-
DE3262
Assessment of water requirement problem of North
part of Sri Lanka and methods could be
implemented to overcome water crisis
By
Index No. Name
100235B T. Kankeyan
100219F S. Jeyatharsine
100333A A. Manorajh
100001F S. Aathavan
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Moratuwa
Sri Lanka
21st November 2014
Group
Assignment
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i
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
.................................................................................................................
ii
Abstract
..........................................................................................................................
1
Hard water problem of the north part of Sri Lanka
....................................................... 1
Potential solutions to access the problems and issues related to
the problems .............. 3
[1]. Solar water distiller
..........................................................................................
3
[2]. Water purification system
................................................................................
5
[3]. Using chemicals
...............................................................................................
7
[4]. Line-in filters
....................................................................................................
7
[5]. Using plastic
components.................................................................................
8
Actions or suggestions to overcome the issues
..............................................................
8
Conclusion
.....................................................................................................................
9
Bibliography
..................................................................................................................
v
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ii
Abbreviations
WHO World Health Organization
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights
CKD - Chronic Kidney Disease
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1
Abstract
According to convention of UDHR article 25, people have the
right to a standard of
living adequate for the health and well-being. This includes of
having the available facilities
for their well-being. Especially in the world according to WHO
statement in 2025, half of
the population in the world will suffer in water-stressed areas.
The article will provide a
solution for water problem faced in the north part of Sri Lanka
with the available knowledge
in the water resources management with the mechanical
engineering knowledge especially in
the solar energy and some other chemical applications, which
could be implemented to
overcome those issues and the overall drawbacks and availability
is discussed in this article.
In Sri Lanka, most of the rural areas are affected in the water
issue for even for drinking and
other human basic needs. Especially in the north part of Sri
Lanka is affected by this issue
these days. Studies have proven that the people in the north
have been suffering with the
good quality water especially for drinking and for cultivation
purposes. The water is very
badly affected by Calcium because of the land structure of the
peninsula.
The standalone systems may have to be replaced with a common
water supply system
with proper guarantee to the water in the required times
especially for agricultural purposes.
Many get suffered from the above issue in these days because of
improper raining season
effects and the ground water issue. Especially few years ago
they could manage their
agricultural needs using groundwater however these days the
water level is reducing and the
content is mixed with chemicals are some of the reasons for the
problems and they are not
providing expected cultivation. So they are looking for some
solutions for the case.
Hard water problem of the north part of Sri Lanka
In the north part of the country most of our people are facing
problems due to the
current issues with hard water. Even though, the hard water
being a common problem in
Vavuniya, Mannar, Jaffna and closed areas. Specially, it is
affecting the life style and survival
of the people in Jaffna. As most of the people are using
underground water for the cultivation
and other daily uses. Vavuniya, Mannar areas have water network
with the aid of available
ponds and reservoirs and Jaffna is lack on that.
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Pure water should be tasteless, colourless and odourless. As
water moves soil and
rock, it dissolves small amount of minerals and hold them in
solution. Calcium and
magnesium are that two minerals which cause in formation of hard
water.
Hard water mainly affects the cleaning task more over it affects
the cultivation as well
as the life style in main ways. Some effects are mentioned
below,
Clothes, laundered in hard water may look dingy and feel harsh
and scratchy.
Thousands of people returning to settle in the former war zone,
groundwater extraction is
bound to increase, resulting in shortages of water supply in the
Jaffna peninsula for
agriculture and domestic use.
With pesticides and fertilizer runoff seeping into the
groundwater the main source of
drinking water in the Jaffna peninsula, kidney and other health
issues are going to become
more common. The Chronic Kidney Disease (CKDu) prevalent in
Anuradhapura will be a
walk in the park, compared to what is probably in store for the
Jaffna dwellers. CKDu
incidence in Jaffna has been low probably because agriculture
and use of
fertilizer/pesticides were minimal due to lack of access to
markets in the South during the
civil war.
More than 65720 persons residing in Jaffna depends solely on
well water to fulfil their
needs. Currently coastal areas like peninsula in Jaffna are
facing problems even with drinking
water due the hard water problem. Numerous institutions,
including National water supply,
Department of health and intellectual committee of university of
Jaffna, have done so many
researches regarding of hard water crisis. It was concluded that
these areas should be supplied
drinking water from other parts. In the other hand due to the
salinity problem in well water
these are people are facing problems with their income sources
as these people are only
depended on the underground water, this salinity problem affect
the cultivation. Mostly the
people are involved in onion cultivation. In the past people
were doing cultivation
satisfactorily using the underground water. But now they are
only depended seasonal rain. If
the draught continues for a certain period, it affects the
economic life cycle of the farmer.
