Sooner or later, community, household, rangeland or agricultural planners must devise methods of supplying water on site. This means pumping it out of a borehole or well, or diverting it from a spring, lake, stream or river. Water systems planning for communities, refugee camps, settlements and farms is a complicated process, usually carried out by qualified experts. In rural areas without access to grid power, water supply experts may not have sufficient energy knowledge to select the most appropriate power source for a given pump requirement. This module is designed to help planners choose effective energy systems to meet their water supply requirements.
Communities require water that is clean, uncontaminated and constant in supply.
The amount of water needed depends on the number of people in the settlement. Remote, stand-alone pumping systems are vital for survival of livestock in such conditions. For modern farming systems, some form of irrigation is required. Irrigation is generally not economically viable from deep wells or boreholes. These include the actual water requirements, site security, the amount of money available, the maintenance, the service available, and the spare parts infrastructure.