Grygla native, Nathan Rittenour, develops new water well hand pump to be used in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The following article was published in the November 2015 issue of the Water Well Journal. Water Well Journal is a monthly trade publication that goes to more than 24,000 readers in the United States and overseas that covers topics such as drilling techniques, geothermal systems, pumping systems, well maintenance, water quality and treatment and more. The November issue of Water Well Journal always focuses on global water.  

Mike Price, Information Products Editor at the National Ground Water Association, wrote a story for the WWJ November issue, titled ‘Sustaining the Future: Organizations work to ensure water well hand pumps continue to operate after installation in developing nations.’ As part of that feature, he included a piece on Grygla native, Nathan Rittenour, titled ‘Struggles with Installation Lead to Development of New Water Well Hand Pump’. 

The story below is being reprinted with permission from the National Ground Water Association. ©2015

Struggles with Installation Lead to Development of New Water Well Hand Pump

Nathan Rittenour’s growing frustrations with installing hand pumps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo spurred him to action.

The director of development for Congo Frontline Missions believed a better alternative could be created – prompting him to design his own hydraulic hand pump with the help of two engineers and a machinist. In testing, the hand pump has pumped more than 150,000 gallons of groundwater with more than one million hand strokes without any major breakdown.

“My original plan was to produce the pump for my own use, but after seeing the poor quality of pumps in use in other countries, I want to make my pump available for sale for worldwide use,” says the 34-year old Rittenour who lives in Kasson, Minnesota.

The pump’s key component is its bladder design. Being hydraulic, Rittenour eliminated the need for the drop rod that goes to the bottom of the well. This and other moving components have been removed, eliminating potential problems, according to Rittenour.

Here is how the pump works: As the handle is pushed down, water is pushed into the bladder, expanding it. You can think of this bladder like a balloon. The bladder is inside of the lower main water cylinder. As the bladder expands, the water is pushed out of the cylinder into the output line, and thus out of the pump spout. As the handle is raised, the bladder shrinks and water is drawn into the cylinder, and the process is repeated. The cylinder has two valves, one at the top and bottom, and an expanding bladder inside of it.

Rittenour has drilled 38 water wells since February 2010 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with a Little Beaver LS200H portable rig with an 11 hp hydraulic unit, 11 hp mud pump, and 5-foot drill stem. The average depth of the 38 wells is 125 feet. The drilling formation is sand, gravel or shale.

His experience installing hand pumps includes the Afridev and India Mark III models, both manufactured in India for export to Africa. He found the DRC government-installed U2/U3 Modified Deep Well pumps – similar to India Mark models – to be well designed but poorly manufactured. This led most to last only three to nine months on average unless the manufacturing defects were corrected and the pump was properly installed. 

He also had fits working with the Afridev polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe due to the bell end being manufactured too large – so the riser pipe on the pump leaked, forcing him to heat the pipe and re-bell it to fit properly. The machining of the pipe threads with the India Mark style pumps also gave Rittenour headaches. He had to cut of the ends and rethread them by hand and replace the couplings with new ones purchased in the United States.

“I feel like I shouldn’t have to be remanufacturing in the bush when all I have are limited supplies, Rittenour says.

This led him Rittenour to dedicate his time to developing his own pump last year when he returned to the United States. His goal is is to guarantee the pump for three years without maintenance. Rittenour is also working on designing a frost-free option hand pump so it can operate in colder regions.

Congo Frontline Missions, a manufacturer member of the National Ground Water Association, is exhibiting at the 2015 NGWA Groundwater Expo and Annual Meeting, December 15-17 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A developmental pump model will be on display at the Expo.

To learn more about Congo Frontline Missions, visit www.congofrontlinemissions.org.