Real Change: Bringing Water to Metahara, Ethiopia

Victoria Davidjohn, Jacqueline Rosso, Adrian Rangel, Brandon Hodges

The Electrical Engineering Group:

The Issue at Hand

• 330 million people are without water in Sub-

Saharan Africa

• 13.19% of land is arable in Ethiopiao 80% of Ethiopians are farmers

• Result: famine and starvation

120 miles

Lake Basaka

• Risks polluting Awash River with salt water• Possibility of reduction of crop growth, e.g.

sugar, corn, wheat• Causes flooding in the surrounding 50

kilometers

Metahara, Ethiopia

• Population: estimated at 21,300• 2.7 miles away from Lake Basaka• Located besides the intra-continental

railroad• Home to the biggest sugar factory in

Ethiopia• One of the top ethanol producers

How do we increase the productivity of crops in Metehara, Ethipioa through

irrigation?

2. Educate locals on irrigation maintenance

1. Create irrigation system powered by

solar panels

3. Maximize crop production with minimal water

usage

4. Stabilize economy

5. Increase per capita income

START

The Solution

Solar Power System

How Solar Cells Work

Photovoltaic Effect: Process in which two dissimilar materials in close contact act as an electric cell when struck by light or other radiant energy.

Purification System Schematic

Internal view

External view

Heating System SchematicInternal Aerial View

Condenser Schematic

Irrigation System SchematicExternal view

Irrigation System Schematic

Aerial view

The SPI System

Integrated Solar Purifcation Irrigation SystemTotal Cost: $83,984

Purification System Cost: $63,800

Irrigation System Cost: $10,384

Solar Panels Cost: $9,800

Sustainability

• Mission trips • Study abroad programs • Fundraising • ChildFund International

The Outcome

• Provide over 100,000 gallons of stable purified water supply for the region around Lake Basaka.

• Increase agricultural production.

• Supplement the economy.

• Reduce flooding of Lake Basaka and contamination of Awash River.

Thank you for your time!Questions?

Bibliography• "Central Intelligence Agency." The World Factbook. N.p., 10 July

2013. Web. 22 July 2013.

• Dinka, M. O. (2012), Analysing the extent (size and shape) of Lake Basaka expansion (Main Ethiopian Rift Valley) using remote sensing and GIS. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research & Management, 17: 131–141. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1770.2012.00500.x

• Mitchell, Anthony. "ReliefWeb." Drought in Metahara, Ethiopia. N.p., 03 Aug. 2002. Web. 22 July 2013.

• "Photovoltaic Effect." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 22 July 2013.