do get water from others


21

The river(bank) (e)

Ambalgan is situated close to the Allah river (Appendix A). Because of the water

shortage the people go to the river for bathing and to wash their clothes and sometimes for drinking water purposes. Some dig a hole in the river bank, in

order to get a bit cleaner water because of the natural filter of the river bank.

The people whose houses are far away from the Barangay well have the

biggest problem with the shortage. These families live also close to the river and therefore they use the river frequently for the bathing and washing

purpose and sometimes as drinking water. In the interview people made clear that they really prefer to wash and bath at

home, when the water supply could supply them. But now they simply do not

have enough water.

One household has constructed a kind river bank filtration well: a ceramic/concrete tube is vertically constructed in the ground. It has a depth of

about 5 feet and is situated approximately 30 feet from the river (Figure 1.17). Before there was also a deep well situated in the river bank. The pressure in

that well was really high: they had to prevent the pump from drifting. But after

a large flood, the pump was destroyed and the tubes were clogged.

Quantiy According to the people from Ambalgan, there is always water in the river.

Obviously in dry season there is less water available, but through the whole year there is always a substantial stream.

The water comes from Mount Parker, where it first is stored in a lake and passes a hydroelectric power

station in a dam. This hydro-dam results in the fact that the stream is quite controlled. At the other hand, they

sometimes have to dump a large amount of water at

the hydro dam, causing a flood downstream.

Quality The quality of the water is low, which is common for surface water. Table 1.7 shows the microbiological analysis of a sample taken from the mentioned river bank well. The total coliforms are really high and it certainly needs

to be treated before people should drink it.

The physical analysis is presented below. Only the total hardness and manganese are above the prescribed limits. It has to be remarked that it is expected that there are pesticides in the water, but no tests were

performed at this parameter. There are many farming lands situated upstream, from which the pesticides come. This point will be more discussed in the presentation of the alternatives in Chapter 2.

Physical River bank well Guidelines Color TCU 2 15


Chemical

Calcium mg/l 119.02 80 – 300

Chloride mg/l 23.82 250 Total Hardness mg/l 443.60 300 as CaCO3


pH - 7.21 <8.0

Manganese μg/l 2200 100 - 400

Determinants Units River bank well


Count/ml TNTC

Coliform plate count Count/ml 448

Total coliform Count/100 ml >16

Fecal coliform Count/100 ml >16

Figure 1.16 Cloth washing at the Allah river

Figure 1.17 River bank filtration well

Table 1.7 Results microbiological analysis of the river bank well


22

Rainwater catchment (f)

Picture 1.18 shows a drum for water catchment for rainwater. The caught

rainwater is used for cloth washing, to feed the animals and for toilet use. There are no so many people who use the rainwater.

1.3.3. Present situation of sanitation

To get a complete insight in the potable water situation of Ambalgan, it is also important to know what the situation of the sanitation is. A bad sanitary

situation can lead to contamination of possible water resources causing many health problems.

During the first survey this was questioned and in the time in the community, the situation was observed. Most of the people have a hole in ground on their

lot, set off with plastic or with some little walls for the privacy. An estimated amount of 20% of the people have a septic tank on their lot, most of the time

combined with a ceramic toilet.

In the morning many people use the river bank for bathing and washing clothes. Some also defecate in the river or at the riverbank, which can cause

dangerous health situations for other people bathing in the same water. Obviously also the local water buffalo‟s and other cattle use the water for their needs, which also contaminates

the water.

But beside this, the overall sanitary situation in the community is quite good. There is no large chance on

dangerous contamination of water or food for people by a bad sanitary situation. Except for the river bank, the different water resources are not really threatened by bad sanitation.

Figure 1.18 Rainwater catchment


23

1.3.4. Presence of alternative water sources: a spring

At a estimated distance of 3.5 km there is a spring in the hilly

areas, across the Allah River. The spring is also under the authority of Datu Ambalgan.

The spring is located in a small valley. The water just comes to

the surface, on several points. Small whirls can be seen at the

bottom of the creek, where the water bubbles up. There are some farming areas located in the environment, but nobody

really lives permanently close to that place.

A first rough cross-section is made of the location of the spring

and the community. This drawing is based on the observations walking from the community to the spring and on the map of the

environment, number 3939 III of the NAMRIA13, Department of Environmental and Natural Resources.

Quantity of the spring The quantity of water produced by the spring, the so called yield, was measured by construction a dam 60 feet downstream from the spring. By forcing the water to only stream through one tube, the total yield could be

measured. This was done by putting a water drum under the tube and writing down the time in which the drum was filled. To get a reliable value, this was applied 7 times.

Averagely the drum was in 44 seconds full. The volume of the

drum is 17 gallons. Thus the measured yield of the spring about

23 gallons/minute (87 liters) or 0.4 gallons/sec (1.4 liters). Obviously not 100 percent of the water stream could be caught,

because some of the water leaking through the soil. About 90 percent of the water was measured.

There will also be some seasonal variations, which has to be

considered when this spring would be used for the water supply. But still the measured value is a useful first estimation.

Comparing these values with the production of the Barangay well

it shows that at least the dimensions are in the same category as

the Barangay well. The Barangay well produces 0.66gal/sec.

Also an field investigation was performed, following the creek downstream. It came out that a spring is partly used for the irrigation of rice fields and as drinking water for

cattle. Obviously the creek is also a source for many plant and trees to grow.

13 National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, Davao City

+156 m

Ambalgan

Allah River

Spring location

Figure 1.19 The spring

Figure 1.20 Cross section Ambalgan and the location of the spring

+226 m

Figure 1.21 Constructed dam to measure the yield

approx 3.5 km


24

This has to be considered and discussed whether it is possible to use for example only a part of the stream for

drinking water supply. Maybe there is a possibility for the farmers to irrigate their rice fields with another spring,

which is also nearby.

Lastly there might be a municipal dimension which can cause problems. Although the spring is located on a lot which is under the authority of Datu Ambalgan, the lot is part of the municipality Surallah, where Ambalgan is

situated in the municipality of Santo Ñino. On the moment of writing it is insecure if this could cause any

problems. It should be ensured before making more practical considerations about the spring.

Quality The spring was analyzed both microbiological and

physical. The total coliform obviously exceeds the limit

of the WHO guidelines, which could be expected from a natural surface water resource.

The sample was taken from a small natural reservoir which is originated at a few feet distance from the

place where the water bubbles up from the ground. Here the water could be contaminated by birds and other

animals or cattle, or by other people using the spring

before. But still the amount of coliform plate count is ten times lower compared to the river bank well. It is classified as intermediate risks, by the values given in table 1.5. When this resource seriously is taken into

account as water supply for the community, it is advise to examine the microbiological characteristics some more times.

