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Address: Rm 1915 Star House, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: 852-2735 8377
Fax: 852-2375 1533
Email:
enquiry@llcs.org.hk
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 To people living in the cities, a cup of clean water is never out of reach; but to some 10 million peasants residing in the arid regions in Northwest China, having a sip of clean water is merely a dream of luxury.
Northwest China is one of the driest regions in the world. Annual rainfall is only about 300mm yet annual evaporation rate is as high as 1,500-2,000mm. Drinking water for human beings and livestock predominantly comes from the little volume of rainwater collected by water cellars, an underground container solely used for such purpose. Due to poverty, most peasants cannot afford to build a water cellar on their own, and therefore water shortage has become a major problem in their daily living.
Persistent drought has made cultivation hardly possible and the hygiene condition extremely poor. To solve the root of this problem, we have to help peasants build rain-saving water cellars, equipping them with accessible drinking water to grow crops and raise livestock on their own. |
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Water cellar is an underground water storage tank, built with brick and concrete after excavating a large hole of 10-plus meter deep. A well is dug into the ground to a depth that penetrates a water-yielding formation.
A water cellar includes a rainwater collection platform and a filter tank. The rainwater collection platform is a large concrete platform, where rainwater will be led to the filter tank. After purification, water will be stored in the water cellar, allowing peasants to collect water at their doorstep. |
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| Water cellars vary in design and size depending on the geographical condition of where it is built. Usually each water cellar will measure 3.5 m deep, capable of storing 35 cubic meters of water sufficient for a households’ one-year consumption. |
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| Around 10 years or more, depending on the environment. |
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| The actual costs of a water cellar is more than HK$1,950, and requires the support from three different parties: |
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1) A donor contributing the sum of a water cellar |
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2) Local government allocating funds and amenities |
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3) Beneficiaries providing the labour for actual construction |
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| It takes approximately four months to construct a water cellar, with target completion scheduled before the rainy season. Actual construction will take place after winter each year, therefore any donation to LLCS later than the end of May will be allocated to the water cellar project of the following year. This arrangement is to make sure that all water cellars can be completed before September, ensuring they are in place to save rainwater before the rainy season arrives. Besides, during winter (November to March), snowing will make construction infeasible. In December, LLCS will mail the completed project photos together with details of the beneficiary to the donors for keepsake. |
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With a water cellar in place, peasants will no longer need to walk far to fetch muddy water; rather they can easily access drinking water at the doorstep. |
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The quality of drinking water is significantly improved by adding fluorine with low iodine, helping reduce the spread of epidemic and local diseases. |
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Improved productivity. Those young and healthy can have more time to study and focus on personal and household hygiene, and also to work in the fields. |
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A new water cellar does not only solve the water shortage problem, but also bring peasants a brand new courtyard. |
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