According to the article 25 of universal declaration human
rights, 1948 (UDHR), it
says everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for
the health and well being
himself and of his family including food, clothing, housing and
medical care and social
services and the right to security in the event of unemployment
sickness disability
widowhood, old age or other lacks of livelihood in circumstances
beyond this control.
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Looking into the problem faced by northern part people due to
the hard water, Where
facing challenges with their standard of life. When hard water
is consumed for drinking
purpose it causes stones in the kidney. It became a health
threat to the people.
Moreover this hard water issue their traditional occupation has
become a question to
the people. This became a threat again for the standard of
living of the people. For the
production of land and soil as well as the traditional
cultivation and farmers it is important to
provide the solution for the betterment of the people as a
Mechanical Engineer. The basic
human right to fulfil the standard of living for the health and
well being became a threat due
to this hard water and salinity problem in the northern
part.
As mechanical engineers we have a huge responsibility to
respect, protect and fulfil
the needs of the society.
Potential solutions to access the problems and issues related to
the
problems
[1]. Solar water distiller
Solar distillation systems can be any size. They are designed
either to serve the needs
of a single family, producing from to 3 gallons of drinking
water a day on the average, or
to produce much greater amounts for an entire neighbourhood or
village. In some parts of the
world the scarcity of fresh water is partially overcome by
covering shallow salt water basins
with glass in greenhouse-like structures. These solar energy
distilling plants are relatively
inexpensive, low-technology systems, especially useful where the
need for small plants
exists. Solar distillation of potable water from saline (salty)
water has been practiced for
many years in tropical and sub-tropical regions where fresh
water is scare. However, where
fresh water is plentiful and energy rates are moderate, the most
cost-effective method has
been to pump and purify. Solar distillation is a relatively
simple treatment of brackish (i.e.
contain dissolved salts) water supplies. In this process, water
is evaporated; using the energy
of the sun then the vapour condenses as pure water. This process
removes salts and other
impurities. Solar distillation is used to produce drinking water
or to produce pure water for
lead acid batteries, laboratories, hospitals and in producing
commercial products such as rose
water. It is recommended that drinking water has 100 to 1000
mg/l of salt to maintain
electrolyte levels and for taste. Some saline water may need to
be added to the distilled water
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for acceptable drinking water. Generally, solar stills are used
in areas where piped or well
water is impractical. Such areas include remote locations or
during power outages
.Distillation are therefore normally considered only where there
is no local source of fresh
water that can be easily pumped or lifted. One of the main
setbacks for solar desalination
plant is the low thermal efficiency and productivity. In areas
that frequently loss power, Solar
stills can provide an alternate source of clean water. A large
use of solar stills is in developing
countries where the technology to effectively distil large
quantities of water has not yet
arrived.
The Sol Aqua still is a passive solar distiller that only needs
sunshine to operate.
There are no moving parts to wear out. The distilled water from
a Sol Aqua still does not
acquire the "flat" taste of commercially distilled water since
the water is not boiled (which
lowers pH). Solar stills use natural evaporation and
condensation, which is the rainwater
process. This allows for natural pH buffering that produces
excellent taste as compared to
steam distillation. Solar stills can easily provide enough water
for family drinking and
cooking needs. Solar distillers can be used to effectively
remove many impurities ranging
from salts to microorganisms and are even used to make drinking
water from seawater. Sol
Aqua stills have been well received by many users, both rural
and urban, from around the
globe. Sol Aqua solar distillers can be successfully used
anywhere the sun shines. The Sol
Aqua solar stills are simple and have no moving parts. They are
made of quality materials
designed to stand-up to the harsh conditions produced by water
and sunlight. Operation is
simple: water should be added (either manually or automatically)
once a day through the
still's supply fill port. Excess water will drain out of the
overflow port and this will keep salts
from building up in the basin. Purified drinking water is
collected from the output collection
port. Supply Fill Port: Water should be added to the still via
this port. Water can be added
either manually or automatically. Normally, water is added once
a day (in the summer it's
normally best to fill in the late evening and in the winter, in
the early morning). Care should
be taken to add the water at a slow enough flow rate to prevent
splashing onto the interior of
the still glazing or overflowing into the collection trough.
