SpringBoxDesignandConstruction

CE5993
Acknowledgment:
Acknowledgment:
LaurenFry
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Civil&EnvironmentalEngineering
MichiganTechnologicalUniversity

Unprotected Spring
UnprotectedSpring

Figure1.UnprotectedspringinthevillageofBilikBikot,Cameroon.Before
constructionofthespringbox,thespringwaterwasallowedtocollectinthis
i
f h
i b
h
i
ll
d
ll i hi
openpool.Waterstagnated,peoplewereabletodipdirtybucketsinthepool,
andthespringwasamosquitobreedingarea.

WaterRelatedDiseases

(Cairncross andFeachem,1993)

Choosing a Spring
ChoosingaSpring
Whypeoplechooseaspecificsource:
Why people choose a specific source:
Waterlookscleanerandtastesbetter.
Itiscloserthanothersources.
Theflowisconstantandsufficient.

Otherconsiderations:
Other considerations:
Actualwaterquality(bacteriafree?Taste,odor)
Abilityforwatertodrain
y
Reliabilitythroughdryseason
Accessibilityy

Preparation of the Spring

PreparationoftheSpring

Atypicalarrangementofanunimprovedspring.Toprepareforspringbox
construction,theimpermeablelayerofsandorsoilshouldberemovedat
thespringpool,downtotheimpermeablelayer.

Spring Box Design: Profile View

SpringBoxDesign:ProfileView

(Filtermaybeomittedfromdesign.)

Spring Box Design: Plan View

SpringBoxDesign:PlanView

(Filtermaybeomittedfromdesign.)

Slow Sand Filtration

SlowSandFiltration
Foraslowsandfiltertofunction,thesandshouldhavean
effectivegrainsizeof0.15to0.30mmanduniformity
coefficient(D60/D10)lessthan5.
D60isthesievesizethatallows60%ofthesandtopassand
D10 i th i
D10isthesievesizethatallows10%topass.
i th t ll
10% t

Minimumheightofthesandlayershouldbe0.5m,andthe
rateoffiltrationshouldbenofasterthan0.1to0.2
m3/m
/ 2/h(Visscher
/h (Vi h etal,1987).
t l 1987)
Forafiltrationrateof0.1m/hthroughacleanfilter,the
minimumheadoverthefilteris5cm(Tchobanoglous and
B t
Burton,2003).
2003)
Evenwithasmallspringoutputlike1.7L/min,thesurface
areaofthefiltermuststillbeatleast1.0m2.

Rapid Sand Filtration

RapidSandFiltration
Filter
Filtermaybeomittedtosavemoney,orasa
may be omitted to save money or as a
compromise,rapidsandfiltrationmaybe
used.
used
Forrapidfiltration,verycoarsesandorsmall
gravel is used
gravelisused.
Inthiscasethefilterisdesignedtobe
approximately0.5mlongby1.5mwideby1
i
l 05 l
b 15
id b 1
mhigh,withfiltermediaheightof0.4m.

Reservoir
Thereservoirshouldbesizedbasedontheoutputof
th
thesourceinordertomaximizetheamountofwater
i
d t
i i th
t f t
thatisstoredovernight.
Forexample,ifaspringhasamaximumoutputof6L/min,
p ,
p g
p
/
,
assumingthatnoonedrawswaterbetween6:30pmand5:30am
(11hoursoffilling),thereservoirsizewouldbe3.96m3.
Sizemayberestrictedbyavailablematerialsandfunds,however.
Size may be restricted by available materials and funds, however.

Reservoirwallsaremadeofsteelreinforcedconcrete.
Floorshouldbeslopedandmadewithsmoothed
concrete.
Allsurfacesinsidethereservoirshouldbesmoothed
t ll f
toallowforeasiercleaning.
i l
i

Typical Construction Budget

TypicalConstructionBudget

Typical Construction Budget

TypicalConstructionBudget

Typical Maintenance Schedule

TypicalMaintenanceSchedule

Itisveryimportantthatthecommunityandmanagementcommitteeare
y p
y
g
educatedandtrainedontheimportanceofmaintenancesotheproject
issustainableinthelongterm.

Measuring Spring Discharge

MeasuringSpringDischarge

Weirusedtodeterminetheoutputofthesprings.Awelderwas
hired to produce this weir from a flat piece of metal roofing material
hiredtoproducethisweirfromaflatpieceofmetalroofingmaterial.
Allyieldandheadmarkingswerealsoengravedonthemetal
(MannandWilliamson,1973).

Construction

(Filtersize
limitedby
materials.)

Typical Construction Schedule

TypicalConstructionSchedule

Completed Springbox
CompletedSpringbox

Completed Springbox
CompletedSpringbox

Overflowpipebendsdowntopreventchildrenfrombreakingit.

Common Construction Problems

CommonConstructionProblems
Accidentallydiggingthroughtheimpermeablelayermaycause
water to be lost from the spring
watertobelostfromthespring.
Whenfillingthewoodenformswithconcrete,unevenpressuremay
causethewallstograduallytiltduringplacement.
Whenfillingtheprimaryfiltrationandcapturearea,thereisa
When filling the primary filtration and capture area there is a
possibilityforblockingtheveinsaugmentingthespring.Besure
thattheveinsarenotblockedbymud.
Coveringtheprimaryfiltrationandcaptureareawithearthafterit
C
i th
i
filt ti
d
t
ith
th ft it
isfilledwithrocksmaybeappropriateinsomeplaces,butwhere
soilisveryfine,theearthmayendupfilteringthroughtherocks
andblockingthegravellayerentrance.Inthiscase,theprimary
d bl k
h
ll
h
h
filtrationandcaptureareacanbefilledwithrocksandcoveredwith
aplastictarporotherimpermeablematerialbeforecoveringwith
earth.

References

Cairncross, S., and R.G. Feachem. Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics: an
Introductory Text, Second Edition. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 1993.
Fry, L. "Spring Improvement as a Tool for Prevention of Water-Related Illness in Four
Villages of the Center Province of Cameroon," M.S. Report, Civil & Environmental
Engineering, Michigan Technological University, 137 pages, 2004.
Fry,
y, L.,, J.R. Mihelcic,, D.W. Watkins,, Improving
p
g public
p
health byy improving
p
g water supply:
pp y
results from springbox projects in Cameroon. Journal of Engineering for Sustainable
Development: Energy, Environment, Health, 2006.
Huisman L., De Azevedo Netto J.M., Sundaresan B.B., Lanoix J.N., and Hofkes E.H. Small
Community Water Supplies: Technology of Small Water Supply Systems in Developing
Countries. IRC Technical Paper Series #18. The Hague, The Netherlands: IRC International
Water and Sanitation Centre, 1981.
Tchobanoglous, G. and F. L. Burton. Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse. Metcalf
& Eddy.
Eddy Boston: McGraw Hill,
Hill 2003.
2003
Visscher J.T., Paramasiram R., Raman A., and Heijnen H.A. Slow Sand Filtration for
Community Water Supply: planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
Technical Paper Series #24. The Hague, The Netherlands: IRC International Water and
S i i Centre,
Sanitation
C
1987
1987.