CHALLENGE: Replacing the water tank

This past week has been focused on trying to replace the water tank in Chongwe. The current tank was leaking and the loss of water became more and more of a problem. One of the first hurdles was to determine the size of the tank since there were no visible indications as to how big the tank was. Since it is on top of a metal tower almost 30 feet (9 meters) up in the air there are not too many volunteers to go up there and measure it. After measuring the heights of the rings on the tank and the size of the platform we determined that it is about a 7,500 liter tank.

So we bought a new tank this past Wednesday and got it transported to Chongwe on Thursday. On Friday we bought some ropes and other tools so that on Saturday with the help of about 10 guys we would try to put the new tank in place. Many of the helpers were there when the first water tank was installed a couple of years ago and under the leadership of James and Lucky a plan of attack was put together.

The first step was to bring the old tank down in a controlled fashion since we want to use the tank again for future camps. James took it on him to climb the tower and connect the ropes.

Ropes were tied to the tank and it was brought down relatively quickly although not as controlled as we had hoped. Once the tank tipped, one of the ropes snapped on the edge of the platform and the tank made a hard landing but it is still in good usable condition with some patching.

After that we found out that we had all pieces needed for the connections to the new tank except for one, a 1 1/2 inch female-female connector. With Lucky we went to Chongwe in the hope to find one there but we ended up having to go to Lusaka to buy this one missing part, costing less than $3 but we needed it. In the meantime Humphrey was on his way to Chongwe as well with 2 connectors for the water pipers that we had cut from the old tank so that we could hook up the water lines again once the tank would be installed.

After we had fitted the new connections a plan was put together as to how to get the new tank up onto the tower and platform. Different options were discussed and then James and Lucky agreed on the approach to take. And with even the help of some of the kids from the homes the tank was lifted up but as it turned out, we got stuck just under the platform and had no means to get it up unto the platform. Not completely unexpected, gravity was working against us and made it impossible without other equipment to get the tank unto the platform.

 

 

So after weighing the options, we decided to call off our efforts for the day and look for other options for getting the tank onto the tower and platform. It is better to get some "experts" involved and make sure that the tank gets up there in one piece than to keep trying with the risk of damaging the tank.

 

Unfortunately, the homes in Chongwe have no running water in the homes for now but they have water from the poultry farm. We use a big hose and a tap so that they can get water in buckets, containers, etc. for all the chores in the homes and the gardens. There is no shortage of water, it just doesn't come out of the taps as it usually does. Early this coming week we hope to find the answer to our challenge of getting the new tank up onto the tower and platform in one piece and being able to provide the homes with running water again.

 

Anyone who has an idea on how to do this, please let me know by commenting to this post. Hiring a crane is one, but probably an expensive one. So we're looking for other options with hiring a crane as our last resort.