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Week 3, by Nicolas Dante Dilliott

Blog Post 3 Week 4 7/15-7/20

By the start of our last week we had finished the construction of the first spring catchment and were putting the final touches on the third catchment. When we conducted the new flow rate being delivered to the community we found that it was twice as much as compared to last year, a huge success!

We were using the extra labor we had available to replace old pipeline and connect the new spring catchments to the storage tank. Besides spending our time completing construction related tasks we began completing important assessment related activities. An essential part of the trip was to assess the feasibility of future projects that were in need in the community. Through the first three weeks which included some preliminary data collection we deduced that there were three viable future projects. These included, a new water storage tank, a new pipeline connecting the communities current storage tank to the beginning of the distribution line, and a new distribution pipeline.

Since we had more time freed up, we were able to conduct an experiment to determine the amount of water that was lost from the current pipeline that connected the communities small water storage tank to the beginning of the distribution line. We determined that they may be losing up to 20% of their water in just this section of line.

We also had time to survey locations for a new storage tank (we estimate that they require a tank three times as large as their current one) and coordinate with the water committee president concerning purchasing land if necessary for it. We also spent a considerable amount of time running hydraulic calculations to determine the necessary pipe sizes for different parts of the distribution line that could accommodate the required demand in the community in 30+ years.

We were communicating this information to the water committee since at the end of the day they would be the ones deciding which project they would want for next year. At the last community meeting we told the community members what different alternatives we would be assessing with the data we collected for next years project. They began discussing and expressed already that they would want a new storage tank if it was possible. We estimated that a new storage tank would need to hold approximately 25,000 gallons of water to capture the current windfall during non-peak hours. We consulted with the local municipality and they estimated that based on their previous projects it would cost between $20,000-$30,000 to construct a tank that size. This would be on top of the extra $5,000-$7,000 that is required to send the students on the trip itself.

While this number seemed and is daunting, we had a final meeting with the mayor of the municipality and he expressed that he would do everything he could to help us complete the rest of our projects. Also at this meeting with the mayor we were all surprisingly presented with medals from the government. This occurred on our final day in the community (our taxi was set to leave in 3 hours). Afterwards we got some ice cream treats with the water committee members who were expressing their gratitude for everything we had done. This was one of my favorite memories since everyone was ecstatic not only at the prospect of currently having more water but for the possibilities in the future of securing a dependable potable water system for their children.

I really can’t express what an important impact this trip has had on my outlook of life. We worked in a community that rarely had access to a full day of water and minimal amenities, but what they did have in plenty was love that they shared unconditionally with us. It was really eye opening to meet a community that wanted to live a peaceful life off their subsistence farms. Many of them only wanted to have a sustainable access to resources like water and opportunity for their children to receive an education.

I highly encourage anyone that has the opportunity to work on a service project in a developing community (local or international) to do so. It really has shaped me into a more empathetic citizen and I can’t wait to continue to pursue a career where I can give back to those less fortunate.

Viva Peru!

Performing a leaks assessment with Tito who was a past water committee president and was invaluable on the current project trip.

After our last community community meeting

After the meeting with the mayor of San Marcos (district capital) we were awarded medals for our service to the community of La Huaylla

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