Drilling for sustained water supply, a move towards the success of Kilimo Kwanza

INITIATIVES which have been adopted by the Tanzania government towards ensuring an effective implementation of the program known as “Kilimo Kwanza” in the country may hit a snag if proper strategic plans to run with the programs are not put in place.
Despite of the government’s efforts to prioritize the development of the agricultural sector in the country, there are some important points which have to be taken into account in order to make the idea of Kilimo Kwanza more successful. Agricultural experts have noticed that, the mere supply of the agricultural implements and machineries such as tractors is not only a solution to end the problem of agriculture in the country. In addition of the introduction of such tractors, technical knowledge is required to run the machine, and because of ignorance a substantial number of them would not be used for the intended purpose for lacking operators. Apart from tractors, there are some important basic necessities which if followed, would make this more successful. There is one area which seems to have been forgotten in a bid to achieve the desired goals with this idea that aims at improving agricultural activities into yielding more foodstuffs in the country.

Modern types of water drilling machines, known as Rig machines are important for borehole drilling so as to get water for irrigation purposes, this is one way to promote Kilimo Kwanza in the country.


Although everyone in the country is now aware of the progresses undertaken so far by the government towards ensuring an effective implementation of Kilimo Kwanza, the individual participation in the program is an important aspect for the national development. Experts have noted that, the use of drilled water from boreholes, is an essential category for the development of the program. However, seemingly, it’s very unfortunate that campaigns for the issue does not advocate with much efforts the availability of water supply in most parts of the country. Unlike surface water supplies, drilling water is essential to boost the Kilimo Kwanza as there are some parts of the country which still depends largely on seasonal rains, while there are some which do not have water at all, therefore the availability of drilled water in boreholes is essential for use. Large areas, especially in reserve settlements are remotely located and far from urban centers. It’s from these regions whereby the greater percentage of the country’s population lives and most of whom entirely depends on agricultural activities. In order to make their agricultural activities more sustainable, coupled with the practice of the water irrigation schemes wherever there is low rainfall distribution levels, agricultural experts have seen the need to construct boreholes for irrigation in order to cater for the need of water scarcity. Therefore, it’s imperative to see that water is given the first priority in the manifestation of the Kilimo Kwanza program, and just like any other initiatives, boreholes are more appropriate to cater for the need in this case. Since most parts of the country especially in rural areas are not well distributed by rainy water, an additional knowledge to innovate other means such as having boreholes is required to supplement water for irrigation in those areas. It is therefore important to note that, for these people to survive, they have to boost their agricultural activities. But plenty of water is essential for irrigation in order to succeed. Because of their geographical locations, drilling water is the solution to make a successful implementation of the Kilimo Kwanza as water would be made available all the time. Water experts also says that, the government’s integration with private sector companies in various development projects, is one way to ensure an economic gain as a result of the participation of private sector companies. Their participation contributes a lot to the development of the country’s economy. Drilling companies owned by individuals, private institutions and civil societies must be associated into boosting up the Kilimo Kwanza by way of participating in the construction of boreholes. However, the government must take a keen interest to ensure the exercise yields more fruit into achieving the targeted goals.

Newly constructed building for TIGO headquarter is in final touches

THE newly constructed building which will be the headquarter for TIGO Mobile phone operating company in Tanzania is about to open its doors. The building which is located at Kijitonyama suburb along New Bagamoyo Road opposite National Museum village is known as “Derm Complex” is owned by a Dar es Salaam based Derm Electrics (T) company limited. The building with 10 floors stands in an area that covers 4,400 square meters, and will serve as the headquarter of the TIGO mobile phone operating company contracted for 20 years with a renewable 5 years terms. The project is estimated to have cost approximately Tsh. 3.5 billion. The presence of the building which is in final touches makes the Kijitonyama suburb a hub of business for its fine looking and the highest quality standards among other things, an aspect that hopefully raises the quality and the value of the surrounding. The project which is being undertaken by a locally registered Dar es Salaam based Civil and Building Contractors, Casco Construction Limited, started in January 2009. The building exhibits more contemporary architectural design plan of a modern style that looks so unique from the top to the bottom with a structured glazing on three sides.