Overflow Port: Once the still basin has filled, excess water
will flow out of this port.
Sol Aqua recommends three times daily distilled water production
to be allowed to overflow
from the still on a daily basis to prevent salt build-up in the
basin. If we still produced 2
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gallons of product water then you should add 6 gallons of fresh
feed water through the fill
port. If flushed like this on a daily basis, the overflow water
can be used for other uses as
appropriate for our feed water (for example, landscape
watering). Distilled Output Collection
Port: Purified drinking water is collected from this port,
typically with a glass collection
container. Stills that are mounted on the roof can have the
distillate output piped directly to
an interior collection container. For a newly installed still,
allow the collection trough to be
self-cleaned by producing water for a couple of days before
using the distillate output.
[2]. Water purification system
Ultraviolet water purification systems are used in numerous
applications that consist
of home or residential (both well water and municipal water
supplies), commercial and
industrial. The quality of well water can vary from day to day
and from year to year in the
short term, things like heavy rainfalls or drought can affect
water quality. In the long term
quality may be affected by distant contamination sources such as
earthquakes, and other
factors. Water that has been safe for years will not necessarily
be safe tomorrow. Here is a list
of quite a lot of applications where the power of UV water
sterilizers are generally used to
treat and care for the water supply for pollutes such as
bacteria and viruses. Some important
applications include private wells, campgrounds, hotels,
bottlers, aquaculture, hospitals, food,
cottages, restaurants, breweries, water systems, laboratories,
marine, pharmaceutical, dairies
and many other applications.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and UV water system
UV radiation from
ultraviolet water systems
solely is not suitable for
water with high levels of
adjourned solids, turbidity,
colour or soluble organic
matter. These materials can
act in response with UV
radiation, and reduce
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decontamination performance. Water turbidity makes it difficult
for the ultraviolet radiation
to penetrate water. If your water supply has these
characteristics, a sediment pre-filter should
be installed before your UV water purification system to remove
particulate matter prior to
UV water disinfection.
Ultraviolet radiation can be used as a pre-treatment or
polishing step to sterilize and
purify water. UV systems are classically used to pre-treat a
water supply that is considered
biologically unsafe (lake or sea water, well water). The UV
disinfection method is a non-
chemical method for destroying microbes (bacteria and viruses)
by altering their genomic
material, and interpreting them unable to make a replica.
Advantages of Ultra Violet water purification system
There are some very important reasons why UV technology is used
to treat their water
by both homeowners and municipalities.
Highly effective
For over 25 years, UV technology has been believed as a safe,
cost-effective method to
purify water and exclude harmful microorganisms. It is currently
being used by thousands
of cities, bottled water manufacturers and homeowners around the
world.
Chemical free
UV provides water purification without the addition of dangerous
chemicals such as
chlorine. It also avoids the potential of generating harmful
chemical purification by
products. Recently, there are instructions which are forcing
cities across the United States
to reduce or eliminate the use of chlorine for exactly this
reason.
Taste &odor free
UV does not make any changes of the taste, odor or color of the
water, because there are
no any mixing chemicals with water to be used.
More effective than chlorine
Unlike chlorine, UV systems are effective against both
Cryptosporidium and Giardia.
Compact and easy to maintain
UV systems are capable of treating a single faucet or an entire
home in a minimal amount
of space with the only maintenance being an annual lamp and
filter replacement.
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[3]. Using chemicals
Vinegar
Vinegar is a natural way to rid your home of unwanted
calcium deposits. Pour 2 cups of white vinegar into a spray
bottle
with 1 cup of hot water. Spray the mixture onto the calcium
deposit, and allow it to soak for several minutes. Then use a
rag to
rub the area clean of the calcium deposit. Spray this
solution
whenever you need to clean calcium deposits; it is safe to
use
around children and pets.
Tang
Tang is a powdered drink beverage mix available in most
supermarkets. Tang
contains a high amount of ascorbic acid, which will eat away at
the calcium deposits. Spread
the powdered Tang on the calcium deposits and allow it to sit
for several hours. Then use a
cloth dipped in hot water to scrub your calcium deposits, and
they should come clean.
