Training, management and maintanance

Training of the community

Based on the experiences of successful sand dam projects, facilitating community trainings on implementation, operation, management and maintenance are advised to be addressed during a community based sand dam project. Community trainings have the following objectives for the community:
• Full participation in the process of the project planning and implementation;
• Enhanced awareness on project management;
• Ensured technical and management skills after project completion;
• Enhanced awareness on management of the water quality and risks involved.

During the pilot sand dam project in Ethiopia community trainings have been divided into three categories:
• Sessions on the project planning, implementation and management of activities.
• Educational sessions on natural resources management, sanitation and hygiene
• Technical trainings on operation, management and maintenance for the water committee.

The proposed methodology of all these trainings and educational sessions is based on carefully selected questions to guide group discussions. Each community elects five to seven members for the water committee and at least two other community members (future caretakers) to participate in the trainings and sessions.

Management of a sand dam

Since the water committee and care takers have been trained and have coordinated community mobilization during implementation, the responsibility of the sand dam will be fully assigned to the water committee and care takers after completion of the construction of the sand dam. The water committee will be responsible for the management of the sand dam as well as the payment scheme and the caretakers will be responsible for the daily monitoring, operation and maintenance of the sand dam, wells and surrounding area. The water committee, with support and assistance of the concerned local government departments and the implementing partner, will monitor all activities to ensure sustainability of the project.

Maintenance of a sand dam

The approach on maintenance activities is based on the Kenyan experiences of SASOL. If a sand dam is properly constructed, it only requires little or no major maintenance. Maintenance of a sand dam can be assured if the following issues have been properly addressed during the project:
• Good workmanship during the construction of the sand dam.
• Full involvement of the community to ensure operation, management and maintenance once construction of the sand dams has been completed.
• Presence of a trained mason near to the sand dam project to ensure adequate repairs if there should be any serious damage to the structure, which is beyond the capacity of the trained caretakers.
• Proper linkage between the local community, local administration and governmental sector to ensure technical and advisory assistances for the community.

If these issues have been addressed as described in the previous paragraphs, maintenance can be kept at a minimum.

Repairing cracks and weak points in the dam
Sand dams require careful maintenance, and immediate repair, as flooding causes hundreds of tons of water to fall over the dam wall and onto the spill-over apron. Flood water may also spill over and erode the wing walls and, perhaps, even over the riverbanks during heavy rains. Extreme changes in temperature can cause the structure crack. If any cracks or weak points are observed in the sand dam, a technical engineer and mason should inspect the whole dam structure and execute repair works before the following rainy season.

Removing silt from the top of riverbed of the reservoir
The riverbed (especially just upstream of the sand dam) and the surrounding area of a sand dam have to be kept as clean as possible: rocks, branches, leaves, dead animals, animal dropping and fine textured material should be removed since they can lead to contamination of the water, reduce the capacity of the dam, lead to blocking of the reservoir and outlet or cause damage to the dam structure. Debris like rocks, branches, leaves and sediment are usually deposited after a flood event, so the time of inspecting is well known. But dead animals, animal dropping and other debris can be deposited any time. It is wise to have a strict schedule for inspection of the dam and its surroundings.