Water is an essential part of life. It’s used for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and overall, ensuring the sustenance of life. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to clean water. That’s why it’s important for entrepreneurs in the rural water business model to know how they can help improve access to safe drinking water around the world while incurring the lowest possible costs. This way, these innovations, and solutions would be easily obtainable by those living in rural communities at the lowest price possible.
Opportunities for Entrepreneurs in the Rural Community Market
Water is an essential resource that is needed by all people, but especially those living in rural areas. As an entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur, the amazing thing about setting up a business in rural areas is that these are markets that are mostly overlooked. While these rural communities have a lot of potential, in terms of there being a lot of needs to be met, most people tend to lean towards the rather overpopulated cities where everybody competes for literally everything.
Setting up a business in a rural community also gives you the room to first meet a key need in society, coming up with an innovative solution that solves problems. Consequently, you contribute to making life better for those living in rural communities while making a profit in the process. We can as well call this doing good the smart way, touching on business practices while keeping humanity at the core of what you do.
If you make the decision to leverage the potential in rural communities and set up your business that serves the rural market, you’ll find that there’s a lot you can do. One of the most predominant issues in rural communities is the availability of water. And in other cases, if water is available, they’re usually not clean. For the entrepreneur, this is can be a very lucrative market.
Rural Water Business Model
The rural water business model is a great way to not only make money through selling water but rather selling something much more important than that: hope.
For the average person living in a rural community with very little (or no) access to clean water, having someone step in and help them solve this problem in a way that they too feel empowered is second to none.
The rural water business model is very different from a charity organization in the sense that these individuals get to retain their dignity of voice via the dollar. Rather than an organization stepping in and giving them the proverbial fish, there’s a sense of empowerment that these people feel when they have the resources and are able to get the fish themselves. This is precisely what the rural water business model provides – a fine balance between being a charity case, and being overly expensive. This way, they get to retain their pride and dignity knowing they have the ability to cater to their own basic needs without feeling wrecked at the end of it.
If you’re an entrepreneur or an aspiring one looking to meet the water deficiency needs of a rural community, there’s a wide range of services you could consider offering. From water supply to providing sewage treatment and even setting up irrigation systems, each of these services significantly touches on important water needs that many rural communities have.
Water Supply
From a recent publication by the Rhode Island Department of Health , about 15% of the population of the United States is not served by public water systems. Instead, they use individual wells and very small drinking water systems not covered by the Safe Water Drinking Act . Many of these wells are rather dug than drilled and this makes them easily contaminable by both chemicals and bacteria.
As an entrepreneur looking to break into the rural market, this can be a very lucrative rural water business model for you. Here, there’s an apparent need for individuals that dig well to get access to water that is clean and safe. You could consider setting up a business that involves bringing in water well drillers or water well service in general. This way, you’ll get to act as a quality water provider, both for individuals and consequently, the rural community.
Sewage Treatment
This is another way to go in making clean water accessible to individuals in rural communities. Here, the rural water business model would involve setting up a wastewater (or sewage) treatment plant with a water purification system.
Typically, the water purification system would consist of equipment that facilitates the physical (filtration, sedimentation, and distillation), chemical (flocculation, chlorination, UV light), and biological processes (sand filters and active carbon) of turning wastewater or contaminated water into water that is safe to drink, cook, and carry out other activities.
This is a significant way to not only provide clean water for rural communities but to also help solve environmental pollution. If you’re an entrepreneur with an interest in the environment, you would want to consider exploring this.
Irrigation
If you’re in a rural community where agriculture is their primary source of livelihood, this rural water business model would be the most lucrative for you.
In this model, your focus would be providing irrigation systems for farms or other agricultural purposes. In situations where water scarcity is on a high, you would no doubt first need to come up with solutions for making water available in the community before heading down the road to irrigation. Here, you would most likely need to call on the water supply services.
Consider drilling wells, and setting up water pumps. While doing this, it is also important that you take into cognizance, the need to get water supplies, and plumbers that would carry out all plumbing activities. Also, consider the fact that these pumps would undoubtedly develop faults subsequently, and the need to cater for well pump repair. Remember that this is a business so be sure to put these expenses into consideration while billing community members.
Unorthodox Rural Water Business Models
While the above services are great, there are other unorthodox rural water business models that you could leverage if you’re an entrepreneur wanting to break into the rural market.
Geothermal energy is a form of renewable energy that comes from the natural heat in the Earth. This can be harnessed into what has been coined geothermal wells to make water available for rural communities.
