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Experiences of the Vergnet Hydro community pump for deep boreholes

Arjen
WaterAid
related country: Bangladesh
KnowledgePointAdmin
RedR CCDRR
related country: Bangladesh

A new technology has been added to WaterAid Bangladesh's inventory: an especially designed tube well for low water table areas, installed with the support of Vergnet Hydro in the Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. Community members are happy getting water with minimum efforts.

It is a pump that has been used in francophone Africa in particular. They indeed are durable and work at great depth - though often communities are not keen on the stepping that needs to be done. Does anybody have recent experiences of this?

Comments

Arjen, to allow for a slightly better answer, it would be good to know know the following: Depth of pump installation & depth to dynamic water level. These will hugely affect the user's experience of the pump. This question has gone out on the broader KnowledgePoint network so you should get a response.

ErikH gravatar imageErikH ( 2014-03-27 13:22:41 )

2 Answers

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As far as I am aware it is a good pump, with a long history and committed backer. The main problem is that the upfront costs are higher because they are made in France (but therefore high quality).

I would be surprised if Vergnet Hydro will be able to make much headway in Bangladesh because it is such as mature handpump market. If groundwater levels are dropping in some areas, or too arsenic-polluted, then No.6 suction pumps and Tara direct action pumps may no longer be an option. However, Vergnet's a going to have a tough time competing against India Marks and TaraDevs (a Tara- Afridev hybrid) https://www.dphe.gov.bd/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=83 because they are going to be a lot cheaper and much easier to get spares because they are made in country.

This looks like a job for the TAF.... ;-) https://washtechnologies.net

Comments

Great, thanks Sean!

ErikH gravatar imageErikH ( 2014-03-27 13:55:05 )
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Rémi Kaupp
WaterAid

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