The physical parameters are shown below. These are almost all really good. Only the total hardness is a bit too high as well as the manganese. But they do not exceed the limits much.

Physical Spring Guidelines

Color TCU 0 15


Chemical

Calcium mg/l 117.95 80 – 300

Chloride mg/l 4.96 250 Total Hardness mg/l 349.39 300 as CaCO3


pH - 7.21 <8.0

Manganese μg/l 500 100 - 400

14 TNTC=Too Numerous To Count

Determinants Units Spring


Count/ml TNTC14

Coliform plate count Count/ml 55

Total coliform Count/100 ml >16

Fecal coliform Count/100 ml >16

Table 1.8 Results microbiological analysis of the spring


25

1.3.5. Technical aspects

Present and future water consumption

According to the community survey of the year 2006 the population in Ambalgan was about 3,100 people

then. Assuming a yearly growth rate of 4% the population has grown to more than 3,200 in 2007

and will be around 4000 people in 2012.

The Barangay council also told about expansion plans

in the coming 10 years. The expansion areas can be found in Appendix A. These expansion areas will

increase the population much faster, up to 50 or 75

percent in the next 10 years. In fact, the reason that many people wait with settling in the new expansion

part, is the lack of drinking water. Thus a new supply system will accelerate the occupation of the lots.

Another factor is that when the water supply system

is improved, it is not uncommon that the standard of

living and thus the use of water will also rise.

Based on water usage data for domestic purposes in Southern Asia, the total amount of water per capita per day is about 81 liters per day. This is

shown in Table 1.915.

These values are based on an in-house connection. Other figures give a value of 40 liters per capita per day, when there is a tap at the house-

yard16.

Considering these values, here it is chosen to design with a consumption of 60 liters per capita per day. It is at the safe side of the characteristics of

the water use of a house-yard tap, which is, or will be, the case for the

majority in the community.

In the next phase, the actual design the new water supply system, the values from figure 1.22 can be easily combined with the 60 liters per day, to calculate the total demand. In this stage it is still insecure for which term

the future water supply will be designed for. Therefore no final total demand is calculated here.

Consumption pattern

From the first survey it came out that the peak hours are from 6AM to 8AM and from 6PM and 8PM. The measurement at the water reservoir of the Barangay Water Supply System showed a peak factor of 1.3. Here it

is assumed that when there is no shortage of water, the peak factor will be higher, as shown in figure 1.7. For

the design it is therefore a peak factor of 1.5 will be applied.

Dependence on and cost of: fuel, power and chemicals The operational costs of the present water supply consists for the biggest part of the electricity costs. At least in

the perception of the people in the community, the costs for electricity are high. One kilowatt Hour is 6 PHP.

The electricity is practically available for everybody and is maintained and operated by SOCOTECO17. Sometimes

the system is down, a so called brown out, but this is not really a serious problem and normally it does not take a long time. Thus the availability of electricity is quite reliable.

Obviously it is preferable for a new system to use as less electricity as possible, as well as for the costs as for

15 Design Manual for Water Supply and Treatment, India, 1991 16 Small Community Water Supplies, Chapter 4, page 63 17 South Cotabato Electric Cooperative

Purpose Quantity(lcd)*

Drinking 5

Cooking 3

Sanitary purposes 18

Bathing 20

Washing utilities 15

Clothes washing 20

Total 81

*liters per capita per day

Figure 1.22 Population growth Ambalgan

Table 1.9 Water usage for domestic purposes in Southern Asia


26

the sustainability of the system. The same is valid for fuel and chemicals: it is available, but is preferable to use

it as less as possible.

1.3.6. Cultural and community aspects

Culture, habits, beliefs related to water and sanitation

In the process of designing a new water supply system, the cultural habits and beliefs has also to be considered. Here this is done based on the experience of Alvin and Norhaya, who are Maguindanaon themselves and

Norhaya even grew up in the barangay Ambalgan18.

There are not really many relevant habits or beliefs in relation to water or sanitation. The only thing to bear in

mind is the animistic belief which plays a role for many people in the community. This could be relevant when looking for a new water resources. When many of the people think that a spring is cursed or when it is for

example too close to a cemetery or something bad happened in the past at that place, this might gives troubles

in the implementation phase.

According to Alvin and Norhaya as well as to the elders in the community, they are not aware of a (evil) spirit nearby the examined spring. Further there are no known culture habits or beliefs relevant for a new water

supply.

Perceptions of benefit related to an improved water supply

In the first survey people were ask if the existing water supply system was enough. Everybody, with or without sufficient water, is aware of the fact that the present water supply system is not enough. From the second

house-to-house census it came out that more than 50 percent of the people got water from their neighbors or relatives. Most likely they get this water from the other half of the community, who have sufficient water for

themselves. Therefore everybody knows about the water shortage.

Basically this investigation was started after a request from this community to help them with their potable

water needs. In fact, many people say that the biggest problem of Ambalgan is the water shortage. Hence, there is a really broad awareness of this problem.

In the perception of the people an improved water supply will give them in the first place sufficient water. They

do not have to worry about the shortage or to wait at 0.00AM before they get their water. For many people this

means also they have to spend less time and effort every day to get water manually from neighbors or relatives.

1.3.7. Financial / resource aspects

Ability and willingness to pay Although officially the unemployment rate is not high in barangay Ambalgan, the average income rate is really

low. The majority has a kind of job, as driver, laborer or farmer. But the income is really low and for farming the

income is unstable.

The minimum income is 50 PHP19 a day. This is really the lowest income what is necessary to survive and to supply their family. Actually it is not enough. When somebody works as a driver, he is happy when he earns 150

PHP for one day, which is about 3000 PHP in one month. But there is a little chance that you will earn 150 PHP

each day. People who work for the government earn a minimum of 2500 PHP and normally 4500 PHP in one month.

From the survey it came out that in the perception of many people the water is expensive. In earlier times is

was about 3 to 5 PHP/m3, now it is 7 PHP/m3. Based on interviews with people in the community it is expected that people do prioritize the costs for clean drinking water. On the other hand it is also known that for the

Barangay Water Supply System it is sometimes really difficult to get all the requested money.

There is a lot of bad payers, mainly because they simply cannot afford it.

