Sand Dam Project in Kenya

RC Nantwich, along with the Rotary Clubs of Crewe, Crewe & Nantwich Weaver, Alderley Edge & Bollin Valley, Biddulph, Denton & Audenshaw and supported by a Rotary Grant have raised enough money to build a sand dam in Thavu, a village in Eastern Kenya. Here rainfall occurs in just one or two short, intense seasons and river beds are dry for most of the year, and water is a catalyst for everything. Without it, people cannot grow food to feed their families or sell the surplus to earn income; children cannot go to school or communities prosper. Access to a local supply of clean safe water is therefore a critical first step to poverty relief in these rural areas.

A sand dam is a reinforced concrete wall built across a seasonal sandy river. With the arrival of seasonal rains, water containing eroded soil (made up of sand and silt) is captured behind the dam wall. The heavy sand sinks, accumulating behind the dam, while the lighter silt washes over the dam wall.

Within one to four rainy seasons, the dam fills with sand. But, up to 40% of the volume of this sand is actually water, trapped in the spaces between grains of sand. Storing up to 20 million litres of water, one sand dam can support over 1,000 people with a local water source for life. In addition, as it has been filtered through sand, the water is clean, potable and protected from evaporation and contamination.

In addition, the sand dam replenishes the water table improving soil fertility. By planting trees, the micro-climate improves creating ‘oasis’ conditions, further enhancing the productiveness of the land.

Sand dams create the potential for people to farm, learn and innovate. They break the cycle of dependence by enabling farmers to grow more food to eat, store and sell. In long established sand dam areas, there are now even fish farms!