About Us

          We are a senior thesis capstone team consisting of systems, mechanical and civil engineers from the University of Virginia (UVA) working as part of the Water and Health in Limpopo (WHIL) project at UVA.  This summer we will be traveling to Limpopo Province, South Africa from June 21st to August 7th to build a sustainable slow-sand water filter. Team members traveling to Limpopo will be Locke Bell, James Comfort, Ryan Oley, Sid Pailla, Daniel Saboe, and Adam Tiller.  The goals of our project are to troubleshoot the existing slow sand filter in the village of Tshapasha and begin the construction of a new slow sand filter in the neighboring village of Tshibvumo.  Our service project is sponsored primarily by the Jefferson Public Citizens program at UVa as well as the Systems & Information Engineering department at UVa and the Charlottesville Rotary Club.

BACKGROUND, PROBLEM & SIGNIFICANCE

           Globally, unsafe water and sanitation practices contribute to over two million annual deaths, mostly in children under the age of five.  The mortality rate for this age group in Africa is nearly double that of any other World Health Organization region (WHO, 2010).  Water-borne illnesses that cause these deaths, such as diarrhea, can be reduced by providing access to clean water (Esrey et al., 1991).  In addition to risks involved with consuming unclean water, futher health burdens are placed on people in these regions by having to carry water from natural sources and wells to their homes over extended distances.

          Tshapasha and Tshibvumo are adjacent villages in the South African province of Limpopo that currently lack regular access to clean drinking water.  Although there is a municipal water system currently in place, the system is unreliable and does not deliver an adequate amount of clean water for the villages.  Villagers typically walk more than one km on average to obtain water that is not of good quality.  Due to unsanitary drinking water, villagers are suffering from water-borne diseases, most notably childhood diarrhea.  the current municipal system in the villages does not deliver an adequate amount of water for the local residents.  In addition to the municipal system, a slow sand filter was installed by the 2010 WHIL team.  However, this slow sand filter is not yet fully operational. 

2011 GOALS

• To work with students from UNIVEN in South Africa to troubleshoot last year's design in the village of Tshapasha so that it can become fully functional
• To evaluate alternatives for a water supply system in the neighboring village of Tshibvumo
• To design, specify, and develop the implementation plan for the Tshibvumo water supply system
• To work with UNIVEN students to build the filtration component of the water supply system in Tshibvumo from June-August 2011