What can be considered deep groundwater?
In general it is understood that standard handpumps should better not be used below 40m to avoid breakdowns, so the cylinder should not be installed below 40m deep. However, the pumpcylinder of the handpump is not installed at the static groundwater level, but many meters deeper, at the dynamic water level.

Dynamic water level
During pumping the waterlevel in the borehole goes down and can be 5 to 10m below the static waterlevel. Also in the dry season the regional groundwater level could go down, and last bu not least, in some regions the regional groundater level is slowly going down as well. In brief, the depth of the cylinder should have a 'safe margine', which is basically the sum of both fluctuations, so in general at least 15m. below the static water.

This implies that in zones with static groundwater levels of 25m the long term safe installation depth of the cylinder is often 40m. Water levels deeper as 25m. should therefore be considered as 'deep groundwater zones' as far as it concerns to handpumps.

Problems in deep installations
When handpumps are installed deeper as 40m., the weight of the pipes are becoming a problem, not only for th installation, but also for the durability of the pump. The pipes are simply too heavy and break after a while. Therefore FairWater developed the system of "Bottom Support", in which the handpump pipes continue to the bottom of the borehole, which avoids the tensile stress on the pipes.

Bottom Support: PVC pipes continua all the way down to the bottom of the borehole

Bottom Support
FairWay the end of 2008 UNICEF sponsored 2 test BluePumps to be installed in the Chibuto District about 200km north of Maputo, both at a depth of about 75m. with additional bottom support of about 25m. of PVC pipes below the cylinder. FairWater supervised and trained technicians of the Blue Zone Ltd. and local technicians on how to install the Bottom Support.

The technicians were amazed and pleased by the ease of the installation compared with the pumps they used to install. No special tools or tripods were needed and with just a few people first the bottom support pipes were lowered into the borehole up to 102 m deep. After this, the pump cylinder was installed at 73 m deep. The whole operation was completed in just a few hours.

According to new UNICEF procedures in Mozambique, the responsibility for the installation of the handpump lies with the driller, who should also give a full year guarantee on the operation of the handpump. Therefore the technicians of the driller appreciated the BluePump concept '' Double so strong, less to go wrong'', as they hope now to be released of the previous numerous costly returns for repairs that they experienced in the past.

After the installation it took about 20 minutes pumping to fill the pipes before the water came out of the pump. The community was excited; they could hardly believe that it was rather light to pump so much water (about 15 liter per minute) from that depth. Due to the counterweight in the handle, even children can now pump water from that depth without any problem. Because often children have to fetch water, this was also an additional reason for UNICEF in favor of the Fairwater BluePump.

Standard handpumps in Mozambique
For shallow wells, the Mozambican government has standardized some 15 years ago on the Afridev handpump, which was partly locally produced in Maputo. It soon became clear that the Afridev was not suitable to be used for cylinder installations below 40 m. Due to many breakdowns that often resulted in abandoning the pump. This is in line with experiences from other countries with similar pumps. Also the SKAT for the Afridev pump mentions that they should not be used below 40m.

In the beginning there was little experience with handpumps in deep boreholes. Therefore it was decided that the most reliable and strong handpump up to 40 m, the Volanta handpump, would probably be the best choice for deeper water levels and a few hundred Volantas were installed at depth of 40 to 90 m. Initially the Volanta pump worked satisfactory for those depth, but after 3 to 5 years also the Volanta showed fatigue in the PVC rising mains causing small cracks and many Volantas suffered from leaking pipes.

Moreover, field data from other countries that have tried to use handpumps in deep water levels show that all types have a high increase of breakdowns and need for repairs and spare parts for depth below 40 m.

The new FairWater BluePump is therefore considered as a welcome alternative to solve the water problems, especially in those zones were the static water levels are below 25m.