Andrea Telmo has a B.S. in Earth Resources Engineering from the University of California-Berkeley. Andrea obtained her M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Tech in August, 2002. For her Peace Corps assignment, Andrea was assigned to the village of Gouansolo (Mali) where she served as a water/sanitation engineer from 1999-2001. Her PC service primarily consisted of providing technical assistance and transfer technology and skills in the areas of well construction and the repair of hand dug wells in order to improve the village’s water supply.

The title of her research report is “A Water Supply and Sanitation Study of the Village of Gouansolo in Mali, West Africa.” When this study was conducted, the village had a population of 836 and was comprised of 46 households with an average household size of 18 persons. There were 38 water sources in the village. The two types of water supply technologies present were hand dug wells and borehole pumps. Well depths ranged from 5.2 to 9.0 meters. Twenty-seven of the 38 water sources had water available year round, and all households had access to a water source with year round availability. The distance traveled to collect water ranged from 3 to 260 meters and the average distance traveled was 44 meters. Although all households had reasonable access to a water supply, not all households collected water from an improved source. The only improved water supply technologies in the village were two borehole pumps. Simple pit latrines were the only type of sanitation facilities present in the village and they are considered to be improved sanitation technologies. The findings of this study determined that 48% of the households used improved water supplies (i.e., borehole pumps) and 91% used improved sanitation facilities (i.e., simple pit latrines).

The most common water supply problems reported were erosion at the top and bottom of traditional hand dug wells and seasonal availability of water in these wells. The most common sanitation problem reported was deterioration of latrine floors. It was proposed that the most appropriate improved water supply and sanitation technologies to use in the village are protected hand dug wells and simple pit latrines. The cost of cement to construct a 9-meter protected hand dug well was estimated to be $260 U.S., which exceeds Mali’s gross national income per capita, $240 U.S. The cost of cement to construct a simple pit latrine was estimated to be $10 U.S. These estimates did not include the costs of other materials, tools, equipment, labor, and operation and maintenance (O&M).

Research

• A Water Supply and Sanitation Study of the Village of Gouansolo in MaliI, West Africa; Andrea Telmo, August 2002;