Finally after two weeks of digging trenches and mapping out the new route for the distribution system, we received the materials for the pipeline. However while we had received a majority of our materials, there were some parts that didn’t come or some that were the incorrect size. While the new order was being taken care of and pieces were being returned, we started laying the first section of the pipeline. We broke down the system into four or five housing sections for engineering purposes. Luckily for us the community members were familiar with the pipe material we were using, Supertubo HDPE pipe, because they had used it for their intake pipeline, which is going to run from the source to the water tank. Their familiarity with the pipe really helped speed up the process of unrolling, laying, and applying the connecting joints of the pipe.
While the familiarity made the work run smoother, there were plenty of challenges that would pop up while we were working. One of the biggest challenges would have to be all of the politics. Not only is the community dealing with permission to pass through a family’s land who lies above Quincucirca, but there are some families who wish to not be involved in the water project and therefore we had to map out pipeline routes that didn’t not pass through certain individual lands. Or there were people who kept changing their mind on where they wanted the water connection. Though for the most part, we made sure to not get involved with politics that didn’t concern us, occasionally a community member or two would tell us all about the politics going on in the community.
Other challenges included all of the holidays, festivities and meetings that went on in Quincucirca and Sorata. While we were there in the month of July, there were four holidays, the president and vice president came on separate visits, and there were a couple of meetings in Sorata that required at least one member from each family. While the holidays and festivities were cool to see from a tourist point of view, it decreased the number of days and workers who were able to work.
By the end of our time there we had almost finished constructing the pipeline. While we were able to lay the entire distribution pipeline while we were there, we weren’t able to make all of the connections to the houses because we didn’t receive the right type of valves for the households during the first shipment of materials. We were, however, able to make a demonstration connection that the community members would be able to look at and replicate.
Jordan Thoennes, undergraduate, Civil Engineering, UC Davis
While the familiarity made the work run smoother, there were plenty of challenges that would pop up while we were working. One of the biggest challenges would have to be all of the politics. Not only is the community dealing with permission to pass through a family’s land who lies above Quincucirca, but there are some families who wish to not be involved in the water project and therefore we had to map out pipeline routes that didn’t not pass through certain individual lands. Or there were people who kept changing their mind on where they wanted the water connection. Though for the most part, we made sure to not get involved with politics that didn’t concern us, occasionally a community member or two would tell us all about the politics going on in the community.
Other challenges included all of the holidays, festivities and meetings that went on in Quincucirca and Sorata. While we were there in the month of July, there were four holidays, the president and vice president came on separate visits, and there were a couple of meetings in Sorata that required at least one member from each family. While the holidays and festivities were cool to see from a tourist point of view, it decreased the number of days and workers who were able to work.
By the end of our time there we had almost finished constructing the pipeline. While we were able to lay the entire distribution pipeline while we were there, we weren’t able to make all of the connections to the houses because we didn’t receive the right type of valves for the households during the first shipment of materials. We were, however, able to make a demonstration connection that the community members would be able to look at and replicate.
Before we left, we made sure to identify people in the community who were the "handy man" types and instructed them in how to maintain and operate the system, in addition to leaving them a copy of a maintenance manual for the entire system. I’m glad to know that there will be funds and people who can maintain the system after we leave.
Jordan Thoennes, undergraduate, Civil Engineering, UC Davis
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