A brick-lined well is a hand-dug water well whose walls are lined with bricks, sometimes called "Dutch bricks" if they are trapezoidal or made on site. The technique is ancient, but is still appropriate in developing countries where labor costs are low and material costs are high.
Hand-dug wells are mentioned in the Bible. [1] Inscriptions in Mesopotamia tell of construction of brick-lined wells in the period before the rule of Sargon of Akkad (c. 2334 – 2279 BC). [2] Brick-lined wells have been excavated at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa in the Indus Valley. [3] Mature Harappan (2600–1900 BC) technology included brick-lined wells, perhaps derived from earlier designs. [4] One well would have served a neighborhood. The clay bricks are trapezoidal in shape, with one end smaller than the other. The bricks are arranged in circles pointing inward. The smaller ends form the inside walls. [3] In the settlement of Lothal a brick-lined building on an elevated mound included a well lined with baked bricks, a bathing facility and a drain. [5]
Brick-lined wells of more recent date have been found around the world. They have been found in Sanjan, Gujarat, India, built around the 11th century AD. [6] Archeological excavations in Virginia, USA, have found what appears to be a brick-lined well from the 17th century. [7] Brick-lined wells were typical of 19th century farmsteads in rural Illinois. [8] In the Shijiazhuang area of Hebei, China, irrigation using wells was highly developed before the Revolution. Five or six men could dig a brick-lined well with a depth of 7 to 10 metres (23 to 33 ft) in a week. This could irrigate crops over an area of up to 20 mu. [9] [lower-alpha 1] The same men could dig an unlined well in one day, basically a pit in the ground, but the irrigation capacity was only one fifth of that of the brick-lined well. [9]
In West Africa branches were traditionally used to line hand-dug wells, but this requires use of forest resources that are now often scarce. Old 55 US gallons (210 l; 46 imp gal) steel barrels can be used to make linings. These can be lowered from the surface as the well is dug and reduce risk when the well is sunk in sand, gravel or some other unstable formation. However, they corrode and deform easily. Cement brick linings are stronger, unlikely to deform, and the courses can be linked structurally. They are generally cost-effective, although more expensive than barrel linings. [11]
Steel-reinforced wells are stronger again and can be sunk much deeper, but in developing countries their cost is usually prohibitive. [12] Pre-cast concrete pipe is also an excellent liner, particularly if it has tongue-in-groove joints and a smooth exterior, since it can be used as a crib as the well is deepened. Again, cost may prohibit its use. [13]
The brick lining will typically rest on a circular concrete well curb. The lining may have open joints to allow water to enter. In this case the well is often plugged at the bottom and the water enters from the sides. Ballast of 20 to 25 centimetres (7.9 to 9.8 in) diameter is packed around the outside of the lining to prevent sand from flowing into the well. This design may be used in gravel or coarse sand where the water table is shallow. Impervious wells are made using masonry with cement or lime mortar. They may be sunk 5 to 60 metres (16 to 197 ft) deep. Water seeps into a cavity in the open bottom, or comes up from a pipe sunk down from the center of the well into the water-bearing sand. [14] The top part of the well should prevent foreign matter or surface water from entering the well, so should be impervious. The top of the well should be protected and the area around the well drained. [13] The brick lining can greatly improve sanitation if it rises above ground level, preventing contamination of the well water by animal feces. [15] [lower-alpha 2]
By 2007 the U.S. Peace Corps had been promoting use of Dutch bricks to build soak pits and wells for many years. [17] The Peace Corps uses the term "Dutch brick" to describe a trapezoidal (as opposed to rectangular) concrete brick used to line a well or soak pit. [17] The brick may be made of a 1:2:3 mix of cement, sand and gravel. [18] USAID has supported these efforts, for example providing funds to purchase materials such as cement and rebar for construction of Dutch brick wells in Mali and Mauretania. [19] The Dutch bricks are used to reinforce the sides of the wells, with the concrete mixed onsite and packed into brick molds. [20]
Dutch bricks made for well lining have a trapezoidal shape, with sloping sides so that they can be fitted into a ring. The slope can be adjusted for larger or smaller rings. [17] Lining wells with Dutch bricks in this way allows the well to be dug deeper without fear of the walls collapsing. [21] Problems may however be encountered with incorrectly shaped molds and inexperienced volunteers. [22]
Mohenjo-daro is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major cities, contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Minoan Crete, and Norte Chico. Mohenjo-daro was abandoned in the 19th century BCE as the Indus Valley Civilization declined, and the site was not rediscovered until the 1920s. Significant excavation has since been conducted at the site of the city, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. The site is currently threatened by erosion and improper restoration.
A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BC, bricks have also been fired, to increase their strength and durability.
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environmental impact.
A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground, or more advanced designs, including pour-flush systems.
An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be used to denote the toilet itself, not just the structure.
A cesspit, is a term with various meanings: it is used to describe either an underground holding tank or a soak pit. It can be used for the temporary collection and storage of feces, excreta or fecal sludge as part of an on-site sanitation system and has some similarities with septic tanks or with soak pits. Traditionally, it was a deep cylindrical chamber dug into the ground, having approximate dimensions of 1 metre diameter and 2–3 metres depth. Their appearance was similar to that of a hand-dug water well.
