{"id":961,"date":"2025-06-08T18:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T18:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/?p=961"},"modified":"2025-07-09T17:06:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T17:06:58","slug":"rainwater-harvesting-filtration-systems-in-polonnaruwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/concluded-projects\/rainwater-harvesting-filtration-systems-in-polonnaruwa\/","title":{"rendered":"Rainwater Harvesting &amp; Filtration Systems in Polonnaruwa &#8211; 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"961\" class=\"elementor elementor-961\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ed82274 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ed82274\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4b7b25c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4b7b25c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Date:<\/strong> October 2022<br \/><strong>Location:<\/strong> Polonnaruwa District, Sri Lanka<\/p><p><strong>Overview<\/strong><br \/>Partnering with three primary schools in Polonnaruwa, MPF designed and installed comprehensive rainwater-harvesting and gravity-fed filtration systems to guarantee safe drinking water on campus year-round.<\/p><p><strong>The Challenge<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><p><strong>Seasonal water scarcity:<\/strong> Schools faced acute shortages during the 4-month dry season.<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>Unsafe sources:<\/strong> Reliance on open wells and tanker deliveries led to frequent water-borne illnesses.<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>Maintenance gaps:<\/strong> No local capacity to service or repair water infrastructure.<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Our Approach<\/strong><\/p><ol><li><p><strong>Roof-Catchment &amp; Storage<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><p>Fitted 200 m\u00b2 of rooftop gutters per school, feeding into 10,000 L polyethylene cisterns.<\/p><\/li><li><p>Designed overflow and mosquito-proofing features to meet WHO standards.<\/p><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><p><strong>Multi-Stage Filtration &amp; Treatment<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><p>Implemented sand-charcoal filters followed by UV-LED sterilizers for &gt;99.9% bacterial removal.<\/p><\/li><li><p>Added inline TDS monitoring and auto-flush valves to maintain filter efficiency.<\/p><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><p><strong>Community Engagement &amp; Training<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><p>Launched \u201cWater Guardians\u201d clubs: 150 students trained in daily quality checks and basic upkeep.<\/p><\/li><li><p>Conducted quarterly workshops for school caretakers on cleaning protocols and part replacement.<\/p><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ol><p><strong>Implementation Highlights<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><p>Harvest systems collected <strong>up to 8,000 L\/month<\/strong> during monsoon peaks.<\/p><\/li><li><p>Independent lab tests confirmed <strong>99.9%<\/strong> removal of E. coli and coliform bacteria.<\/p><\/li><li><p>Local mason cooperatives fabricated cistern platforms, boosting village incomes.<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Results<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><p><strong>Zero<\/strong> reported water-borne illnesses in the first school term post-installation.<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>75%<\/strong> reduction in tanker-water expenditures.<\/p><\/li><li><p>Neighboring communities have replicated the model for home installations.<\/p><\/li><\/ul><blockquote><p>\u201cOur children drink safely every day, and they proudly maintain \u2018their\u2019 system.\u201d<br \/>\u2014 Headmaster, Galnewa Primary School<\/p><\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Date: October 2022Location: Polonnaruwa District, Sri Lanka OverviewPartnering with three primary schools in Polonnaruwa, MPF designed and installed comprehensive rainwater-harvesting and gravity-fed filtration systems to guarantee safe drinking water on campus year-round. The Challenge Seasonal water scarcity: Schools faced acute shortages during the 4-month dry season. Unsafe sources: Reliance on open wells and tanker deliveries led to frequent water-borne illnesses. Maintenance gaps: No local capacity to service or repair water infrastructure. Our Approach Roof-Catchment &amp; Storage Fitted 200 m\u00b2 of rooftop gutters per school, feeding into 10,000 L polyethylene cisterns. Designed overflow and mosquito-proofing features to meet WHO standards. Multi-Stage Filtration &amp; Treatment Implemented sand-charcoal filters followed by UV-LED sterilizers for &gt;99.9% bacterial removal. Added inline TDS monitoring and auto-flush valves to maintain filter efficiency. Community Engagement &amp; Training Launched \u201cWater Guardians\u201d clubs: 150 students trained in daily quality checks and basic upkeep. Conducted quarterly workshops for school caretakers on cleaning protocols and part replacement. Implementation Highlights Harvest systems collected up to 8,000 L\/month during monsoon peaks. Independent lab tests confirmed 99.9% removal of E. coli and coliform bacteria. Local mason cooperatives fabricated cistern platforms, boosting village incomes. Results Zero reported water-borne illnesses in the first school term post-installation. 75% reduction in tanker-water expenditures. Neighboring communities have replicated the model for home installations. \u201cOur children drink safely every day, and they proudly maintain \u2018their\u2019 system.\u201d\u2014 Headmaster, Galnewa Primary School<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-concluded-projects","tag-25"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1432,"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions\/1432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitesp.com\/millionpathsfoundation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}