Overall there is surely a willingness to pay, but not always the ability. For the new system this should be a major

18 Alvin and Norhaya Baloa are the people where I live during my stay in Ambalgan. 19 Exchange rate July 2007: 1 EUR = 64 PHP


27

point of attention. Because once people get used to a loose way of paying their water bill, it is really difficult to

re-educate them. A new supply system will only be sustainable when people pay a reasonable amount for their

water, so the operation costs can be paid, the maintenance is done and people feel responsible for it.

Because of the low ability to paying, obviously the operation costs should be as low as possible.


28

2. HOW? | The (mainly technical) solution

2.1. Introduction

After the extensive investigation of the potable water problem in Ambalgan, this chapter describes all possible

solutions to deal with this problem. In the second paragraph first the selection criteria are explained on which

the alternatives are examined. Paragraph 2.3 describes ten developed alternatives from four possible water sources. It is the objective of this chapter to give a brief and clear overview of the possible solutions. Therefore

not all options are elaborated into the detail. The fourth paragraph gives the discussion and final advice. In the last paragraph the choice of the community is presented.

2.2. Selection criteria

The different alternatives are examined on different selection criteria. The four main criteria are shortly described here:

Costs

Obviously this is an important criterion. There are two different cost-categories:

o Investment cost These are mainly the construction costs of the supply system. The expectation is that these cost

will be supported by the future funds of this project, like other NGO‟s and (foreign) funds.

Because it will be external capital it is not the goal to have the lowest investment costs as possible. NGO‟s and other ideological investors will be far more concerned about the

sustainability and the community development than about the height of the investment. All the more because this project will be relatively small.

o Operational costs In contrast to the investment costs, the operational costs has to be as low as possible. A healthy project is a project which has enough money by itself to bear the operational costs and to

support the maintenance and the necessary investment on the long term. Because the community is a poor community, the costs for one cubic water should be as low as

possible, otherwise people cannot afford it. Therefore the lower the operational costs, the better. The main part of operational costs will be electricity. Other contributions are: chemicals,

operating staff, administration, costs for equipment and spare parts.

Community Development

MUPT and Taytayan state in the approach of their work: we do aim to empower the poor: This entails creation of projects or programs that will be transformational to both

individuals in their community and to the whole community itself We seek a total transformation of the community in the process The processing of this transformation, however, is not generated by MUPT; rather, our

intention to empower a community in poverty points towards the individuals in that community to organize themselves and sustain the initial transformation we facilitated20.

Not clean water but the development of the community is the aim in the first place. A possibility is for

example that an alternative could be build by the community itself and that a new system also creates some employment.

Robustness and reliability

The objective of a new water supply system is to provide reliable healthy water, 24 hours a day. There

is not much knowledge available in the community about drinking water systems and the operation and maintenance of such. This results in to criteria:

o Robustness The system should work always and should not have fragile bottlenecks. It should for example

not have rare expensive spare parts, and the maintenance should be easy to perform for the

local people. In this criterion the availability of the water is also considered. The new system should be robust in its supply: always water, also in dry season.

o Reliability

20 quote MUPT-TDP Approach by Emo Yango, July 2004


29

This criterion considers the reliability of the water from the health perspective. The water should

be at any moment microbiological stable and save to drink. Also concerns about pesticides and

other water quality parameters are taken into account. Implementation time

„For the poor people now counts, and not next year‟. For some alternatives it would take quite a long

time before the people will see the results, sometimes more profound research is required. Other alternatives are more „small scale‟, and could be implemented much faster.

2.3. Possible solutions

In this paragraph all the different alternatives are described. The development of the possible alternatives is restricted by the possible water resources. There are in theory four possible water resources:

Groundwater

River(bank)water

Spring

Rainwater

For each water source all the possible solutions for the community are elaborated. The outcome is the following 10 alternatives. The performance of that specific alternative on the different criteria is discussed. Every

alternative ends with an discussion about the major concern of that solution, i.e. the weakest side of that choice.

2.3.1. Alternative 0: Dala makadtabang

Dala makadtabang is Maguindanaoan for „doing nothing‟. It might be strange to put this as an alternative, but maybe for the community development purposes it could be better to do nothing at all. In development work

something more community development occurs by „doing nothing‟, then when a new project is initiated by an external party.

What might happen? It is expected that the community or the barangay council will ask another NGO to help them with this problem.

The local government will not do much to solve the water shortage. Another thing what could happen is that in the end every five families will have a private deep well. This might

cause serious problems on the long term, because the ground water level might decrease and wells might dry

up, causing a even severe water shortage.

2.3.2. Alternative 0+: Optimization BWSS on short term.

This zero-plus alternative consists of an option to

optimize the existing system, with minimal investments.

To provide the highest water pressure as possible, the water level in the reservoir should always be

between 5 and 6 meters. Just before peak hours (6AM-8AM and 6PM-8PM) the water level should

be at its maximum, to provide as much people as

possible.

This optimization could be done based on some more measurement of the water level in the

reservoir. It could be possible to measure the water level during two weeks, to get reliable and

stable data of the weekly variations. This

measurement could maybe be done by one of the operating staff of the BWSS. Based on these

measurements an optimized operation schedule

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

wat

er

leve

l (m

)

time (hours)

Figure 2.2 Optimized water reservoir management

source: Groundwater I


30

could be designed.

Another thing is that a automatic switch for the pump could be constructed. Maybe this could be even locally made, use a floating device in the water reservoir, something similar to the flush reservoir of a toilet. This could

switch on the pump everything the water reaches the 5 meter water level. It probable costs some more electricity each month, but it also generates more „income‟, because more water is supplied to the consumers.

The investment costs are really low and the implementation time is really short, about 2 months. The cleaning procedures could also being optimized in the same time, to reduce the complaints about the yellowish

color and the chlorine taste.

Major concerns

The major concern is if this solution contributes substantial to a better water supply. Will the consumers observe a increase in supply, or is the shortage that big that it does not influence the supply significantly? In other

words: is it worth the effort or is it better to „wait‟ for a new system? Another concern is that an automatic switch might result in less work for the operator. It might even result in

losing his job.


31

2.3.3. Alternative A: Thorough upgrade of the BWSS

This alternative is developed based on the observations

of the capacity of the existing well. It was calculated that the production of the well21 is 0.66 gal/sec (2.5 l/sec).

When the pump would be on 24h/day, it could produce

216 m3 per day. Calculating with 3500 people in

Ambalgan, everybody has 62 liter water each, which is quite enough for one day. It could be investigated if the

present pump could be upgraded to produce even a bit more, for future expansion.

But beside this, even with the existing pump, in theory the pump produces far enough water in one day. And

because of the presence of quite some private deep wells, not everybody will use the water from the Barangay.