A newly constructed building for TIGO new head office along New Bagamoyo Road opposite Makumbusho village in Dar es Salaam.

Glass materials have been used in the building for external wall finishing to specifically enhancing aesthetic beauty on its façade as well as on the elevations. The wall cladding looks bluish if viewed from a far distance. Both sides of the building is decorated by glass curtail wall and these have been fixed in aluminum frames and the work was done by a Dar es Salaam based Glass Works Limited. The supervision of the construction details of the building was done by a locally registered architect known as Y & P Architect Ltd based in Dar es Salaam. Besides supervision, the firm designed the whole building including interior design work. Detailing the overall building project, the architects says that, the elaboration of the interior design concepts were adopted to express the status of the compound and its location and maximizing space. This was influenced by the need to maximize the available thin space while creating an interesting and unique development project. In all this, costs were the main consideration at the same time maintaining a pleasant up-market aesthetically beautiful scenery conforming to its strategic location.

Supplying modern quality building materials

QUALITY assurance in building materials has now become the issue of the great significance in construction industry and that is why key stakeholders within the sector have taken a keen interest on the issue to ensure that, construction sector is supplied with genuine and high quality products that not only satisfies customers’ demand, but are safe for use. In view of this, both manufacturers and suppliers of building products have to ensure that they use applied technology, knowledge and experience they have gathered so as to spruce up the sector and achieve their success. Such one company which has adhered to quality specifications is a Dar es Salaam based Shamo Industries and Construction Company which has a long history of development since its establishment almost four decades ago. The company has a good success dating back from the year 1972 when it commenced business and has put down the record of good performance in its products it mainly engaged with. The firm deals in the manufacture and supply of aluminium frames, interlocking paving blocks, roof tiles, PVC windows and doors industries. Shamo Industries and Construction company was originally established in 1972 in Mogadishu-Somalia with the purpose of manufacturing construction materials such as sanitary ware and various concrete products that are made up of cement product. From Somalia, the company extended its production services to Sharjan in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) and opened a plant specifically for the PVC products (Polyvinyl Chloride), aluminum frames doors and windows, curtain wall and fatial glazing followed later.

Paving blocks manufactured by Shamo Industries & Construction company at a company’s factory in Mbezi industrial complex on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam city.

Twenty years later (that is in 1992), the company opened a Tanzanian chapter and was officially incorporated to run its businesses in the various lines of its specialization. Products included the sale of high quality paving blocks, roof tiles and concrete products.
The company started by opening up a showroom and an assembly shop in Upanga in Dar es Salaam basing their main factory at Kiwalani on the outskirts of the Dar es Salaam city centre. In 1996, the firm opened its main business office at Mbezi beach industrial area also on the outskirts of the city. The objective was to avail to the public high quality building materials at an affordable price says the company’s Managing Director Mr. Said .A. Shamo. According to him, his firm offers employment and above all it’s determined to become a key player in the manufacturing and sale of construction materials in Tanzania. Shamo Industries Limited has a long history of a good success dating back from 1972 when it commenced business in Tanzania, The company’s management is headed by the ever-innovative and customer friendly, staff of the company who are tuned and committed at providing customer care with the best quality products and services. With the invaluable 38 years of hard work and continuous investments and research in latest technology and skilled manpower, the firm has traveled a long and rewarding path and in the process, it has registered a steady growth.

Roofing tiles manufactured by Shamo Industries & Construction Ltd.

