 |
|||||||
| About UNEP | UNEP offices | News centre | Publications | Calendar | Awards | Milestones | UNEP Store |
|
|||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
||
| UNEP>DTIE>IETC | |
|
|
Newsletter and Technical Publications 1.6.3 Water Conveyance by Tanker Trucks Tanker trucks are used to convey water from water sources to consuming areas, especially for residential areas without local water sources. The water is usually conveyed from the nearest well, spring or dam to the areas of use. It is either distributed directly from the tankers, or emptied in to a distribution tank for later use. This technology is considered to be a developed form of the old technique of using animals to convey water. It is also sometimes used to convey the raw or treated wastewater for reuse on agricultural fields. Technology Description The volume of water-conveying tankers ranges between 2-15 m3. The tankers are carried on trucks or trailers, and are equipped with pumps and counters to determine the volume of water pumped into user’s tanks. To use this technology, accessible roads must be available between the water source and the users. The occurrence of snowstorms in mountainous areas, which renders the roads impassable at such times, limits the use of the technology. Probably the most important requirement for using his technology is the availability of a relatively close water source. Extent of Use The technology is popular in many rural areas where small residential communities exist without sufficient potable water, especially during the dry season (June-October) in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. It is also used in some cities (Amman), and randomly-scattered residential areas on city boundaries (Damascus). It also is used in some pasture areas in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, for livestock watering during the dry season. The technology provides about 1% of the annual water conveyance capacity in Sultanate of Oman (about 17 million m3/year). The government provides the water supply stations at low cost, while the private sector provides the tankers (with 3 m3 volumes). The private sector then sells the water to residents. Water conveyance tankers are used in Qatar to transport water from supply stations to regions located distant from water distribution networks. There are approximately 600 tankers that provide water supply to rural areas, especially the suburbs of Al-Doha. The government provides 12 locations for supplying the tankers with freshwater that can be used for domestic purposes. Operation and Maintenance The water-conveyance tanker and pump are operated by the tanker driver. There also is an assistant if the water is pumped into high buildings. Maintenance is carried out in automobile workshops, and includes cleaning and disinfecting of the tanker, in addition to its mechanical maintenance. Level of Involvement Some water conveyance tankers are owned by the governments in the Arab countries of the West Asia region, while others are owned and managed by the private sector. In Syria, where provision of potable water is a government task, water-supply institutes are securing potable water for some mountainous areas with the use of tanker trucks. The Ministry of Agriculture also provides livestock drinking water for some pasture areas with the use of tanker trucks. The role of the private sector is limited to some scattered residential areas. Water from tanker trucks also are sold by the private sector in mountainous recreational areas of Lebanon and Amman, and in the Sultanate of Oman. Costs The costs of establishing, operating and maintaining tanker truck water-conveyance projects are relatively high, compared to other water-conveyance technologies. The price of a cubic meter of water provided by tanker trucks in Syria, for example, reaches about US $ 0.75, compared to the price of US$ 0.1/m3 for water conveyed through pipes. In Amman, during the very hot summer of 1998 when all the people had to buy water from tanker trucks, the cost of 5 m3 of water reached US$ 50, and sometimes as high as US$ 70. In the Sultanate of Oman, the price of a cubic meter of water conveyed by tanker trucks is US$ 0.579 for volumes less than 3 cubic meters and US$ 1.738 for volumes greater than 3 cubic meters. The tariff of providing water to luxury residencies (villas) in Qatar using tanker trucks is about US$ 55/month, whereas it reaches US$ 41/month for apartments. The price of water for commercial and industrial sectors is about US$ 1.2/m3, and it is the responsibility of these individual sectors to transport the water from its source to its place of use. Effectiveness of Technology This technology is considered effective for helping address the difficulty of securing water for domestic uses, particularly for areas with small residential populations. It is regarded as a temporary solution for emergencies. It also is considered an effective way to face dry spells that may strike some areas. Suitability This technology is suitable for isolated regions with no water source, where tankers may be the only source of potable water during certain periods. However, even in such cases, this technology is not a permanent solution to the provision of water to residential communities. Advantages The advantages of this technology are as follows:
Disadvantages The disadvantages of this technology are as follows:
Cultural Acceptance This technology is considered an improvement to the more ancient method of using animals to and iron tanks, into a technology for conveying water through the use of tanker trucks. The technology is considered acceptable by all societies. Further Development of the Technology Further development of this technology would include the following activities:
Information Sources Contacts Ali ben Abdel-Latif Mohamed Al-Mohanady Al-Sayed Khalifa El-Mansour Gafar Habib Ahmed Said ben Mohamed ben Shams Al-Nabhany References FAO. 1994. Irrigation water delivery models. Water Report 2, FAO, Rome, Italy. Naufal Abdel Gabbar Al-Masry. 1999. Iraq Country Report, Project for the Preparation of the Source Book for the Alternative Technologies for Fresh Water Augmentation in West Asia Region. Internal Technical Report, ACSAD, Damascus, Syria. Nour Al-Din Al-Rifa’ay. 1982. Design of open channels and water structures. Technical report, Damascus, Syria. Syria Ministry of Housing. 1999. Report by the Committee of the Study of Available Alternatives to Ductile Steel Pipes and the Committee of the Study of Requirements of Potable Water Projects in Syria. Ministry of Housing.
|
|
|
|||
Table
of Contents
 |
© United
Nations Environment Programme | privacy
policy | terms
and conditions |contacts|support
UNEP | UNEP
sitemap
|