Millions of smallholder farmers cannot irrigate during the dry season because water lies just beyond the reach of traditional surface pumps. Allied H2O, Inc. has developed an affordable pump system that accesses the slightly deeper water sources needed.

Originally designed to increase crop production for farmers in developing regions, components of this irrigation technology are now being adapted for ranch and equine applications in western markets to assist animal owners in maintaining high-quality water in tank and trough applications.

As a Benefit Corporation, Allied H2O, Inc. is dedicated to creating practical water solutions that improve agricultural productivity while delivering social and economic impact. Our name is in recognition of the relationships forged over 40 years with individuals and companies that are bring their expertise alongside ours in the development of solution-based products.

Access to groundwater deeper than 22 feet boosts smallholder productivity, income, and year-round crop production. Farmers can grow higher-value crops, stabilize cash flow and increase demand for irrigation solutions.

Irrigation also supports livestock, diversifies revenue and raises farm value. Scalable, affordable irrigation drives local economic growth and represents a strong investment opportunity with both financial and social impact.

Intermediate-depth irrigation has long been a critical unmet need for smallholder farmers, with few affordable pumps able to lift agriculturally sufficient amounts of water from beyond a depth of 22 feet.

AlliedH2O has now developed an affordable and approachable irrigation pumping system to satisfy this market void. The pump system is economically viable, can be customized to a smallholder’s specific needs, delivers 3,170 gallons per seven-hour solar day, and is portable, reparable and simple to operate. This versatile technology addresses water challenges, creating strong social impact and significant market opportunity.

Allied has developed a new irrigation pump system within exacting guidelines simplifying efficient water-lifting methods to provide affordable access to intermediate-depth water reserves in order to expand key geographic areas under irrigation.

For smallholder farmers, increasing the number of annual crop cycles with irrigation could increase their agricultural production by two to three times, giving them an opportunity to move out of subsistence farming in countries that recognize this as a vital strategy for food security and poverty reduction.

Breakthrough Design Features

• Separate an aboveground power source from the below-water pump assembly to allow the use of less expensive, more available, and more efficient motors.

• Simple, appropriately-scaled lineshaft to transmit the rotation from an aboveground power source to a below-waterline pump end.

• Centrifugal pump design that allows slower lineshaft RPM’s reducing wear from friction, vibration, and turbid water while maintaining sufficient flow rate and head pressure.

• A patented speed-increasing gearbox housed below the pump end, utilizes the less-destructive slower lineshaft speed to transform the RPM into an output speed four times faster and delivered only to the impellers.

• A patented elongated UHMW bushing provides low-cost centralizing stablizer for the lineshaft addressing any points of vibration and centers transmission connections at the surface driveshaft location and below water from the lineshaft to the pump end's input shaft.

• Pump design allows for gradual, load-free startup extending the life expectancy of impellers, lineshaft, power source, and transmission parts.

• Operates from multiple power source options including small gasoline two and four-stroke engines, electric-grid enabled AC motors, photovoltaic solar panel enabled DC motors, and fuel generator enabled electric AC or DC motors.

• Right-to-repair design philosophy making each component and subassembly maintainable and repairable by the smallholder or local technician.

• Modular design allowing a baseline, “entry-level” system of surface, transmission, and pump assemblies that remain constant as power options and performance specifications are changed or upgraded.

We are not aware of any direct competitors to this innovation. While foreign-made submersible solar pumps are similar in price and specifications, Allied maintains key competitive advantages, including:

Cultural

• Provides an approachable entry point for smallholder farmers to adopt an irrigation solution featuring component simplicity and more familiar installation techniques that can be cost efficiently upgraded to solar powered at any point in the future

Mechanical

• Provides a solar-installation option that keeps a more affordable DC motor aboveground and in close proximity to the photovoltaic (PV) panels reducing the cost of longer electric wires and the additional line loss of DC current

• Gives the farmer the potential to power the irrigation system by other means available to him (i.e. preexisting DC motor/petrol engine or AC motor powered by intermittent grid electricity)

Affordability

• Places the largest percentage of the cost above ground and mobile which creates an investment that can be more easily maximized by multi-location use, selling excess water, dividing cost among users, or protecting from theft

• Provides entry-level 3hp gas-engine model that meets the low-cost characteristic of the product profile and can be upgraded to solar as the farmer’s income increases

• Each strategic upgrade allows continued utilization of earlier investments to maximize irrigation reliability at the lowest capital and operational costs

Environmental

• Offers inexpensive below ground components that encourage leaving the customized pump cylinder installations inside the well, even when moving the aboveground power source to other locations, helping to protect the aquifer’s water quality

• Offers solar options for environmentally conscious operation

Maintenance

• Provides a solar-powered design that avoids the need for sensitive underwater electrical connections to submerged electric motors

• Designed using the philosophy of right-to-repair with all components individually repairable or replaceable by the smallholder or local technician

• Provides a quick-entry design for ease of repair or cleaning of the pump cylinder without needing special tools or training

Steve and Beverly Stewart have partnered in business to varying degrees since 1983. Their decision to start Allied H2O was based on the strength that comes with shared international experience and over four decades of conducting business in the same community. Longstanding relationships, both business and personal, have created an extensive team of allies supplying expertise, resources, and mentoring in a wide range of experience and professions.

Discover how our smallholder irrigation technology is being adapted for wider markets at alliedh2o.com.