Social factors affecting water pump life span in South and Northern provinces

Official data estimate almost 20 thousand Afridev hand pumps in Mozambique. Twenty two percent (22%) of which are not operational due to breakdowns of different types. If all were operational, the country would have achieved the MDGs on water already. High maintenance costs, missing parts and receding ground water levels are three major reasons for this failure.

The Afridev hand pump

The Afridev hand pump is of 5 types of water pumps the mostly used in rural areas of Mozambique as it offers many advantages. It is relatively easy to install, serves the greatest number of people, approximately 500 or more, and can be set up to 45 meters deep.

An Afridev pump can download 12 to 15 liters of water per minute, slightly less than a NIRA pump's capacity. They cost approximately US $ 1500.00. Maintenance is possible due to availability of spare parts in the domestic market, especially in the country’s capital city, Maputo.

Despite all these advantages, when poorly maintained or used beyond their capacity, the pumps easily break down.

Size of the community as a degrading factor

Most rural communities are composed of not less than 500 households with at least 5 members each. Assuming that each person consumes 12 liters of water per day, one can easily conclude that the pump downloads not less than 18 thousand liters per day. This quantity is relatively higher than the ideal operational capacity of the pump.

Broken water pump in the north of Mozambique

Regular maintenance as crucial factor for long lasting pumps

The only way to alleviate the risk of failure by overloading would be preventive maintenance, consisting in the replacement of worn parts as well as strict observance of the water pumps opening and closing times.

Regular maintenance of a pump costs at least US $ 40.00. To achieve this amount, each of the community members would have to contribute a minimum of 20 meticais, slightly less than 50 US cents.

Regular or preventive maintenance means better organization of the communities to ensure regular monthly collection of contributions as well as a protocol for when they break down. Unfortunately, this does not always happen due to various implicit problems.

Lack of spare parts
To make matters worse, the spare parts are not always available. Communities need to travel long distances to get the spare parts; something that leads to even more costs.

Ground water levels: crucial pumps lifetime

In highland regions, as for instance in some districts of the province of Inhambane, southern Mozambique, the pumps fail because of the depth of the water level. In Quissico for example, most pumps are more than 45 meters deep.