Solar-powered ‘ATM’ delivers clean water in Sub-Saharan Africa

For most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, access to safe and reliable water remains a major challenge. In Kenya alone, 16 million people do not have access to clean water. Increased incidences of drought linked to climate change is worsening water scarcity, particularly in areas that have limited and sporadic rainfall, leading to migration and increased urbanisation.

Grundfos Lifelink Water Solutions helps build resilience to the effects of climate change by providing access to safe, sustainable and affordable water to people in developing countries. Lifelink systems can be installed in large or small water schemes in both urban and rural settings. In urban areas, the systems can be connected to the water network or to a water storage tank. In off-grid rural areas, Lifelink systems take the form of communal water points and mini-grids, drawing water from the ground or water treatment systems through solar-powered pumps.

To collect water, people charge a smart card with credit bought onsite or via their mobile phones, insert it into the dispenser and pay for the water they need.

The cloud-based water management system receives and publishes all transactional and operational data from each water dispenser. The system also includes an alert function, which allows utilities to immediately detect – and respond to operational problems so that maintenance can be carried out in a timely manner. This helps minimise operational downtime of the water kiosk.