Picfare Tank Restoration

This summer I had the opportunity to work on some special projects with my engineering summer interns Jeff and Kevin, but haven’t blogged about them yet because of the unexpected refugee work in July and August.  One of our biggest community impact projects this summer was the restoration of the Picfare community water reservoir.  The plaster on the roof was breaking away exposing the brick internal masonry of the wall.  Local drainage from the nearby road and the tank’s overflow had eroded a portion of the base dangerously exposing the foundation and the valve service box had been destroyed. 

We began work at the site by fully removing the roof plaster which was separating from the concrete roof:

We then re-plastered the whole roof and used techniques to ensure a strong bond between the new plaster and the old roof:

We added a locking mechanism to the man-hole to secure the inside:

We reinforced the tank foundation with concrete:


We thoroughly cleaned the inside of the tank – which it was in desperate need of:

And we repaired the outlet valves and valve box:



We’ve finished all of the technical repairs to the tank and the Picfare community was very excited to have a fully functioning tank that wasn’t in danger of collapsing.  All that remains is the painting of a ‘safe water chain’ mural on the outside of the tank when I return to Bundibugyo from HMA.

We are very thankful to the Evans family who specifically gave to the Picfare tank restoration project!!

(Some pictures courtesy of Jeff Hosan)