Document 526
POST IMPLEMENTATION REPORT
CHAPTER: NCSU EWB
COUNTRY: Bolivia
COMMUNITY: Asanquiri
PROJECT: Water supply
PREPARED BY
Akeem Robinson, Chris Love, Danielle Touma, Natalie Chan, Tamara Robertson
Submittal Date
ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS-USA
www.ewb-usa.org
Table of Contents
Post Implementation Report Part 1 – Administrative Information
Post Implementation Report Part 2 – Technical Information
1.0 Introduction 5
2.0 Project Background 5
3.0 Trip Description 8
4.0 Community 12
4.1 Description of Community 12
La Paz 12
La Paz to Cochabamba 12
Cochabamba 12
Cochabamba to Asanquiri 13
4.2 Community Relations 14
Initial Meeting 14
5.0 Project Summary 17
Planned project 17
Project Revision 17
Project as Implemented 17
Rooftop Harvesting System 18
Final Touches 21
GPS mapping 21
6.0 Photo Documentation 22
7.0 Monitoring and evaluation 27
Information About the Capacitation Center 27
Student Daily Lives 27
Alternate Water Sources 28
Other Observations 31
Improved Hygene 33
8.0 LESSONS LEARNED 34
9.0 NEXT PHASE OF THE PROGRAM 35
Part 2: Technical Information - Instructions 40
Post Implementation Report Part 1 – Administrative Information
1.0 Contact Information
Name / Email / Phone / ChapterProject Leads / Chris Love / / (828) 400-1826 / NCSU
President / Clint Gibson / / NCSU
Mentor #1 / Natalie Chan / / (562) 257-1604 / ?
Mentor #2
Faculty Advisor (if applicable) / Detlef Knappe / / (919) 515-8791 / NCSU
Health Point Person #1 / Natalie Chan / / (562) 257-1604 / ?
Health Point Person #2
NGO/Community Contact / Luc Matthiej / / NA
Education Lead
2.0 Travel History
Dates of Travel / Assessment or Implementation / Description of Trip12/28/06 – 1/8/07 / Assessment / Assessment trip
7/27/09 - 8/13/09 / Implementation / Implementation
3.0 Travel Team
Name / E-mail / Phone / Chapter / Student or ProfessionalAkeem Robinson / / (919) 389-6680 / NCSU / Student
Chris Love / / (828) 400-1826 / NCSU / Student
Danielle Touma / / (919) 449-6377 / NCSU / Student
Natalie Chan / / (562) 257-1604 / Professional
Tamara Robertson / / (919) 332-0483 / NCSU / Student
4.0 Safety
4.1 Safety Incident Reports
None to report
5.0 Budget
5.1 Cost
Expense / Total CostAirfare / $7,404.54
On Ground / $160.00
Materials / $1,354.55
Other / $109.29
Total / $9,028.38
6.0 Project Location
Longitude: 66° 07.658’ W
Latitude: 17° 55.737’ S
Post Implementation Report Part 2 – Technical Information
1.0 Introduction
The purpose of this document is to report the accomplishments of the EWB-NCSU Bolivia committee during the implementation trip to Asanquiri, Bolivia. This report will include information about the how the EWB-NCSU Bolivia committee prepared for this implementation trip and why it was done during the summer of 2009. It will also present information about how the implementation team approached the project and the changes that were made after arriving. EWB-NCSU’s goal is to ensure that the projects are sustainable and that what is implemented is tailored to what the community needs rather than solely determining their needs with what was previously known.
This project, rather than being a subset of a larger community, was done at a community that was chosen to pilot test a rainwater collection system. EWB-NCSU was informed, by Luc, the contact in Bolivia, that the capacitation center is used to teach new technology to young adults in order for them to be able to use it in their future lives and in their communities. Based on the effectiveness of the rainwater collection system, the process may also be implemented in neighboring communities.
2.0 Project Background
The Asanquiri, Bolivia Water Treatment Project was selected in 2005 from a list of projects provided by EWB-USA. After the project was selected, EWB-NCSU created a Bolivia committee to gather students who want to focus on the Bolivia project. Information such as climate, landscape, government, and culture was collected on the area prior to the assessment trip in order to understand the area and to determine how the project should be approached. The information collected was used to plandetermine what data needed to be collected during the assessment trip.
A team of five, four EWB members and a mentor, traveled to Asanquiri between December 2006 and January 2007 for the assessment trip. They collected water quality data such as turbidity, pH, and coliform count from the community of Asanquiri and neighboring communities in order for future members to analyze the data to determine what type of treatment system will work best in the community. While in Bolivia, they also interviewed the locals to gather information on how their water was affecting them.
After the team returned to NCSU, members were informed that the quantity of water was also subsufficient, so rainwater harvesting systems were taken into consideration when planning the implementation. In order to implement a rainwater harvesting system, rainwater data of the area was needed. The nearest cities with rainwater data were Cochabamba and Potosi. An estimation on the amount of rain Asanquiri was getting was made using the Potosi data because it was the closest in elevation. Based on the rainwater data, it was possible to determine whether rainwater harvesting was a reasonable solution for the water quantity problem. Figure 2.1 shows a graph of the rainfall of Potosi for each month in 2007. Rainwater data and calculations are available in Appendix A. After calculating the amount of water that could be harvested, the committee decided that the rainwater harvesting system would be beneficial to the community. (Calculations?). Calculations can be seen in Appendix A as well.
Figure () above2.1: The shows that the majority of the precipitation occurs between November and February.
