Construction Progress and Collecting Water Samples

We had a day of relaxation on Wednesday sight-seeing with the Bulls, but Thursday, once they left MGU, we went straight back to work. We churned out another version of the questionnaire, updating it based on our first three interviews and feedback from the Bulls, Sylas, and our peers at Brown. Before continuing with our survey, we want to make sure we are asking thorough questions in a clear and concise manner and getting all the information we’ll need in the future to track our impact and strengthen our efforts to expand. With this goal in mind, on Friday, we talked to Professor Sukumana at MGU’s Department of Behavioral Sciences. He encouraged us to include scaled questions about the villagers’ quality of life in an effort to get more continuous and in-depth data. After hearing his advice, we trooped back to our office in SES and, with the help of Sylas, revised the survey one more time.

We woke up early Saturday morning to attend the flag-raising ceremony in honor of Indian Independence Day; the vice-chancellor, along with MGU’s guards, raised the flag as the Indian national anthem played. Afterwards, the guards helped serve breakfast: dosa, chicken curry, a sweet dessert, and milky chai.

The flag-raising ceremony at MGU

Our plan for the afternoon was to go to Achinakom to collect water samples around the village from sources that people used for bathing, washing eating vessels, drinking, and cooking. We therefore spent most of the morning in the Environmental Microbiology lab with one of the PhD. students, preparing test tubes for E. Coli testing and sterilizing containers. On our way to Achinakom, we stopped to talk to a water truck vendor, hoping to get a sample of his water to test. However, water trucks only provide to villagers in the dry season and currently sell water to the large hotels in the area, so we couldn’t attain a sample. We did learn that they purchase their water from a well in Kottayam.

A water truck

Upon arriving in Achinakom, we stopped by the construction site to monitor the progress that has been made. Construction has been delayed due to the amount of water that has been seeping into the tank, which is preventing the concrete from setting properly; the heavy rainfall the area received Friday night aggravated the situation. The mason and his workers have tried plastering and adding an extra layer of cement in the spots through which water is entering to no avail. The next solution they will attempt is draining the two neighboring canals in an effort to slow the seepage enough for the concrete to harden and the reinforced concrete to be layered on top. Hopefully, when we come back to the site on Tuesday, we will join the workers and villagers in applying the RCC.

Water keeps seeping into the canal, causing delays

We then walked through the village, moving westward, collecting water samples; gathering the samples was informative, as we saw firsthand the various water sources and how hygiene was being upheld or compromised on both a community and individual level. For example, we saw some outhouses built directly next to canals, which are used primarily for washing and bathing. 

We also noted the different levels of caution and cleanliness with which people treated their water. All three permanent rainwater harvesting systems we got water from were above-ground tanks subsidized by World Vision, a non-profit that had worked in the area, and were built approximately two years ago, but they were being maintained with ranging levels of diligence. The first one we stopped at had moss and mold growing on top of it and appeared to have tiny cracks; the catchment surface, the roof of the house, was dirty and also covered in moss. The tap was not that high off the ground, so only short basins could fit under it, and the surrounding area was not cleared away. Nevertheless, we were pleased to learn that that the family cleaned the tank annually and claimed to properly utilize the first flush system. The second system, shared by five families, appeared to be better maintained, and the third system featured a unique first flush and well-kept area for a bucket to be placed underneath the tap.

A permanent rainwater harvesting tank and the catchment surface

An above-ground rainwater harvesting system, gutter system, and first flush

We also collected water from three temporary rainwater harvesting structures. All were built comparably with some kind of tarp affixed to posts at the corners so water would run off the tarp into a bucket, though they had slight differences (one family, for example, had weighted down the center of the edge of the tarp with a stick and bottle). The tarps had accumulated varying degrees of dirt and dust; one family had put a cloth over the bucket to filter out the debris. We will see how the samples vary in our laboratory analysis.

Collecting water from a temporary rainwater harvesting system

Temporary system's tarp and bucket: a cloth is being used to filter out dust and dirt

We obtained a sample from the village well, which is 20 feet deep and looked relatively clean and clear, especially compared to some of the wells we saw on the properties of individual households. We also got water from a well that is located in a canal and has a built-in filtration system using river sand. It filters groundwater that seeps in through the bottom and also stores rainwater.

Well with built-in filtration system in canal

Villagers use water from the aforementioned sources primary for drinking and cooking, but we also acquired water from a pond and a large canal. Four families use the small pond for bathing and washing eating vessels. Plants were growing in it and the water looked cloudy and mucky, which was, according to one family who uses it, due to Friday’s rainfall and a marked change from its usual, clear appearance. The people of the village use the canals solely for bathing purposes. Near our collection site in the canal, water used for irrigation of the rice paddies was being pumped into it. Eli while reaching to get a sample, fell into the waist-deep water. He climbed out, almost losing his flip-flops in the deep silt and voicing his desire to take a shower.

We returned to the guesthouse with our ten samples and plan to start our analysis in the morning. We stopped for dinner on the way; over the past two weeks, we have gradually been getting to know the names of everything that we’ve been eating. We no longer have to pester Sylas with questions about every item on the menu—only occasional ones.