This alternative consists of22:

Costs

The investment costs will be quite high. A new water tower has to be build, the new infrastructure. The operation costs will also increase, because of a higher

use of electricity. Some ballpark calculations about the operational costs are

presented at the right23.

Robustness & reliability Both is fine, although this solution is chose, it has to be ensured that there will

be enough groundwater available on the long term, because there are some

doubts about that.

Implementation time In this alternative no new deep well needs to be constructed, which saves time

and money. It will take quite a time to design it all properly and to implement is.

A rough estimation about the implementation time is summer 2008.

Major concerns The existing barangay water supply system organization has to be reorganized. The present administration is

not that accurate that a reliable system can be ensured for the future. This might give quite some tension with the present personnel.

Another concern is the community development in this solution. It is difficult to see where this could give a substantial contribution to community development. Not much extra jobs will be created.

21 See page 8 22 The water tower can also be constructed somewhere else in the community, it does not have to be at the existing water supply place. 23 See also page 10 for the existing operational costs.

to barangay

50 f

t

source: Groundwater II

Figure 2.3 Alternative A: upgrade BWSS

- Upgrade pump: automatically operated (like alternative 0+) - New, higher water tower for higher pressure, to supply everybody in the community

- Investment in the infrastructure: replacement broken water meters, connection of new households

- Investment and renewal of administration: training of the personal and a proper money management, for a healthy financial situation.

- Better operation of the system with regard to cleaning methods, to prevent complaints of the consumers and to increase reliability.

2,000 people 2,000 x 60l x 30 = 3,600 m3 Let‟s say the energy costs triples, the others costs double. worst case: 25,000 PHP/month = 6.94 = 7 PHP/m3

This is exactly the same as now. Preferably the operation costs to 18,000, to have 5 PHP/m3.


32

2.3.4. Alternative B: Another deep well in the community

Possible locations for another deep well are:

10by10 area (maybe close to the public dryer)

At the back of the Elementary School

Close to the existing BWSS

In one of the expansion areas

This alternative consists of:

The major question here is if this will be combined with the existing system or will be operated completely

independent. Connecting it to the existing system makes is possible to use the existing infrastructure. Otherwise

two networks has to be constructed, which is not preferable at all. On the other hand: the quality of the existing infrastructure is really low.

One of the pro‟s to make it independent is because the new system can be managed like a kind of private

system, without any concerns about the reorganizing of the existing system. The new system could be set up like a company, with the purpose to make a healthy financial situation, with a good maintenance schedule of the

whole system.

Costs

The investment costs are the one of the highest of all alternatives. A complete new well has to be constructed. This has to be done by a external contractor. The operation costs will at least double, probably even more. Two

separate operating systems might be not that effective.

Robustness & reliability

The water quality will be good. The robustness is even better compared to one well. When one pump fails, the other can still supply (a part) of the community, though it has to be ensured that there will be enough

groundwater available on the long term. This alternative could be combined with alternative 0+ to upgrade the BWSS a little bit.

Implementation time It will take quite some time to arrange all the things, to look for suitable and reliable contractors etcetera. But it

will not take longer that alternative A. Summer 2008 might be a good estimation.

Community development

It might create some jobs, because of a complete new well. The construction of a water tower can maybe partly be done by people from the community.

Major concerns

The biggest concern are the high investment costs. And the same concern as with alternative A: there should be a good operation and management of the administration and finances, but is that possible when it is combined

with the existing BWSS?

source: Groundwater III

- A new deep well (>120ft) - A new pump

- A new water tower reservoir, for a high pressure - Some new infrastructure


33

2.3.5. Alternative C: Small scale deep wells / existing wells

Thinking of all the possibilities, one of the things which came up is the fact

that there are already 70 deep wells in the community. That is almost one well for five households. This might already be enough. Obviously, the

problem is that the majority of the wells is located in the upper part of the community, whereas the greatest shortage is in the lower part24.

Still it is possible to construct for example one well for each 8 houses. Where possible existing wells can be used or new ones are constructed.

An alternative for 8 households is developed, to see if this is feasible. With 8

houses only two systems for one street are required. Each system consists of

one deep well, a small water tower (12ft) and a small distribution network. The deep well is operated with an engine, to pump the water up to the

water tower. Further research has to find out whether it is worth the investment to combine it with a solar charger.

Because the water tower only needs a small capacity it can be build of

local materials, like bamboo and wood. The maximum required storage

volume is 2 m3, while the daily use is 3.4 m3.

The costs are here the main criteria if this alternative is a serious option.

Based on some assumptions, shown in the right column, the investment costs are about 42 PHP/month and the energy costs 19 PHP/month25. From the first

survey it came out that most of the family had to pay about 70 PHP/month. So these costs are in the same dimensions. Based on these calculations the

price for one cubic water in this alternative is about 5 PHP/m3, which is quite

a nice price and it does include the whole investment write-off over its lifetime.

Maybe the costs can be a even lower when a NGO will contribute and

support some of the costs. A possibility is that there will be a central

organization who will support the separate systems and who will cover the risks, in case things go wrong.

For community development purposes this alternative has some good

chances. People have to build the water tower and the infrastructure themselves, and they will be owner of the system in the end. They have also

to organize themselves into small groups, to subscribe for such a system.

24 See page 12 25 Energy costs calculation is based on the characteristics of one of the private submersible pumps.

engine

eventually a solar charger

source: Groundwater IV

8 households x 7 persons = 56 persons 60 liters/person/day =3.4 m3/day One household uses 7 pers x 60 liters x 30 days

=12.6 m3/month

Figure 2.4 location existing wells

Figure 2.5 Small scale deep well system

Investment costs Construction well:15,000 PHP Engine: 10,000 PHP Water tower: 5,000 PHP Infrastructure: 10,000 PHP total 40,000 PHP Longevity: 10 years 4,000 PHP/yr Costs/family 42 PHP/month

Operational costs Pump Q 50l/min P 0.75 kW Time to pump 12.6 m3: 12.6m3/50l 252 min=4.2 h Energy/month: 0.75x4.2 = 3.15 kWh Energy is 6 PHP/kWh Total energy costs are 18.9 PHP


34

Robustness and Reliability

Again the groundwater availability has to be ensured to be sufficient. It is not possible to subtract an infinite

amount of groundwater from the ground. The reliability is one of the weaknesses of this solution: there will be many different water storages and separate distribution networks. It will be hard to ensure the quality for all

these systems. Because the separate wells will not be that deep, the quality of the groundwater itself is also not always of good quality.

