SMART PIPELINE INSTALLATION TO CONTROL WATER LOSS IN RURAL AREAS, GHANA

1.0 OVERVIEW OF WATER IN GHANA

Domestic water supply is one of the fundamental requirements for human life. Sadly, around 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to improved water supply sources (WHO, 2010).

The results of the 2000 Population and Housing Census of Ghana indicate that about 40% of the households in the country have access to pipe-borne water and tankers provide water for 2% of the households. One-third of the households obtain their drinking water from wells and boreholes while 25% of the remaining households depend on natural sources such as springs, rain water, rivers, streams. lakes and dugout wells (Ghana Statistical Service, 2005). The urban-rural differentials arc worthy of note. While nearly 68% of the urban households have access to pipe-borne water, only 15% of the rural households draw water from the same source. The effect of water from unprotected sources on health is much more acute among rural residents than urban dwellers (Gaisie and Gyau-Boakye, 2007).

In Ghana rainfall is not scarce and several rivers do not cease to flow, but clean water is denied millions of people. According to the former Lands and natural resource minister (Hon. John Peter Amewu, 2018), Ghana is estimated to be importing drinking water by 2030 due to the activities of illegal mining popularly known as galamsey.

Water supply shortages and quality deterioration are among the problems which require greater attention and action. The Ghana water company limited since its inception has encountered numerous challenges such as insufficient budget allocation, high cost of treatment due to higher pollution and turbidity of sources water, connection challenges, Breaking of Pipes (Dwomoh and Luguterah, 2017)

1.1 Water Supply System In Ghana.

Fig 8 : showing the major Actors of water supply Policy in Ghana

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2.0 CAUSES OF WATER LOSS IN GHANA

According to the International Water Association, non-revenue water is water that has been produced and ‘lost’ before it reaches the target population.

Mathematically,

The Table below by the International Water Association clearly defines the various parameters as related to water balance.

Table 1: showing lWA Best practice.

• Unbilled authorized consumption: this is water that is used by customers known to the water system but is not billed such as water used for firefighting or free water distributed at standpipes.
• Apparent losses: these losses are encountered due to theft, slow or inaccurate meters and billing issues.
• Real losses: these are losses due to leakages either on the mains, service lines or during storage.

2.1 Types of Leakages with Pipelines in Ghana.

In Ghana, the real losses are the major cause of water loss in Ghana this is Mostly experience with the Communities where Connections are made to the Houses in Ghana with regards to water Network System. According to the IWA Water Loss Task Force Article Number 2, real losses cannot be completely eliminated. The Burst and Background Estimate (BABE) concept is employed in categorizing real losses into:

• Background leakages: these are small leaks that flow at low flowrates and are usually identified by chance.
• Reported breaks: these are noticeable bursts and as such are brought reported to water utility by the general public or the utility’s staff.
• Unreported Breaks: these are usually discovered by the leak detection team as part of their Leakage Control strategies.

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3.0 TEAM 1.GH -PROPOSALS FOR SMART PIPELINE

The Loss of Water in Ghana According research is mainly the Real Losses Category due to leakages either on the mains, service lines or during storage. Most of the water losses in Ghana are due to broken water pipeline caused by the load impact of Vehicle,and other loads . According to the Ghana water company, Pipes Laid within the domestic level by the locals must be Installed 2 meters below ground level.

Majority of the locals install their Pipelines closer to the Ground surface of About 0.3 meters which goes contratry to the installation requirements. These domestic Pipelines are connected through Untarred Road networks which are exposed with time due Soil erosion making the PVC Pipes Vulnerable to breakages and Leakages. Digging to cause changes of water Network in Ghana might be too Expensive with regard labour intensity which Rural dwellers cannot Afford.

The introduction of Team 1.GH proposed Smart Pipeline will be the way Forward to reduce water loss In Ghana.

Polyvinyl chloride is a thermoplastic material formed by combining ethylene and chlorine (this forms the vinyl chloride monomer). These vinyl chloride monomers are polymerized using addition polymerization to form the polyvinyl chloride resin.

Additives such as plasticizers are added to the polyvinyl chloride plastic during its processing to soften it. The plasticizer softens the polymer by reducing the glass transition temperature of the polyvinyl chloride polymer to below room temperature thus producing a flexible plastic. Plasticizers are low molecular weight polymers that increase the spacing between chains of crystalline polymer to promote its plasticity and flexibility. Intetions are made to Name The pipes as 360 flexi pipe

To make our polyvinyl chloride tough, the degree of branching in the polymeric material is reduced. During processing of the polyvinyl chloride, to incorporate some toughness, the material should be stretched to allow more of its elongated molecules to fit into a single layer. This gives the material a higher molecular density and makes it tougher.

In order to monitor leakages in the piping systems, flow meters can be installed at strategic points throughout the distribution networks, with each meter measuring the flow into a particular zone which has a well-defined boundary called a District Meter Area (DMA). Zones can be created one at a time and leaks detected and repaired before moving on to create another zone. Many leak detection techniques such as sub-dividing DMA’s into smaller areas by temporarily closing valves or by installing meters or the use of leak localisers.

To control Leakage using the Pillars

The figure below illustrates four pillars of leakage control for controlling these real unavoidable losses.

Fig 9 : showing the four pillars of leakage control

TEAM 1.GH

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