NH Business -- Back to the wells: NH engineers plan return trip to Uganda for water project

Mike Cote, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·3 min read

Oct. 16—SOME WELL FAILURES in rural Uganda are frustrating New Hampshire engineers working to bring clean water there.

Could be problems in the pipeline.

It's been nearly three years since New Hampshire members of Engineers Without Borders USA last traveled to Gwase, Uganda, where the volunteers began installing six drinking water wells for local villagers in 2018.

While they've been able to work on three new well projects remotely since then with help from the nonprofit's Uganda office, the latest wells have failed repeatedly.

Jeff Benway, who has made the trek to Uganda three times, hopes to pinpoint the problem when the group returns for a monitoring trip early next year.

"It's been a headache. This is worse than we've ever had. I don't know why," Benway said last week.

He suspects the problem has something to do with the pandemic supply chain. The stainless steel used for piping in the hand-pump wells might be something less than the SAE 304 industry standard — cheap stuff that quickly corrodes.

A well the group installed remotely in December with the help of their Uganda counterparts failed within a week. The one they completed in January lasted about three weeks.

The wells have failed four times now since the first of the year. The pipes leak and crack.

"The pumps rely on having water in the pipes all the time. If you lose that, it's really hard to get them started again," said Benway, a retaining wall engineer with SFC Engineering in Windham.

For the engineers, frustration is mounting over how to keep wells operating that cost $9,000 to $10,000 for drilling costs alone. For village residents, it means losing a newfound luxury.

"These poor villages, they get water for a week, and then there's a month or two when they don't have any," said Benway, who said the group may try using PVC pipe instead. "I'd like to take a piece of that stainless steel and run it to a lab."

Travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have kept the New Hampshire engineers stateside these past three years. During a trip early next year, the group will examine the wells and make sure they are functioning properly.

On Monday, the group is hosting a fundraiser at 900 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza in Manchester to help raise money for the project. From 5 to 9 p.m., a portion of all sales at the restaurant from customers who mention Engineers Without Borders will be donated to the New Hampshire chapter. There will also be a 50/50 raffle that night. (Visit ewbnh.org or facebook.com/ewbnh for more information.)

While the presence of an Engineers Without Borders office in Uganda has enabled the New Hampshire chapter to continue working on the project remotely, doing so means spending an additional $2,000 on implementation projects to cover the office's expenses. Engineers Without Borders relies on grants and corporate donations.

"They are now our eyes and ears on the ground because we couldn't travel," Benway said. "It's not our preference. We like to travel. It's just like playing the phone with a can. It may get lost in translation. It makes it tough."

The New Hampshire professional chapter, which has been collaborating with a student chapter at the University of New Hampshire, was formed in 2015. Since 2016, 11 members have traveled to Uganda, some more than once, over four trips to the African nation.

Cara Bove, an engineer with Haley & Aldrich Inc. in Bedford who has been promoting the fundraiser, said the group plans to install additional wells.

"We're hoping to partner with another three villages in the next year or so," she said.

Mike Cote is senior editor for news and business. Contact him at mcote@unionleader.com or (603) 206-7724.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not represent the views and opinions of the sponsor, its members and affiliates.