One of the major concerns is the irony taste of some of the groundwater sources. When a new constructed well has that too, there has to be a plan what to do. It might be possibly to add an (sand)filter or maybe to

construct another well somewhere else. When this alternative is chosen, more research is required on this point. What causes exactly the irony taste and how can the water be treated in such a way that the taste is

good and quality is good.

The addition of a sand filter makes this alternative much less attractive, because then it has to be ensured that all the people operate their sand filter well. The reliability of the water quality decreases a lot in that case.

Implementation time

The implementation time can be quite short. It might be wise to first build one pilot project, to develop more precisely the whole system and to test it. Also to find out if the energy costs are as they were expected to be.

After finding out the good suppliers for the several materials, the pilot project can already start within 3 or 4

months.

One major good thing is with the small organized groups the payment problems seems to be prevented. It is a kind of micro financing strategy. If one family has a hard time one month, the other seven can help them. But

at the same time they have collect the money themselves from the same 8 households. These communication

lines are much shorter and stronger compared to the barangay officials or the electricity company.


35

2.3.6. Alternative D: Riverbank filtration (deep well in the riverbank)

This alternative resembles a lot to alternative B.

The difference is that the new deep well is situated in the river bank and is slightly of

another type. This is called river bank filtration. In fact it a large scale professional version of the

small river bank well as shown in chapter 1.

This alternative consists of:

A new deep well

A new pump

A new water tower reservoir, for a high

pressure New infrastructure

Protection construction of the well

against possible floods.

The major advantage of river bank filtration is that it is always available. The Allah rivers supplies always

enough water and thus the groundwatertable does not drawdown too much, because the river „refills‟ the

groundwater through the soil.

The major disadvantage is that the quality of the water is lower, and it is not sure if the water can be used without further treatment. One major concern about the quality is the presence of pesticides in the river

water. It is impossible to prohibit farmers upstream from using pesticides. To remove pesticides advanced

treatment is required, which is not feasible for a small rural community.

Another aspect is that the operational costs will be higher, because the water has to be pumped up from the riverbank, to the community, to the water tower. This will cost extra energy compared to alternative B.

Costs The investment and operational costs are higher compared to alternative B. In fact, this alternative is the most

expensive one. There will be also extra investment required for the protection of the well against river floods

Robustness and Reliability Because of the presence of pesticides, the quality is not really reliable. The system is also more vulnerable for

temporary presence of harmful substances, because somebody upstream might dump something in the water.

The protection against river floods is also a concern. Another insecurity is that when the water of the Allah river is really turbid, the extraction point could clog. In

similar projects of the Davao City Water District this happened several times with their river bank filtration installations. Once it is clogged, it is really hard to repair and to use it again.

The implementation time is quite long and comparable with alternative B. The concerns about community development are also the same.

source: River water I

Ambalgan

Allah River

Figure 2.6 River bank filtration


36

2.3.7. Alternative E: River surface water treatment (slow sand filters)

Obviously water from the river can

be taken, properly treated and uses as drinking water.

A nice detail for this plan is that so

called ram pumps can be used to

pump the water uphill. An extensive description of these

pumps is given in Appendix E. The big advantage about these pumps

is that they do not use any

external energy source like gasoline or electricity.

A common technology to treat surface water is a slow sand filter. It is a quite straight-forward technology, using

a sand layer in which the water is made microbiological stable. In a first observation of the sand present at the riverbank, this sand could be used for the sand filter.

In theory it would be necessary to treat the water at a quite high level to make optimal use of the ram pumps.

Otherwise a electric pump is necessary after all. This is not really feasible after all. Hence, after all an extra electric pump is required.

Another disadvantage is that this kind of treatment needs careful operation, and thus qualified employees. People has to be trained to maintain the slow sand filter properly.

Costs As mentioned before, the investment costs will be quite high. Quite a massive construction has to be build.

Obviously the operation costs are quite low, although still electricity is required for the pumps to the water tower. Other costs are the operating staff and some chemicals for disinfection matters.

Robustness and reliability

On one hand the system is robust: water is always available and the treatment of the water will not be affected

by an electricity brown out. The water quality is the weakest point of this alternative. As mentioned before, there are most likely pesticides in the water. When the water is sometimes really turbid, the slow sand filter will

easily clog and thus more intensively maintenance is necessary and the water supply might be even interrupted for a while (although we should design it in such a way that it is not necessary) Once pesticides are present, I

do not really know what to do. Advanced treatment is required to get rid of those harmful substances.

When cattle, animals or people will defecate close upstream the intake of the system, this would also threat the microbiological stability of the system.


The good thing a lot of people needs to be trained with really substantial knowledge. It will take quite some

time and effort, but it is real development. The construction is also not that complicated, so the people might be construct it themselves or at least they could do a large portion of the work. To obtain the sand of the good

size, the community also be involved. The organization who supplies the ram pumps, see appendix E, will also request to train local mechanics to make the community able to fix those pumps themselves.

It will take quite some implementation time. A lot of design work has to be done.. Also the training and the

cooperation with the ram pump organization will take its time.

The major concern is the water quality, because of the low quality of the surface water. The aim of the project

is „reliable drinking water‟, and it is doubtful if that can be ensure. In drinking water engineering practice groundwater is always preferred above surface water, when it is both available.

source: River water II

Ambalgan

Allah River

Slow Sand Filter

Ram pumps

Figure 2.7 River water surface treatment


37

2.3.8. Alternative F: Household Water Treatment Systems (river water)

The last option to use river water are Household Water Treatment

Systems (HWTS).These are small systems which people can use in their own houses. They can just put water from the Allah River in it and

the systems filter out all harmful substances.

A few examples of these systems are:

SODIS – this is a simple method by using sunlight for

disinfection. Just put a bottle in the sun for at least 6 hours, and the bacteria are killed26.

Ceramic filters – Some people in the community use one to

ensure the reliability of the water. Small scale sand filters, or so called biosand filters.

The advantage is no infrastructure or water meters are required, nor

any administration, but just the distribution of these systems.

The disadvantages are: The costs can be quite high. Some of the ceramic filters do not

last as long as they should do. Thus the ceramic filters need to

be replaced often, which increases the costs. The filter might clog rapidly because of the high turbidity in

the Allah River sometimes.

The major problem is that people have to go each day to the

river. In this way the people in Ambalgan are already used to the fact that they could have water at

their own lot. So unless this option is really cheap for them, there is a little chance that people will like to walk everyday up and down to the river.

A strange idea is to install some ram pumps to pump up the raw river water uphill, but that does not make much sense.