[4]. Line-in filters
Filtersorb
Uses revolutionary media inside a pressure vessel
which is running in a counter current mode. The up
flowing water causes the formation of a fluidized bed
o
f
t
h
e
m
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edia. The immediate conversion of water hardness (due to
Ca2+
and Mg2+
) gets
converted into sub-micron size harmless crystal when hard water
passes through the
media. The height of the pressure vessel is chosen depending on
the maximum flow
rate of the unit, to provide the required space for the
expansion of the floating bed. It's
recommended to use a pressure vessel whose volume is 6 - 7 times
than the volume of
the media used.
[5]. Using plastic components
a. Tap
b. Controllers
c. Pipes
Because of Calcium get deposits at a high
rate inside silver and brass components than the
plastic components. And plastic components are
economically beneficial.
Implementing the entire pipe system outside the wall in order to
change it when there
is a blockage.
Raise the tank level to increase the speed of the water
flow.
Actions or suggestions to overcome the issues
There have been a lot of researches and studies have been in
progress in the above
mentioned issue. There are a lot of alternatives have been
testing in the above context with
different concept. Some of the above mentioned techniques are
somewhat useable for only
the residential water requirement other than drinking and
agricultural aspects. Solar water
distiller is a good solution in the above context even if the
groundwater resources cannot be
used for the water requirement of the places. Using solar water
distiller the sea water of those
areas can be assed and can be used for water requirement of
people can be solved out.
However it is little bit costly since the requirement of pumping
water from sea to plants and
then the distillation have to be done and proper irrigation
design is expected to be carried out
to deliver the water supply to the area. Mostly even now most of
those areas dont have any
Main Water Supply Unit or connections. So if such a plant is to
be installed to provide the
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water supply the requirements should have to be analyzed whether
the plants to be installed at
a single place and all the areas should have to connected
through a network or different part
of Jaffna Peninsula should have to be handled with different
plants should have to be decided
accordingly. It will be helpful on determining the cost of
capital and operating cost for the
water supply process. Almost nowadays pipe and other relevant
components in the water
system in Jaffna have been using plastic components for their
use; however still there are
some people havent change back to the plastic components.
Plastic components in design
they can be used to stock out the calcium through a proper
design to make sure the water get
cleaned. Even solar distiller, UV water purification system,
Line in filters, Chemicals etc. can
be used as previously mentioned above techniques. Those will
conclude the ground water
will also can be used effectively if we could implement these
techniques effectively, rather
than going for sea water filtration.
However these days some other issues also have been raised in
the north peninsula,
especially there are some locations have been found with dirt
oils have been mixed with the
groundwater of the Peninsula. There are some court cases have
been going on that issue as
those are because of the Power station of North and their waste
oil have been mixing with the
groundwater. Still there are not clear views on that issue.
However if such things
continuously occurs the groundwater all over the area will be
affected and the groundwater of
peninsula will no longer will be a water resources for the north
part of Sri Lanka. The
groundwater of the Peninsula is interconnected inside the land
so polluting one part of the
groundwater means spoiling all the available water
resources.
Conclusion
There have been some initiatives to supply water for the north
from the reservoirs in
the Kilinochchi area. Even though such move has been taken that
is not a feasible solution for
the above problem because that will heavily effect the
cultivation of those areas. The
providing solution should have to be also better way to
supplement both the areas. Therefore
the purifying water from groundwater or sea water would be the
more feasible solution in the
context. However the feasibility study and appraisal need to be
carried out to validate the
above before going in to solutions.
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Bibliography
1. Shanmugarajah, K. Water Resources Development - Jaffna
Penisula. s.l. : Wild &
Woolley Pty. Ltd. , 1993.
2. World Health Organization. [Online]
http://www.who.int/en/.
3. Dalima, Bella. Jaffna residents face clean water crisis.
[Online] 02 Feburary 2014.
http://newsfirst.lk/english/2014/02/water-crisis-jaffna/17934.
4. Mester, Benji. Solar Water Distiller -- Solar Still Plans.
[Online]
http://benjimester.hubpages.com/hub/solar-water-distiller-solar-still.
5. Colorad, Adventure. Ultra Violet (Solar) Water Purification.
[Online]
adventurecolorad.hubpages.com/hub/Ultra-Violet-Solar-Water-Purification.
6. Assessment of Groundwater Resources in Jaffna Limestone
Aquifer. M.
Thushyanthy, C.S. De Silva. 2012, Tropical Agricultural
Research, pp. 177 - 185.