Las Delicias, Panama
Status: Ongoing
The community
Las Delicias, Panama is a fast-growing subsistence farming community of over 280 people in roughly 85 homes. The village sits in a mountainous region of the Coclé province. Due to an increase in the quality of the road to and from the community, many local farmers have begun growing cash crops, such as oranges and coffee, to sell at the markets. The community has one school which meets many days, though the teacher commutes from outside the village and has other commitments. There is a community center where meetings and large gatherings can occur, and a soccer field which you can find by following any child in the afternoon. Las Delicias is, all things considered, a happy and thriving community. However, many citizens had limited access to clean drinking water before the completion of the new drinking water distribution system in December 2018. Prior to December 2018, there was a non-functional drinking water distribution system in place. It suffered from numerous leaks, inadequate supply and poor hydraulic design. The village has an elected Water Board which collects dues and is responsible for the drinking water distribution and supply system.
The project
The Northeastern University Student Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA NEU) became involved with Las Delicias after a Northeastern University community service group traveled to the village in 2014 to help build a small water storage tank for the school. EWB-USA NEU gained an understanding of the problems and inconsistencies the community members faced with their water system. The community service trip laid out the foundation of the relationship between Las Delicias and EWB-USA NEU. The old water system and the new water system in the community uses two water sources and one large reinforced concrete tank, which in theory could supply at least a large portion of the community with water regularly. The old water distribution system consisted of a network of PVC pipes that sat above ground and were subjected to elements ranging from sunlight to animals. In addition to leaks, the community has been suffering unusual weather patterns that have caused many problems for both the farms and the water supply. Las Delicias’ goals for this project are to make positive changes in public and environmental health, expand their technical knowledge related to their water supply system, and gain an increased access to clean drinking water. Since 2015, our chapter has been committed to working alongside Las Delicias to assist the community in achieving these goals.
The Progress
In August 2015, the first assessment trip was carried out with the goals of gaining a deeper understanding about the needs of the community and gathering enough technical information to begin a preliminary design. The team used GPS and topographic surveying to create a map and pinpoint the specific challenges facing this system, conducted health surveys, and most importantly, formalized a relationship with the community, in which expectations of both groups were outlined. In addition, the team explored the sites of some potential new sources, along with assessing the two current water sources. The second assessment trip took place during August 2016 and included some of the same goals as the first trip, further GPS and topographic surveying to map the new distribution system route, water quality and pressure data gathering to assess source and tank capability, material and labor research, and further data gathering for specific distribution design aspects. From these two assessment trips the program prioritized phases of the overall project and designed a gravity fed drinking water distribution system, utilizing break pressure tanks, to meet the needs of the community.
In August 2017 the Panama team returned to Las Delicias with the goal of starting construction of the new water distribution system, and completing construction of half the distribution system. The team finalized all break pressure tank locations and met with a local mason and reviewed their designs, led training sessions for members of the community on construction methods, met with a pipe supplier in Panama City to purchase and coordinate the delivery of the needed PVC pipes, and most importantly oversaw the start of trench digging, pipe laying, and structure construction. EWB-USA NEU students left drawings and designs for the new water distribution system and within a few months, the community completed all construction that was laid out for the first half of the distribution system.
The Panama team returned to Las Delicias in March 2018 and began phase two of implementation. This involved marking the pipeline route, marking and scouting out break tank sites, and constructing the river crossing design. After the arrival of the materials, the team lead trainings for cutting and threading galvanized iron pipe so the community was able to assemble tap stands. Surveying was conducted to determine break tank locations; the same elevation was desired and achieved to very small error. The team also collected flow rate data for both current sources and potential sources, took water samples for all potential sources.
The new drinking water system was commissioned during the December 2018 trip, where the team inspected all the float valve tanks, valve boxes and the river crossing. During the commissioning, a small leak in the transmission main and two breaks in the pipeline were discovered and addressed accordingly. The team performed three steps to clean the new water distribution system and prepare it for clean drinking water. The team also visited the new water source called Pagaucito for assessment and planned for the upcoming transmission main.
The EWB-USA NEU team is planning an upcoming trip for the beginning of 2020. On this trip the new transmission main and filter box, will be implemented. The filter box is being designed to remove particles from the water before it enters the storage tank and new distribution system. Additional issues brought up by the Las Delicias community will also be addressed given the project is reaching its final stages.