The temperature at which geothermal wells are drilled ranges from about 90 to 290 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the location and depth of drilling. Water from these wells is heated by magma (molten rock) underneath the Earth’s surface and then used for heating and cooling purposes.
Geothermal wells can solve a variety of water problems including, water scarcity, contaminated water, unavailability of clean water, and irrigation problems. If there is enough moisture present in your area’s soil, you can use this type of water source without having any problems with algae growth or other harmful effects on your plants’ growth patterns.
This is one significant water problem that is very easily overlooked. It is, however, important to note that hard water consumption is one of the major causes of many diseases across the globe. This is because hard water is high in dissolved minerals, particularly magnesium and calcium.
A recent Insider article release showed that excessive consumption of magnesium can cause nausea, depression, low blood pressure, and diarrhea. Consuming too much calcium can cause hypercalcemia, resulting in stomach pain and digestive problems, kidney stones, poor bone health, and abnormal heart and brain function.
Along with these health-related problems, hard water can also cause scale buildup in your plumbing, which can lead to clogs, leaks, and other problems which would incur unwanted expenses. And in a rural community, this is the last thing that you want. Water softeners use salt (usually potassium chloride), which is safe for people and pets to drink to reduce the hardness of the water.
In a community where nearly all water sources (if not all) produce hard water, water softeners are your best bet for getting clean and safe water. These water sources could be ones you helped set up too.
Resources to Help You Get All Set Up
So, you’ve seen how lucrative the rural market is and you’re considering a rural water business model. It is, however, important that you get an insight into all of the tools that you would need so that this process goes as seamlessly as possible for you.
1. Well Equipment
Water well drilling and servicing is a $1.7 billion industry in the U.S., but it’s not limited to just one kind of business model. You can find companies that specialize in drilling wells for multiple purposes, such as geothermal and irrigation systems as well as conventional residential ones.
Some of these specialty services include new wells installations and repair of existing wells (including replacing parts). Servicing the systems regularly also helps to ensure they’re always up-to-date with current technology standards and regulations. You could also monitor their performance over time to ensure optimal results when needed upgrades occur at some point down the line during maintenance visits or after each year or two since installation occurred the previous year.
The equipment to get these services started is not hard to come by. Mechanical rock drills and the drill press, are some of the most common equipment.
2. Water Well Drillers
Water well drillers are a great way to get started in the water business. You can lease or buy one, and it will allow you to build up your client base.
Water well drillers can also help with geothermal wells, which are often used for residential heating systems and hot tubs. They’ll take care of any problems that arise from drilling a new well or repairing an existing one.
Experienced plumbers can also use these water well drillers for plumbing projects like installing water purification systems (which remove toxins from drinking water) or softeners. These machines reduce calcium hardness so that people who have hard water problems don’t have to worry about them anymore.
3. Water Purification System
Water purification systems are an important piece of equipment for any entrepreneur looking to get into the rural water business model. The reason is simple: clean, healthy water is vital to the success of your business and its customers’ health. It’s also important for you and your family’s health, as well as that of others around you who live in areas with poor-quality tap water.
The best way to make sure that you’re getting the cleanest possible water for all these reasons is through a good purification system—a device that removes contaminants from municipal or well water so it can be used without concern about lingering toxins affecting their taste or smell; this includes things like bacteria or viruses that could spread diseases if consumed over time.
4. Water Pumps
Water pumps are one of the most important parts of a water system. They’re used to move water from the well to your house, and they can be powered by electricity or by a gasoline engine. The pump is often the first thing to go wrong with a system, so it’s crucial that you know how they work before buying one as this can affect your business in the long run. The last thing you want is to carry out a well pump repair too frequently.
Water pumps come in many different sizes and types—from simple manual models that require no maintenance at all (but may only work for short periods) up to high-tech self-contained units capable of moving massive amounts of water quickly over long distances (and lasting longer).
Conclusion
According to Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732, we never know the worth of water till the well is dry.
The rural water business model is one that stands the test of time, and this is because water is quite frankly a necessity for man’s sustenance.
If you’re looking for a way to diversify your business and make money, consider the rural water business model. This strategy is becoming increasingly popular among entrepreneurs who want to create jobs in rural areas.
One of the best ways to get started in this field is by partnering with a local well driller or geothermal well service company that can help you get started on your own well system. A good place to start is by talking with one of these companies about what kind of equipment would be needed for your project before signing any contracts or agreements with them.
The next step would involve finding out if there are any existing regulations regarding wells in your area or state (if applicable). This will allow us to put together a plan that meets all requirements while also making sure everyone involved knows exactly what they’re getting into before starting work onsite.
