While thinking about the intersection of Water Conservation, Smart Design, Landscaping, etc ~ i couldn’t get the idea of PlayPumps out of my head. It’s brilliant really! The idea of these structures first surfaced to me on NOTCOT.org #18506, where it was described as “The PlayPump, a playground merry-go-round that uses the boundless energy of children to pump water out of the ground. More than 1000 such pumps have been installed in schools in South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia.”

Sure it’s probably not something you’d have in your backyard, but you never know, the concept may come in handy some day… so here’s how it works ~ “While children have fun spinning on the PlayPump merry-go-round (1), clean water is pumped (2) from underground (3) into a 2,500-liter tank (4), standing seven meters above the ground. A simple tap (5) makes it easy for adults and children to draw water. Excess water is diverted from the storage tank back down into the borehole (6). The water storage tank (7) provides a rare opportunity to advertise in outlaying communities. All four sides of the tank are leased as billboards, with two sides for consumer advertising and the other two sides for health and educational messages. The revenue generated by this unique model pays for pump maintenance. ” It seems so simple! Kid energy put to good use, pays for it self through advertising, fresh water for all! See more images after the jump of the PlayPump in use, as well as a map of where some are currently located.

I was delighted to see how FUN the merry go round side of the PlayPumps looked ~ really, i wouldn’t mind running around spinning on one of those! Such a clean simple design ~ transforming so much fun energy into useful resources… the only part that confuses me slightly is the slightly jarring billboards, but at least it is for a good cause and helps the upkeep of the whole system.

It sounds like the group is making quite a bit of progress – “By 2010, the combined efforts of PlayPumps International and its partners will bring the benefits of clean drinking water to up to 10 million people through the installation of 4,000 PlayPump® water systems in schools and communities in 10 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.” And if you read more on the PlayPump site, you’ll see what an extraordinary difference access to clean water has not only on health and hygiene, but also on the surrounding culture and community as well.