Overall this alternative is only a serious option when the only source was river water and the situation was really risky with regard to the microbiological quality of the water.

One thought is that some of the developed ceramic filters are constructed with only local materials. This would

provide quite some constant employment for the community. But this does not really counterbalance the disadvantages of this alternative.

An idea is to provide the SODIS information to some of the people in the community who are forced to drink river bank water. With only some simply plastic bottles they can ensure that the water they drink does not

contain pathogenic microorganisms. This can already be implemented next month, so that they people have at least good water before a substantial solution is realized.

26 www.sodis.ch

source: River water III

Figure 2.6 example of a HWTS: a Katadyn ceramic filter


38

2.3.9. Alternative G: Spring catchment

It is possible to build a spring capture construction around the spring which was measured during the

investigation. The spring could be covered to reduce the chance on microbiological contamination. This coverage is also essential for the rain. When it is raining, the creek of the spring is filled which a lot of rain water. This

water is of course really turbid and of no use for drinking water purposes. Therefore the spring capture construction should be protected against rain floods.

The capacity of the spring and the large amount of infrastructure required for this alternative are the major

concerns. The measured yield of the spring is 23 gallons/minute. The total amount of water on one day is then

125 m3. Calculating with 60 liters/person/day this is enough water for about 2000 people. But then it is assumed that all the water from the spring is captured, which is a doubtful decision. Farmers and

nature do use the spring now and therefore it is impossible to just simply cut off the whole stream of water.

Another concern is the distance, horizontally and vertically.

Horizontally a lot of pipes are required. They have to because closed, to prevent contamination along the way. Vertically it

is also a challenge. At this moment, the exact height difference between the spring and the community is

unknown. When the difference is high enough, we might only

need gravity for flow. (see also figure 2.8 – closed conduit)

But it is expected that the height difference is not enough. Maybe a ram pump or a solar power engine to pump the

water uphill can be used, because at the location of the spring there is no electricity available.

A solution might be t the water flow free-till the Allah river.

From there a pump is required to pump up the water to the water reservoir.

There is not enough information present at the time of writing to make good cost estimation. The amount of

water is the major concern. Is it a good idea to construct a water supply system which is already not sufficient

for the whole community? Then the community needs again something else after five years, because of the expansion. And as mentioned before there is still an insecurity about the municipal dimensions of this

alternative. At the right from the Allah river is the municipality of Surallah, at the left it is Santo Ñino. It would be hard for the community to really own the project, when it is situated in another municipality.

The implementation time is not really long. Once the idea is there, the system is quite straight-forward. The

community might be involved in the construction of the spring capture and the installation of the

infrastructure. With a good protection of the watershed the water quality will be reliable. There are similar projects known in the region (close to Cotabato City), from which experience and typical spring capture issues

can be obtained.

+156 m Ambalgan

Allah River

Spring capture construction

+226 m

ram pump?

source: Spring

Figure 2.8 types of water flow (a) free-flow conduit (b) closed conduit

Figure 2.7 alternative G spring catchment


39

2.3.10. Alternative H: Rain catchment

Although rain catchment is not considered as a serious

community broad solution for the water shortage, still it is mentioned here

The reason is that when the shortage is a really big problem for some families, rain catchment is a simple, cheap and

quite reliable solution.

In rainy season, June till September/October it rains not

enormously but quite a lot. This water could be catched and it saves money and effort, because the water is already

delivered on the lots.

So maybe a cheap simple way of catching the rain could be

developed, so that some families already can use this way to provide themselves some water.

The concern is if the amount is significant enough. Some

research should be done about the average rain falls here.

The Department of Natural Resources in Surallah can be of great help on that.

Figure 2.10 Arrangement for diverting the first foul flush for a rain catchment installation

Figure 2.9 Simple roof catchment and storage

source: Rain


40

2.4. Discussion and advice

Below all the alternatives are listed, categorized by water resource. The grey, italic alternatives are not

considered as serious option to solve the problem completely. The reasons for this are already mentioned in the description of the concerning alternatives.

The the different alternatives are shortly discuss on the four selection criteria. It has to be remarked that for

some alternatives it is not completely sure it they could do the job. If the water quality cannot by guaranteed with the Slow Sand Filter, it is not an option to choose this one. The municipalities of Santo Ñino and Surallah

might block alternative G. In the end this discussion results in an advice and not a choice. It is the community, the barangay council and the datu who will choose the final solution.

Costs The comparison on the operational costs is relatively easy and

quite good to estimate. The ram pumps does not consume any energy and thus these alternatives have obviously the lowest

operational costs. Alternative B and D will install a second well,

with doubles all operational costs. The well at the river bank (D) have to pump more and will be therefore more expensive.

The comparison for the operational costs is done for a „whole

community‟ solution. In that case option C, the small scale wells, does not get a good score. There will be many small systems, each with its separate engine. Each engine needs energy and maintenance – therefore the

operational costs will be high.

The investment costs on the other hand are really difficult to estimate. Option C is put as the best, but that is

mainly because that is the only one from concrete values are known. Obviously alternative A is cheaper than the others, because it does not need the investment of a new deep well. It only will construct a new water tower

and some new infrastructure, but this is the case for all other alternatives. Because of the extra protection

construction the river bank options are expected to be more expensive.

Robustness and reliability As described in the second paragraph of this chapter this criterion is mainly about the

robustness and maintenance of the system, the availability of the water source and the

reliability of the water quality. In this discussion it is assumed that there is enough groundwater available.

The first two, A and B, are then most reliable and robust. The microbiological reliability

of groundwater sources is really good and a complete new well with a new water tower ensures the supply. The river bank filtration well is also not so bad, but a bit less reliable

because of possible floods and the clogging of the system. The spring captured compared with the others seems

quite fragile, with the large amount of tubes. It is also not ensured that the yield of the spring will be the same over the whole year. Literature advises to at least investigate a spring yield for a year to ensure the availability

of water for the whole year.

Alternatives C and E are put as the two worst, both from different perspectives. As mentioned in the description,

it is doubtful if the water quality can be guaranteed with a slow sand filter, specifically with concerns to the pesticides. High turbidities or bad management can also cause problems in the performance. Alternative C is not

Groundwater Allah river Spring Rain

0 dala makadtabang D River bank filtration G Spring catchment H Rain catchment 0+ optimization BWSS E River water treatment A Upgrade BWSS F HWTS

B Another deep well C Small scale deep well

Table 2.1 All alternatives listed by water resource

Investment costs best C

2 A 3 B

4 G

5 E worst D

Operational costs best E

2 G 3 A

4 C

5 B worst D

Robust & Reliable best B

2 A

3 D 4 G

worst C / E


41

so robust because there might be problems with the irony taste of the shallow wells. Further there is a chance

that the groundwatertable draws down because of the many small systems in the community. And because the

management is done by the people themselves, it is hard to ensure that the systems will stay microbiological stable. Somebody has to check it from time to time. For both alternatives C and E more research is necessary,

to see if the robustness and reliability can be increased, before these can applied.


