Field trials of a new monitoring system for water pumps in Sierra Leone and The Gambia Available to Purchase

Many hand-operated water pumps across sub-Saharan Africa break down prematurely and remain out of service for significant periods of time. This issue has been well documented, with reports suggesting that between 20% and 65% of hand pumps in African countries are broken. It has also been reported that broken hand pumps in this region have represented US$1·2–1·5 billion of ineffective investment over the last 20 years. Regular post-construction monitoring of remote water pumps can help address these problems. However, in many instances, traditional monitoring programmes require regular site visits to remote locations, which can delay the implementation of repairs and place heavy time and resource demands on supervisory bodies. In response, there is emerging interest in the use of mobile-phone-based technologies to monitor water pumps. The authors describe a new monitoring system, called Mantis, which is intended to be a context-appropriate monitoring tool for hand pumps in developing regions. The paper introduces field trials of this system that have been conducted in Sierra Leone and The Gambia. The unit relays ‘near real time’ operational data from the water pump to an accessible online platform.