For the last two decades, the company has witnessed tremendous pace and boom in infrastructure development in the construction sector which has assumed a key centre stage that sparks a positive impact to the company’s socio-economic development. Under the years of its operations in the country, the company has acquired an admirable track record of rendering satisfactory services to their customers on demand. Apart from being the leading manufacturer of concrete products, the company is also importing items for building purposes like tiles and sanitary ware. Apart from concrete materials, Shamo Industries Ltd proud itself for being the best provider of architectural aluminum doors, windows and office partitions, the company has laid down a success story in its endeavors of their manufacturing to international quality standards. The firm also supplies fixing suspended ceiling. Shamo Industries Limited has a unique history in Tanzania for the company’s technicians were the ones who prepared the mausoleum in which the body of the late father of the nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was temporarily preserved during the last paying respect ceremonies at the national stadium in Dar es Salaam when he died in October 1999.

Ensuring expertise in borehole drilling and water treatment technology

Do you know what are the main considerations which are taken into account before the actual ground drilling work starts? According to geologists, a detailed geophysical and hydro geological ground water survey is an important aspect to see if the land intended for drilling has sufficient water in the ground. How to known the presence of water in the ground, this is determined through Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES), seasimic method, magnetic survey, electrical profiling. These are the common basic methods used to determine the availability of underground water. The availability of drilling tools and their accessories is another aspect to be noted so as in order to successfully manage the drilling work. All these cannot be run smoothly without professionalism. Knowledge is basically required to accomplish the intended task. It is sometimes complained by water users that, some drilled water from the borehole tastes salty, but water experts says that this is due to the presence of samples of chlorine minerals found on the ground. This is avoided by unwanted water bearing formation which is sealed off while drilling is taking place anywhere, and if such precautionary method is not applied, then drilled water once passes through such rocks are contaminated with such minerals, thus causing a salty taste.
Geologists describes drilling borehole as a unique exercise that is being practiced with extra care in order to get water from the ground. But one point to note is that, before drilling takes place, geologists have to overlook if the area intended for drilling is supplied with enough water compared to the normal operational costs to be incurred. But geologists says that, not all ground surfaces are suitable for drilling as water might be found in deep water tables containing high percentage rate of chlorine minerals that gives a salty taste of the drilled water. Apart from that, drilling work might go deeper and deeper to about 400 meters away from the ground and over, thus rendering the work of drilling to become so expensive to afford for ordinary persons and the society in general.

Laying of the underground water pipes.

The ground drilling work which sometimes might go up to 600 meters deep, is also said to be too expensive for the government to afford. As this is too costly, therefore the government fails to afford the expenses met prior to the start of drilling boreholes. The only option left for the government is to afford wherever the majority of the people might be in need of such a commodity. Study has shown that, due to the expensiveness which occurs for ground drilling, and coupled with the availability of the technology used, which is necessitated by use of modern machines, most governments especially of the developing nations whose half of their national budgets entirely depends on foreign aid have totally failed to put much efforts on the use of ground drilling technology for their country’s development.

What is a borehole?

Borehole is the generalized term for any narrow shaft drilled in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water or other liquid (such as petroleum) or gases (such as natural gas). Also a borehole might be constructed as part of a geotechnical investigation or environmental site assessment, for mineral exploration, or as a pilot hole for installing piers or underground utilities. Boreholes used as water wells are described in the engineering and environmental consulting fields, the term is used to collectively describe all of the various types of holes drilled as part of a geotechnical investigation or environmental site assessment. This includes boreholes advanced to collect soil samples, water samples or rock cores. Samples collected from boreholes are often tested in a laboratory to determine their physical properties, or to assess levels of various chemical constituents or contaminants. Typically, a borehole used as a well is completed by installing a vertical pipe (casing) and well screen to keep the borehole from caving. This also helps prevent surface contaminants from entering the borehole and protects any installed pump from drawing in sand and sediment. When completed in this manner the borehole is then more commonly called a well: whether it is a water well, oil well or natural gas extraction well.

