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27. September 2007
India
500,000 People reached

Securing fresh water access to 450 villages in Andhra Pradesh

Around 200 million people in rural India have no access to fresh water. The use of high quality materials and standards is essential to deliver sustainable solutions that address the water needs of local communities.


The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust has worked with Borouge to select a material solution for the building of a reliable water supply system that serves half a million people in India.


Leak-tight, durable and easy to maintain, the pipe system ensures the supply of clean, drinkable water to 450 villages all year round and for many years to come.


Access to clean, drinkable water is a major challenge in many developing countries. In India, around 200 million people living in rural areas have no access to fresh water. Providing durable solutions for such populations is critical for their health and welfare and is a basis for future economic and social development. The increased access to clean drinking water is also an important element within the United Nations Millennium Goals.


Founded in 1972, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust is a charitable trust under the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation. It is dedicated to serving the poor in India and over the years, the Trust has undertaken a number of welfare activities to improve the provision of education, healthcare, drinking water supply, relief to the poor and the preservation of India’s cultural heritage. The Trust has funded several major drinking water projects. Its first drinking water project, completed in 1996, today supplies water to 1.2 million people in 800 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district of the Andhra Pradesh state.


Fresh water for half a million people

In this project, the Trust undertook the task of eliminating water scarcity in upland areas of East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh. Subject to hot and humid summers, the area receives little rainfall and groundwater is scarce. Where groundwater is available, it is contaminated by fluoride, causing widespread fluorosis – skeletal and dental deformations – among the villagers. Furthermore, the villagers must walk long distances to fetch water for their daily consumption.


To provide safe, treated drinking water to the villagers in these areas all year round, the Trust needed to build a reliable water supply system that could transport water from the Godavari River to half a million people living in 450 villages in the districts. The project will involve installing more than 1175 km of water pipes, of which 765 km (65%) will be polyethylene (PE) pipes – one of the longest PE pipe installations in the country.


Applying a sustainable solution

Ensuring the sustainability of the network was of paramount importance. The pipes had to be high quality, durable and capable of handling water hammer and surge pressures. They also had to be easy to use and maintain, in addition to being able to accommodate the highland terrain. As material and quality play important roles in the longevity and performance of the network, the Trust was careful in its selection.


To achieve the pipe quality and performance required, the Trust worked with Borouge to choose a black PE100 compound, produced using the advanced Borstar technology. The material is particularly well suited for drinking water or sewerage pressure pipe systems and by its nature, PE is able to resist water hammer and provide a higher hydraulic capacity than other materials.


A continuous supply for the future

The construction of the water network was completed in April 2006. Now it supplies clean, drinkable water to the many villagers in the East and West Godavari districts. The use of state-of-the-art technologies and high quality standards enabled the delivery of sustainable solutions to address the needs of the local communities. Leak-tight, flexible and corrosion resistant, the Borstar solution developed by Borouge met the challenge for the construction of the water pipes. With these new pipes that are more resistant to cracks and easier to maintain, 450 villages can be assured of clean drinking water all year round, for many years to come.


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