Our National Assembly needs to pass a bill making it compulsory for every local government area to instal at least 100 Archimedes Screws

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) This is the screw pump, known as the Archimedes Screw. It is the oldest displacement pump in the world and records of its use dates back to Ancient Egypt before the 3rd century BC. Back then, Egyptians used it to lift water from the Nile

(2) Later introduced from Egypt to Greece, some researchers have postulated that the Archimedes Screw was the device used to irrigate the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

(3) Archimedes was so fascinated by this screw that he had it fitted to the Roman Emperor’s warship. This was to allow it to bail out water whenever it got hit during battle to avert sinking

(4) If water is fed into the top of an Archimedes Screw, it will force the screw to rotate. The rotating shaft can then be used to drive an electric generator. Such an installation has the same benefits as using the screw for pumping, the ability to handle very dirty water and widely varying rates of flow at high efficiency

(5) At Windsor Castle in the UK, the queen apparently has one fitted, which generates all the power used on the massive estate. Basically, Windsor Castle has nothing to do with the National Grid

(6) In 2017, the first reverse screw hydropower in the US opened in Meriden, Connecticut. This Meriden project built and operated by New England Hydropower, has a nameplate capacity of 193 kW and a capacity factor of approximately 55% over a 5-year running period

(7) In the ancient world, the Archimedes Screw was used predominately for the transport of water to irrigation systems and for dewatering mines or other low-lying areas. It was later used for draining land that was underneath the sea in the Netherlands and other places in the creation of polders

(8) Archimedes Screws are widely used in sewage treatment plants today because they cope well with varying rates of flow and with suspended solids. They are cheap, easy to produce, portable, very mobile and light on weight

(9) This basic contraption can solve so many of our problems in rural Nigeria. It can generate power, dispose of sewage and also irrigate crops. Why was something like this not part of our traditional set-up? This is where the sub-Saharan African fell behind the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, etc. It is simple machines like this that will develop our villages

(10) If every one of our 774 local government areas had at least 10 Archimedes Screws installed on their rivers and streams, they would probably be able to generate enough electricity to power their communities. It appears that on this power issue, local government may be the one to offer the solution