The standards of ground water drilling technology

The search for more water here in Tanzania is more demanded and necessary than ever before. For a sustained water source and the drilling technology, people want piped supplies or from tube well ends. Living standards are rising and people especially those living in towns are demanding more sophisticated arrangements. Reliable water sources and supplies are required to enable such sanitary systems to work properly. Rural communities on their part require more reliable underground water supply systems as surface water sources are much more subject to seasonal fluctuations. Over the period of several centuries, water supply systems have developed from crude technology to a number of fairly sophisticated technologies. In the 1950s, the down hole hammer drilling method was introduced. The efficiency of this proved to be remarkable even in hard rock formation may now be drilled in fraction of the time previously required. Thus the technologies of reaching the ground water ways, methods such as the simple digging of well with hard tools to the sophisticated drilling machines (drilling rigs) capable of making a tube well hundreds of meters deep even in hard rock formations. Drilling is more appropriate for larger diameter tube well designed for the withdrawal of considerable amount of water at greater depths or for tapping aquifers that are overlaid by hard rocks or similar formations.
However, it requires complicated equipment and considerable knowledge and experience. It is mostly done in special drills says a geologist with a Dar es Salaam based Make Engineering and Water Works Ltd, a company specializing in drilling borehole. The overall objectives of the company is to develop sustainable and safe water sources through efficient means and at cost effective charges. The objectives is in line with the national objective of alleviating poverty and improving the health of the people through the provision of clean, safe and adequate water supply to rural and urban population. According to an expert, to ensure an efficient drilling work, preliminary survey is first conducted in order to establish a number of things.
This includes the location of the area required for drilling, the surrounding areas and the proximity to things like toilets and underground oil pipes. Then it follows the actual hydro-geological survey to determine the depth to which drilling would be done through the rock formations. This depth would vary from 50 meters to several hundreds meters. Primarily the types of rock formations determines the choice of equipment to be used in the drilling work. The depth of which the water level is expected to be struck has also a strong bearing on deciding which equipment is to be used. The company being among the leading and specialized body in the drilling work in Tanzania, has a variety of equipment ranging from PAT drilling rig machines with a capacity of up to 300 meters deep and over of drilling capability.

Striving for excellence in best products and services

MODERN Construction materials such as aluminum doors and windows, quality toughened glass products, use of stainless balustrade on staircases and sun breakers, structural glazing, curtain walling, cladding and many others, are becoming an integral part in construction industry today. Construction in modern buildings cannot be done without the use of these important building materials and their fixtures as the technologies in building all over the world is rapidly changing and is determined by growing innovations of building materials. In choosing the right kind of the above mentioned building products, one has to make own choice of the products and or services to suit his/her customer’s demand wherever appropriate. But you can be rest assured of the genuine and quality products from a Dar es Salaam based Glass Works company Limited. The company has a long history of construction business specializing in three categories of products and services that includes Architectural aluminum and glass products, Interior design products (windows and door systems) and Building glass.

The use of glasses have become common in most construction of a modern state-of-the-art building.
The company has been doing this since its establishment in 1979. The company is also certified and registered by the Contractors Registration Board (CRB) as Specialist Contractor Class ONE. It first began to sell louvers glass. After expanding, it became a biggest and leading company dealing with fabrication of aluminum doors and windows and glass facade in Tanzania. Over the years the company has played a major role in changing not only the skyline of the city of Dar es Salaam, but also almost the whole country in the same sector of designing, manufacturing and installation. It’s the main supplier of various types of glass of different colors in the country. Furthermore, it has the most modern workshop for fabrication equipped with the latest technologies in terms of machines where by most of its projects are conducted. For that matter, it employs approximately 200 local and foreign workers.

Structured glazing is what matters nowadays. Tall buildings shines from their top.