For option C and E there are many possibilities for community involvement, again both from a different perspective. The small scale deep wells will initiate small groups that

organize themselves, and who can possibly build the water system for the major part their own. All maintenance is done by the direct users, and the people themselves own

the system.

Alternatives E gives several possibilities for more serious employment: the maintenance of the slow sand filters and the mechanics who have to maintain the ram pumps. It also

creates some income for people during the construction of the quite massive system. Further it needs also sand, which can be taken from the river bank with the involvement of community.

Because the construction of deep wells and large water towers is more work for specialist, the alternatives D, B

and A do not get many points for community development.

Implementation time

The term „implementation time‟ is changed into „start time‟. Because for all alternatives it is the case that the implementation time before the whole community is supplied with a

good house-yard connection could take one, two or three years. Therefore it might be

better to look at the start time. Because alternative C is quite a small scale alternative, the consequences and the costs are easily overviewed. Therefore this alternative could

rapidly start with a pilot project. The upgrade of the BWSS can also already been started quite soon, although the

implementation of a complete new water tower will take its time.

The construction of new wells is a high investment and therefore it cannot start fast, mainly because of

fundraising reasons. Also some more profound preparation and research is required, to ensure it is worth the investment.

Although alternative E needs also a high investment, a pilot project of a small slow sand filter could already be

started soon. This pilot sand filter could also been used to make people acquainted with the system and the

operation, and it can be determined if the desired water quality can be reached. The spring capture alternative has the same train of thought: Some small pilot projects could be started, but

due to the high investment and the required infrastructure the whole process before it is finished will take quite a long time.

Final advice Summing up the best three of each criterion alternatives A, C and E seems to be the best. The alternatives C

and E have high scores on implementation time and community development, but it is not 100 percent sure if the water quality is good.

From the sanitary engineering point of view, no compromises should be done on the water quality, even when

that implies that there will be less possibilities for community development. A community is never really served

by giving them „not so reliable‟ drinking water. Making the water quality fixed, only alternative A remains from the best three. In the end it is advice, from the engineering‟s perspective, to develop once of the groundwater

alternatives: alternative A or B. The major concern left are the investment and operational costs, but the quality of the water is ensured. It is

recommended to elaborate for these alternatives the community development part, to see whether there are

more possibilities for transformations in Ambalgan.

Community D

best C / E

2 G 3 D

4 B worst A

Start time best C

2 A 3 E

4 G

worst D / B


42

2.5. Final choice by the community

It is the intention of Taytayan Development Projects to empower

the community and only facilitate projects and not to own the projects itself. The purpose is that the people in Ambalgan own

and operate the new drinking water system by themselves.

Therefore the final choice for the preferred solution is also made

by the community itself. The whole investigation study, as described in the previous paragraphs, is presented to the

community leaders, the datu and the elders. Also the complete report was handed over.

Initially the spring capture, alternative G, was the preferred option, as well as by the community leaders as by the team

members of Taytayan, who live in the community themselves. But after some discussion it came out that the „municipal

dimensions‟ in this alternative give too much uncertainty for the sustainability of the water system, especially for its ownership.

When the project itself is situated in another municipality, namely

Surallah instead of Santo Niño, at 3.5 km distance, it is practically impossible to ensure that the project will be owned by the people

of Ambalgan in the future. Because of this reason, this alternative was abandoned.

The rain and river water options were not considered as good options. Partly this is because culturally rain water is seen as a

serious possibility for drinking water. For the river it is known that the water is of low quality.

The final choice of the community is option B, that is to construct a complete new deep well, with an elevated water reservoir and

a new distribution network.

After this choice was made, the next step was started: the

elaboration of the chosen alternative. The total technical design, a precise cost estimation for the investment and operational

costs and the description of the operation and maintenance is

presented in a second report.

Figure 2.10 Presentation to the datu and the elders

Figure 2.11 Presentation of all alternatives (1)

Figure 2.12 Presentation of all alternatives (2)


43

Bibliography Smet, Jo; van Wijk, Christine (eds.) 2002 - Small Community Water Supplies: Technology, People and

Partnership. Delft, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Center. (Technical Paper Series 40)

Boot, Marieke; Cairncross, Sandy (eds.) 1991 - Actions Speak: The study of hygiene behavior in water and

sanitation projects. Delft, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Center.

Barangay Development Council, 2007 – Barangay Development Plan (Calendar Year 2007-2011). Barangay

Ambalgan, Sto. Niño South Cotabato.

Map Libertad, Sheet 3939 III, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).

Municipality of Sto.Niño – Community description Ambalgan. Sto. Niño South Cotabato.


44

Appendix A Location Ambalgan


45

Appendix B Survey I

B.I the questions

The person Name

Ngin i ngala? Age

Nakapila lagon kaden?

Gender Employment Ngin i galbekan nengka? Si kaluma nengka, ngin i galbekan nin?

Members household Pila kataw kanu a membro nu pamilya?

Present water supply Where do you get your water?

Endaw kanu pegkwa sa eg? Barangay well

Losa / eg Barangay between which hours of the day you don‟t have water from the Barangay? Ngen a oras i katatapan a dala eg sa barangay? How much do you have to pay each month (averagely?) Pila i pakabayad nengka oman sawlan?

My own well Lekami a gumba Why do you have your own well? Enduken ka nangaden kanu sa lekanu a gumba? How old is the well? (litt: how many years already) Nakapila lagun den? How deep is the well? (feet) (litt: how many tube?) Pila ka tubu? How much did it cost to construct?

Pila i nagasto lunlangon? You have other people who use your water? Aden ped nu pengamit sa nan a eg? Do they share in the costs? Bagamung bun silan pembayad? How much? Pila?

Well of neighbor Siya bu sa ubay nami Do you have to pay for it? Pakabayad kanu bun? How much? Pila?

Near the river / from the river masupeg lusa lawasnu eg

Else: … Is the taste good? What does it taste like?

Mapia bun e nanamin? Ngen i nanamin? Do you have enough water for your family?


46

Pakagaga bun su eg nu salkanu a pamilya?