All of the people who went on the assessment trip graduated that summer, but the graduated members told the existing members that they were available for questions whenever we needed to get specific information. Because none of the current members had been to Bolivia, it was difficult to plan where equipment should be located, since the only things that were available were rough maps and pictures. Luc answered questions and gave suggestions for project parameters that would be difficult to know without actually being there.
While the members were contacting various people and organizations to collect information for the project, the committee became connected with another NGO called Water for People, which is made of members from the American Water Works Association (AWWA). They too had a Bolivia project, so information was shared between the groups. After researching various water treatment methods, EWB-NCSU decided that Solar Disinfection (SODIS) was the most feasible because of what was learned from sharing information with Water for People. The Bolivia committee was informed that 2L plastic bottles were readily available; therefore SODIS would be a good solution for treating the water.
The original water treatment method that was planned to implement was SODIS. It was a simple process to show the community how to use, and it was feasible because their water source was not turbid. The water was mostly contaminated with fecal coliforms, and SODIS was a process that was able to deactivateeliminate the coliforms. Many experiments were conducted at NCSU using SODIS to ensure that it will work on the field.
Spring 2008, the Bolivia committee received $6,000 for the project from grants that EWB-USA helped provide. There was a team of 4, 3 students and a mentor, who were ready to go on the implementation trip, but in Bolivia that July, there was civil unrest due to the presidential election in Bolivia, which hindered the team from going.
Because the team could not go that summer, the Bolivia committee focused their attention on improving the implementation plan however possible. One change that was made was the water treatment method. The group decided to do research on biosand filtration because it was a more thorough water treatment process. Biosand filtration will remove the solid particles as well as the coliforms. It also had the potential to treat more water because it wasn't as dependent on the wheather.
After biosand filtration was chosen as the treatment method, the Bolivia committee began build prototypes for sand filters to gain a better understanding of how the sytem works, and to have practice before implementing it in a more difficult environment. The Bolivia committee also continued to research rainwater harvesting systems to figure out how to better connect the system to the buildings.
3.0 Trip Description
The EWB-NCSU student team spent their last month in the United States building sand filter units with materials and dimensions much like the units that would be implemented during the trip to Asanquiri, Bolivia. During these trials, the team was able to determine the types of tools they would require, the time commitment that was needed, and the different troubles which could arise during construction. The team constructed a list of necessities that each member would personally need as well as a supply list for the project.
Figure 3.1: Constructing a form for a biosand filter to research different methods of construction
Day 1: On August 27 2009 the team met at Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU) in Raleigh to embark on their implementation trip. The trip consisted of a leg from RDU to Miami International Airport (MIA) where they would have a lay-over and then embark on their final portion of the trip to La Paz, Bolivia.
Day 2: Arriving in La Paz in the early hours of the morning, the team decided to rest at the airport and wait for hostels and shops in the area to open. During this time they formulated a game plan researching for a hostel nearby to stay at for the night while they waited for their mentor to arrive from California. The group experienced their first bit of Bolivian cuisine at the airport terminal. After a light breakfast they piled into a taxi and embarked on their voyage. There was much to do and see as the team waited for the arrival of Natalie Chan, their mentor.
Day 3: The next morning Danielle and Sharp [R1]went to the airport early to pick up Natalie. The team had lunch and walked around the city a while longer before taking a taxi to the local bus station to begin their trip to Cochabamba. Having boarded a sleeper bus the group was delighted to recline and take in the scenery of their seven-hour bus ride.
Day 4: Arriving in Cochabamba they quickly got reacquainted with Bolivia as they entered into the city life. They quickly hailed a taxi and rode to a nearby hostel where they would stay the night and meet the community leader, Luc, the next morning.
Day 5: Luc met them early for a light breakfast and a trip to the Save the Children office in Cochabamba. The staff at Save the Children was very welcoming and happy that the team had arrived safely. After talking to the head of Save the Children in Cochabamba and explaining the project to him, the group quickly readied itself for the four-hour passage over three mountains to Asanquiri. The drive to Centro de Capacitación Técnica y Formación Integral Asanquiri (CECTFIA) was quite long and the group was met with many magnificent views and picturesque moments. The driving had ended but the journey was just beginning..
Day 6: The next day the team awoke early to set out investigating the water system which currently existed. After much inspection the team realized that the upper tanks were in very poor condition, with leaking bulk heads, broken pipes, and a cracked cement tank. After the inspection Luc and the team sat down and discussed the current system and the needs which the center had. As the team learned more about the water situation it became apparent that the CECTFIA was in greater need of water than of a filtration system. Luc discussed his hopes for the project and their concerns were reinforced by his request for a larger storage tank and a concentration on the acquisition of water rather than the purification. With this in mind, the group began to form a new plan for their implementation trip.
The first step involved climbing a mountain with Luc to discover the source of a second, nearby spring. The spring was near the peak of a nearby mountain and the team discovered that it had previously been found and a holding well had been put in place. However, the reservoir was in very poor condition with much of the top missing and dead rats floating in the water. The conditions of the water led the team to realize that a new method of water collection would need to be used due to the unsanitary conditions of the present reservoir. The team theorized several ideas on how to incorporate this spring into the water collection, however, the time constraints on the project left this spring out of the plan. The remainder of the day was spent mapping the present system, drawing plans for the new system, and surveying the tools and materials available in the area.
Day 6 - 8: Having determined the needed tools and supplies the team set off for the long trip back to Cochabamba with Luc. The holding tank for the rain catchment system was ordered the day before so that it could be picked up in the city. The team started on the return trip on Saturday with the intent of picking up their supplies Monday. The weekend was a time when few students or teacher's were at the center due to family obligations so this gave the team time to view more Bolivian culture in Cochabamba.