Apart from providing glazing solutions, the company also executes turnkey projects ranging from design to manufacture and installation, giving assistance in designing elevation layout and facades. Partitioning systems and interior design services, providing designing and drawings, providing special products and any other service required in selecting the products. The company promotes the use of aluminium in trendy combination with glass thus creating aesthetic beauty for the end user. This is a conscious effort on the company’s part to shift from the use of wood which has resulted to greater environmental degradation. When it comes to aluminium balustrades, the company offers a wide range of design possibilities to suit and sometimes exceed individual taste. They add functional beauty to your home while keeping your loved ones safe. An important aspect about Aluminum windows is that they have always been recognized for their durability and ease of maintenance, no painting is done just a wipe over with a damp cloth usually restores them to as new condition. In the next stage of growing, Dar es Salaam Glass Works Ltd is installing a Toughening and Laminations plans to serve the needs of the architects and contractors, the move which will ensure the safety aspects of glass in the glass revolution.

PLEASE ENJOY SOME HOMOURS

I have thought I should give you this piece of humour to make you laugh a little.


Only birds ought to fly, should anything else? In short, I have always believed that I should never be inside an aeroplane unless it is on the ground, its handbrake firmly on and its engine dead. I have never trusted my life to the driver called the pilot. In most cases people have to be carried into its belly half dead and not filled with fear but with a toxic drinks which is called a Dixie. People have to be in that state of mind because they cannot be sure that the driver called pilot has not consumed an illicit smokable before flying. During the past, in early sixties, not every individual carrying a team of jiggers in their toes and tapeworms in their tummies could get into the belly of a plane. You had to be a special daughter or son of the land of the most highly respected man in the country to go to the places like in Europe, America or in far East. You might think who are they. It did however occurred, no matter that you were just flying to a neighbouring country they still said: "The son of the shores of the most highly respected guy of the land has gone overseas in an aeroplane". Any plane might have problems similar to those faced cars, like those always starts coughing and stalling at the wrong time and place. I first got into the belly of a plane almost fifteen years ago when traveling to India to pursue my Computer studies
My trip to India that time was not different. When the people learned that a poor son of their house was going to the land of Asians, the whole village of my ancestral home came to see me off. It was as if they were seeing me for the last time. They touched me as if I were a new creation, and all of a sudden they would find lots of wisdom to impart to me. The grandmothers brought boiled arrow roots and said: "Son of Onyango, I know Asians will make you eat as little as they do. They will starve you to death. A wise man carries something for himself when going on a journey. Eat these on your way." As though the clan paid my fare. Uncle Ojwan’g came in and said: "Son of my sister, I saw Asians before you were born and so listen to this mouth that is speaking. We are not sending you overseas to get yourself an Asian wife. We are sending you there to read books on behalf of the Onyango’s Clan." Ojwan’g said as though the Onyango’s clan was paid for my plane ticket and accommodation overseas.
However, my advice is that you don’t go to the toilet during the flight. When you want to use the toilet, you have to open the door and step onto the air and then into the closet. If you make a false move, you fall down. And it will be said that the Son of the Onyango’s Clan died while going to the toilet in the air".
That is probably why my mother, Anne, presented me before the priest called Mchungaji Paulo and fell at his feet. She told him: "Bless him, father. Bless him with the holy water. Bless him so that he will not be swallowed by the belly of the big bird the way Jonah was swallowed by the whale as per the bible description.
May he not be vomited from the belly of the bird the way Jonah was vomited by the whale. Bless him, father, so that when he gets to the land of Asians his eyes do not see what the devil would like him to see. Keep his legs away from the dens of the devil." The Italian priest with a peeling nose grabbed a container full of "holy water" and splashed me with it as he mumbled words in Latin. I could only imagine that he was telling any evil spirits to keep off my flight or face the wrath of the Almighty who had inspired the author of that revered tongue. Let me say that each time I get into the belly of a plane, I imagine that the person sitting next to me is a relative of Osama bin Laden. I imagine that the pilot is suffering from the kind of hangover that makes a person see six people in the place of one. I could suffer a heart attack when I remember that there is a shortage of mechanics and spare parts up in the clouds, and that there is no service station over there. That is why I have to be carried into the plane half dead.