Do you have water storage in your house? Aden pedtamenganu sa eg siya sa walay

Sanitation

Do you have a CR/toilet?

Aden bun katilyas nu siya? Do you have a septic tank?

Kinakalanu bun i katiyas nu?

Consumption pattern Who gets the water?

Entayn i banageb? Wife

Si kaluma nengka a babay Man

Si kaluma nengka a mama Kids

Su manga wata nengka All the family

Sekanu langon a pamilya

When do you use most of the water? During which hours/at what time? Ngen i gagamitan nu a benal sa eg? Ngen i manga oras nim? Morning

Mapita Noon

Maudto Afternoon

Malulam Evening

Magabi

Costs The costs you have to pay for your water now, is it much/expensive for your family?

Su gabayadan nu sa eg na kalangan nu lun na nasasangan den intu sa pamilya nu? If there is another source of water, how much do you want to pay / m3? Amengka aden pan ped a kakwayan sa eg,

na pila i kalangan nangka lun a makabayad sa uman i saka kubiku?

Perception for benefits good water supply Do you think the water supply of the baranguay is enough? Why?

Sa kalangan nengka na su eg san sa barangay na nasasangan den? Enduken?


47

B.II the answers


48

Appendix C Survey II: house-to-house

C.I the questions


49

C.II Map surveyed houses


50

C.III Map BWSS connections and supply


51

C.IV Map location deep wells


52

C.V Map sharers / non-sharers


53

Appendix D Results laboratory test

D.I Microbiological requirements

This table with microbiological requirements is taken from Small Community Water Supplies, IRC, 2002.

* The allowable compliance contribution shall be at least 95% to the limits indicated in column 3,with a

maximum of 4% and 1% respectively, to the limits indicated in columns 4 and 5. The objective of disinfection should, nevertheless, be to attain 100% compliance to the limits indicated in column 3.

D.II Results laboratory test

Five samples were analyzed by the laboratory of the Davao City Water District. Four of them were

microbiological analyzed and all five had a physical analysis. The results are presented on the following pages.

3 4 5

Determinants Units

Allowable compliance contributions*

95% min. 4% max. 1% max.

Upper limits


Count/ml 100 1,000 10,000

Total coliform Count/100 ml 0 10 100

Fecal coliform Count/100 ml 0 1 10

Table D.1 Microbiological requirements


54


55


56


57


58


59


60


61


62


63

Appendix E Ram pump Below a description is given from the ram pump, developed by the organization AIDFI, Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. This NGO develops technical solutions for development project purposes. Their

ram pump recently (July 2007) was awarded with an Ashen Award, given by Al Gore. A nice detail is that the

organization is led by a Dutch engineer, Auke Idzenga and that the organization is settled at the Philippines, at the Negros Islands.

Description

Utilizes momentum of a large flow of water under a small head to raise

a smaller quantity of water to a higher elevation. A valve is arranged to close suddenly, creating a water hammer of

high pressure which forces water to a higher elevation. For a ram to operate, it requires a minimum fall of at least .75 cm.

And a minimum flow of water at least 8 liters per minute.

Advantages

Makes use of renewable energy (falling water)

No operation cost; no need for electricity or fuel

Pumps automatically; works on a 24-hours basis

Long life

Minimal number of moving parts

Can pump up to 200 meters elevation

Able to utilize many sources of water: spring, streams,irrigation

canals, among others Spare parts can easily be fabricated locally.

Water Delivered At low lifts, a hydram will lift a substantial quantity of the drive water (up to 40%) and decreases as it reaches

very high heads, the proportion may only be 5%.However, even with this amount, since the hydram works continuously 24 hours a day, a large quantity of water can be accumulated. The output depends on the

available factors: flow of water intake, pump size, fall of water and the delivery height.

To give an better impression on the ram pump, the following text

is quoted from an article written by Maryann Bird. She wrote it as a result of the Ashden Award which was given to AIDFI for the

ram pump technology.

AIDFI‟s hydraulic ram pump clearly fits the bill. Such technology drives water from a lower level to a higher one without using electricity or diesel pumps – that is, without the use of fossil fuels. A purely mechanical method, it is ideally suited to steep terrain. AIDFI estimates that there probably are another 10,000 sites in the Philippines where ram pumps (which come in a variety of sizes) could easily be used. Idzenga chuckles over the fact that this “very unknown technology” has a two-century history, having been used in its early days to move water up to production floors of European beer breweries. Ram pumps use water‟s downward flow through a drop of a few metres to lift a small percentage of that water to a far greater height, where it is needed. “Our pump can go up to 220 metres,” says Idzenga. (July 2004)

Figure E.1 The ram pump

Figure E.2 Ram pumps in action in a project


64

Appendix F Reference project: Surallah Water District Ambalgan is situated along the highway between Surallah and Santa Ñino. Along the same highway, close to the village of Surallah, Surallah Water District is settled. In this section a description of the Surallah Water District

and its water supply system is given, based on a visit which was made on August 3, 2007. The information can

be used as reference information, to make a rough estimation about the costs and to estimate other characteristics for alternative solutions for the new water supply system in Ambalgan.

Water source: Groundwater

Depth well: 267 ft (81.4m) Casing well: 10 inches

Year of construction: 2002 Engine: Submersible pump of 15 HP27 (= 11.19 kW)

Longevity: 5 years Maximum capacity: 22 l/sec (5.8 gal/sec)

Total costs well + pump: 1.2 Million PHP (18,460 EUR or 26,667 USD)

Water reservoir: Water Tower

Total height: 70 ft (21.3m) Capacity: 100 m3

Construction material: Steel

Total costs water tower: 4.7 Million PHP (72,308 EUR or 104,444 USD)

Water treatment: Addition Chlorine, automatically Amount: 65 kg/month

Costs: 8000 PHP/drum = 40 kg 13,000 PHP/month

Distribution network Minimal desired pressure: 10psi (1 storey building)

Longest distance in network: 2 km (6560ft) Delivered amount of water: 500,000 m3/year (rough estimation)28

Number connections: 1,150 (August 2007)

Estimated number of consumers: 4,600 people (1 connection = 4 people) Costs: 220 PHP for 10m3 = 22 PHP/m3

Initial costs connection: 1006 PHP (water meter + connection to mainline)

27 HP = HorsePower 28 This value seems quite strange; calculating the use/consumer/day, every consumer uses 300liters/day, which is way too much. Thus or the delivered amount is lower or the total amount of people is bigger. Most likely it is amount of water which is lower, because there do not live that much people in Surallah.

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