El Chaguite, Honduras

From EWBNEU_Wiki

Project Summary

Located in the mountainous region, El Chaguite is a village of around 330 villagers, sixty homes, two churches, and a school, with several new homes under construction. There is currently a dilapidated water system servicing four public taps, the school, and several homes. Water is used for irrigation, wash, livestock, and drinking. In order to meet the demands of a growing community and improve quality and consistency of service, EWB-NEU has redesigned the system. The new design includes the construction of a 6,500 gallon water storage tank, new transmission lines leading to a tap at each house, church, and the school. The system begins at a source in the forest a few hundred feet above the village. Water is captured and filtered through a sand filter box cut into the water table. The water flows through the main transmission line to the storage tank for later use. From the tank, the water flows to the taps that will be installed throughout the village. The design prioritizes adequate pressure at each tap during all times of day, sustainability, and the ability to meet the future demand of the village for thirty years. The system will be able to be expanded as the village grows due to the use of locally available, affordable materials and the education of the villagers about their system. The local water board, an elected group of community members, will be responsible for system maintenance. In December of 2008, four students and two advisers traveled to Honduras to begin the implementation of our design. The team lead training sessions on the installation of PVC tubing and supervised the construction of main distribution line. They also marked-out the distribution lines per our design so that the villagers can continue construction until our next trip this coming summer. The next trip will focus on the construction of the water storage tank, inspection of previous work, installation of taps and air valves, and further education of community members.

Previous Trips

• April 2008: Assessment
• December 2008: Phase I Implementation

Reports

File:El Chaguite Assessment Report.pdf

Project Files

File:El Chaguite Dist System Map.dwg

File:El Chaguite Tank.dwg