The standards of ground water drilling technology

The search for more water here in Tanzania is more demanded and necessary than ever before. For a sustained water source and the drilling technology, people want piped supplies or from tube well ends. Living standards are rising and people especially those living in towns are demanding more sophisticated arrangements. Reliable water sources and supplies are required to enable such sanitary systems to work properly. Rural communities on their part require more reliable underground water supply systems as surface water sources are much more subject to seasonal fluctuations. Over the period of several centuries, water supply systems have developed from crude technology to a number of fairly sophisticated technologies. In the 1950s, the down hole hammer drilling method was introduced. The efficiency of this proved to be remarkable even in hard rock formation may now be drilled in fraction of the time previously required. Thus the technologies of reaching the ground water ways, methods such as the simple digging of well with hard tools to the sophisticated drilling machines (drilling rigs) capable of making a tube well hundreds of meters deep even in hard rock formations. Drilling is more appropriate for larger diameter tube well designed for the withdrawal of considerable amount of water at greater depths or for tapping aquifers that are overlaid by hard rocks or similar formations. However, it requires complicated equipment and considerable knowledge and experience. It is mostly done in special drills says a geologist with the Drilling and Dam Construction Agency, a company specializing in drilling borehole. The overall objectives of the company is to develop sustainable and safe water sources through efficient means and at cost effective charges. The objectives is in line with the national objective of alleviating poverty and improving the health of the people through the provision of clean, safe and adequate water supply to rural and urban population. According to an expert, to ensure an efficient drilling work, preliminary survey is first conducted in order to establish a number of things. This includes the location of the area required for drilling, the surrounding areas and the proximity to things like toilets and underground oil pipes. Then it follows the actual hydro-geological survey to determine the depth to which drilling would be done through the rock formations. This depth would vary from 50 meters to several hundreds meters. Primarily the types of rock formations determines the choice of equipment to be used in the drilling work. The depth of which the water level is expected to be struck has also a strong bearing on deciding which equipment is to be used. The company being among the leading and specialized body in the drilling work in Tanzania, has a variety of equipment ranging from PAT drilling rig machines with a capacity of up to 300 meters deep and over of drilling capability.

Water purification technology ensures safe water

Have you ever wondered how water that falls as rain or comes from the ground is purified and delivered to your home or business for consumption? In Tanzania like anywhere else where ground drilling technology is being practiced, it all happens at the tens of thousands of public water purification plants where raw water is treated to remove impurities before being piped to end users through an extensive distribution network. Once water is drilled from the ground, is collected and reserved in large containers before use. It has to be purified for the first stage of its treatment. “This is called water purification” says a water expert from the Drilling and Dam Construction Agency (DDCA). According to him, this is a process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from raw water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose. Most water is purified for human consumption (drinking water), but water can be treated for a variety of other uses. The purification technology used depends on the specific treatment requirements, the raw water source and the contaminants present may also be designed for a variety of other purposes, including meeting the requirements of medical, pharmacology, chemical and industrial applications. In general the methods used include physical processes such as filtration and sedimentation, biological processes such as slow sand filters or activated sludge, chemical processes such as flocculation and chlorination and the use of electromagnetic radiation such as ultra-violet light. Water is found in nature, but pure water is not. Contaminants, such as minerals, toxic metals and suspended organic particles, enter the water through contact with air, rain and runoff. Purified water is necessary to sustain life, food production and recreational water use, and to prevent life-threatening illnesses, such as acute diarrhea, parasitic diseases and cholera. Water also must be cleaned to meet the requirements of medical, pharmacological, chemical and industrial applications for these business sectors to survive.
Locally trained health officials have all the time insists water users to boil it before use, this is also another water treatment method. The boiling process kills waterborne germs that might be found in it, and if left without being treated are likely to cause infections such as diarrhea or cholera diseases. The purification process of water may reduce the concentration of a particular matter including suspended particles, parasites, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, and a range of dissolved and particular material derived from the surfaces that water may have made contact with after falling as rain. Water purification can effectively remove a wide range of contaminants, including aquatic pathogens, heavy metals, toxic chemicals and pesticides. A number of elective treatment processes also address drinking water aesthetics by eliminating objectionable smells and tastes, and improving appearance.
Once raw water from surface and groundwater supplies enters the purification plant, mechanical and chemical treatment processes are used, depending on the scale of the plant, contaminants present and intended use of the finished water.
The standards for drinking water quality are typically set by governments or by international standards. These standards will typically set minimum and maximum concentrations of contaminants for the use that is to be made of the water. It is not possible to tell whether water is of an appropriate quality by visual examination. Simple procedures such as boiling or the use of a household activated carbon filter are not sufficient for treating all the possible contaminants that may be present in water from an unknown source. According to a 2007 World Health Organization report, 1.1 billion people lack access to an improved drinking water supply, 88 percent of the 4 billion annual cases of diarrhea disease are attributed to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation and hygiene, and 1.8 million people die from diarrhea diseases each year. The WHO estimates that 94 percent of these diarrhea cases are preventable through modifications to the environment, including access to safe water. Simple techniques for treating water at home, such as chlorination, filters, and solar disinfection, and storing it in safe containers could save a huge number of lives each year. Worldwide, the lack of access to water treated at purification plants or water treated by any means for that matter presents one of the largest public health challenges today. Reducing deaths from waterborne diseases is a major public health goal in developing countries.
Statistics shows that, some 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water, and about 6,000 people a day die from water-related illnesses. Many organizations are working to help developing nations identify sustainable clean water solutions, including the drilling of wells.