A pit latrine, also known as pit toilet, is a type of toilet that collects human feces in a hole in the ground. Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user comfort. Pit latrines can be built to function without water or they can have a water seal. When properly built and maintained, pit latrines can decrease the spread of disease by reducing the amount of human feces in the environment from open defecation. This decreases the transfer of pathogens between feces and food by flies. These pathogens are major causes of infectious diarrhea and intestinal worm infections. Infectious diarrhea resulted in about 700,000 deaths in children under five years old in 2011 and 250 million lost school days. Pit latrines are a low-cost method of separating feces from people.
An earth structure is a building or other structure made largely from soil. Since soil is a widely available material, it has been used in construction since prehistoric times. It may be combined with other materials, compressed and/or baked to add strength. Soil is still an economical material for many applications, and may have low environmental impact both during and after construction.
Sustainable sanitation is a sanitation system designed to meet certain criteria and to work well over the long-term. Sustainable sanitation systems consider the entire "sanitation value chain", from the experience of the user, excreta and wastewater collection methods, transportation or conveyance of waste, treatment, and reuse or disposal. The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) includes five features in its definition of "sustainable sanitation": Systems need to be economically and socially acceptable, technically and institutionally appropriate and protect the environment and natural resources.
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn up by a pump, or using containers, such as buckets, that are raised mechanically or by hand. Water can also be injected back into the aquifer through the well. Wells were first constructed at least eight thousand years ago and historically vary in construction from a simple scoop in the sediment of a dry watercourse to the qanats of Iran, and the stepwells and sakiehs of India. Placing a lining in the well shaft helps create stability, and linings of wood or wickerwork date back at least as far as the Iron Age.
A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popular in Europe and North America with a toilet seat, with additional considerations for those with disabilities, or for a squatting posture more popular in Asia. In urban areas, flush toilets are usually connected to a sewer system that leads to septic tanks in isolated areas. The waste is known as blackwater and the combined effluent including other sources is sewage. Dry toilets are connected to a pit, removable container, composting chamber, or other storage and treatment device, including urine diversion with a urine-diverting toilet.
An arborloo is a simple type of composting toilet in which feces are collected in a shallow pit and a fruit tree is later planted in the fertile soil of the full pit. Arborloos have: a pit like a pit latrine but less deep; a concrete, ferrocement or other strong floor; a superstructure to provide privacy; and possibly a ring beam to protect the pit from collapsing. The pit should remain well above the water table in the soil, so as to not contaminate groundwater.
In the United States an irrigation district is a cooperative, self-governing public corporation set up as a subdivision of the State government, with definite geographic boundaries, organized, and having taxing power to obtain and distribute water for irrigation of lands within the district; created under the authority of a State legislature with the consent of a designated fraction of the landowners or citizens.
A vacuum truck or vacuum tanker is a tank truck that has a pump and a tank. The pump is designed to pneumatically suck liquids, sludges, slurries, or the like from a location into the tank of the truck. The objective is to enable transport of the liquid material via road to another location. Vacuum trucks transport the collected material to a treatment or disposal site, for example a sewage treatment plant.
A dry toilet is a toilet that operates without flush water, unlike a flush toilet. The dry toilet may have a raised pedestal on which the user can sit, or a squat pan over which the user squats in the case of a squat toilet. In both cases, the excreta falls through a drop hole.
The ancient Indus Valley Civilization in South Asia, including current day's Pakistan and north India, was prominent in infrastructure, hydraulic engineering, and had many water supply and sanitation devices that are the first known examples of their kind.
Dutch brick is a small type of yellow brick made in the Netherlands, or similar brick, and an architectural style of building with brick developed by the Dutch. The brick, made from clay dug from river banks or dredged from river beds of the river IJssel and fired over a long period of time, was known for its durability and appearance.
Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil or sand on the surface of Earth. Digging is actually the combination of two processes, the first being the breaking or cutting of the surface, and the second being the removal and relocation of the material found there. In a simple digging situation, this may be accomplished in a single motion, with the digging implement being used to break the surface and immediately fling the material away from the hole or other structure being dug.
Fecal sludge management (FSM) is the collection, transport, and treatment of fecal sludge from pit latrines, septic tanks, or other onsite sanitation systems. Fecal sludge is a mixture of human excreta, water and solid wastes that are disposed of in pits, tanks or vaults of onsite sanitation systems. Fecal sludge that is removed from septic tanks is called septage.
Emergency sanitation is the management and technical processes required to provide sanitation in emergency situations. Emergency sanitation is required during humanitarian relief operations for refugees, people affected by natural disasters and internally displaced persons. There are three phases of emergency response: Immediate, short term and long term. In the immediate phase, the focus is on managing open defecation, and toilet technologies might include very basic latrines, pit latrines, bucket toilets, container-based toilets, chemical toilets. The short term phase might also involve technologies such as urine-diverting dry toilets, septic tanks, decentralized wastewater systems. Providing handwashing facilities and management of fecal sludge are also part of emergency sanitation.