Know various natures of the sources of water

Groundwater: The water emerging from some deep ground water may have fallen as rain many tens, hundreds, thousands or in some cases millions of years ago. Soil and rock layers naturally filter the ground water to a high degree of clarity before the treatment plant. Such water may emerge as springs, artesian springs, or may be extracted from boreholes or wells. Deep ground water is generally of very high bacteriological quality (i.e., pathogenic bacteria or the pathogenic protozoa are typically absent), but the water typically is rich in dissolved solids, especially carbonates and sulfates of calcium and magnesium. Depending on the strata through which the water has flowed, other ions may also be present including chloride, and bicarbonate. There may be a requirement to reduce the iron or manganese content of this water to make it pleasant for drinking, cooking, and laundry use. Disinfection may also be required. Where groundwater recharge is practiced; a process in which river water is injected into an aquifer to store the water in times of plenty so that it is available in times of drought; it is equivalent to lowland surface waters for treatment purposes.

Upland lakes and reservoirs: Typically located in the headwaters of river systems, upland reservoirs are usually sited above any human habitation and may be surrounded by a protective zone to restrict the opportunities for contamination. Bacteria and pathogen levels are usually low, but some bacteria, protozoa or algae will be present. Where uplands are forested or peaty, humic acids can colour the water. Many upland sources have low pressure which require adjustment.

Rivers, canals and low land reservoirs: Low land surface waters will have a significant bacterial load and may also contain algae, suspended solids and a variety of dissolved constituents. Atmospheric water generation is a new technology that can provide high quality drinking water by extracting water from the air by cooling the air and thus condensing water vapor. Rainwater harvesting or fog collection which collects water from the atmosphere can be used especially in areas with significant dry seasons and in areas which experience fog even when there is little rain. Desalination of seawater by distillation or reverse osmosis.
Pre-treatment

Pumping and containment: The majority of water must be pumped from its source or directed into pipes or holding tanks. To avoid adding contaminants to the water, this physical infrastructure must be made from appropriate materials and constructed so that accidental contamination does not occur.

Screening: The first step in purifying surface water is to remove large debris such as sticks, leaves, trash and other large particles which may interfere with subsequent purification steps. Most deep groundwater does not need screening before other purification steps.

Storage: Water from rivers may also be stored in bank side reservoirs for periods between a few days and many months to allow natural biological purification to take place. This is especially important if treatment is by slow sand filters.