Water Project, El Corozo, Nicaragua
Sponsored by Stillwater Sunrise Rotary, and working with the district 5960 LIFT program, this project establishes a well (750 ft. deep), a water tank, and plumbing to bring a spigot to over 120 families. Funding comes from The Rotary Foundation, Rotary District 5960 and our club.
Each spigot is metered, and each household pays for the water they use, as managed by their Community Water Governance Board. This "cost of water" provides the much needed funds to pay for the power for the pump, maintenance and repairs, providing sustainability for the system. While poor, the village can pay for this valued resource, and are proud to do so.
Our entire Rotary District 5960 has been working with this village for 8 years now with the goal of eliminating poverty through building leadership, economic and social capacity around community structure. This community structure is now in place, and this water project represents much success for the entire village.
Final Report
3/22/2024 - GENERAL:
It has been a while since our last communication (Q2-2023). At that point the water system was operating and only a few of the homes did not have piping and meters at that time. Everything was scheduled to be completed in Q3-2023.
• In September 2023, the piping was completed to all the remaining homes.
• Rick Heidick visited El Corozo on October 23, 2023, to inspect the water system and discuss the governance process with the CAPS group.
YOUR SUPPORT MADE THIS WATER PROJECT HAPPEN - THANK YOU!
GRANT:
• All payments, including the final piping payments, are now complete.
• It has been determined that the project came under budget with approximately $250 left over. It was determined that the community needs about $500 for two valves for the system and our remaining funds (along with funding from the CAPS group) will be used for that.
• The Final Report for the Global Grant is currently being completed for Rotary International. Estimated to completed and approved by April 1st. At that point, the Global Grant will be considered completed and closed.
PARTNERS:
• EWB engineers joined the meetings in El Corozo on October 23, 2023 and officially signed off on the completion of the water project.
• PCF/CENICA is continuing to visit the community and monitor the performance and effectiveness of the CAPS team.
PROJECT:
• Water distribution system – to homes: Piping, metering, and water supply to over 110 homes completed. (NOTE: There are actually 125 homes in the community, but some locations have multiple homes on the same plot of land. These locations share a water spigot.) The complete system is finished and functioning per design.
COMMUNITY:
• CAPS group is functioning well with overall management of the system, along with water usage billing and payment collection is functioning well.
• For the first four months of operation of the system, the community has 100% on time payment of all water payment. The average monthly payment by the residents is approximately 200 cordobas (or about $5.00). This has allowed the CAPS team to grow their account balance to about $5,000. This is critical for the sustainability of the project because this account will be used to pay for all ongoing electrical and maintenance costs for the system, as well as for any future unforeseen costs.
ADDITIONAL NOTE:
• In mid-December 2023, the pump stopped working. This was just over nine months of operation. The drilling company, who had installed the pump, responded to the problem and checked the pump. It turned out it was a problem with the pump itself, and the pump was still under warranty. The drilling company would replace the pump free of charge, but the rental of the crane to lift the current pump and load the new one wasn’t covered by the warranty. The CAPS group of El Corozo was able to pay the $1,000 rental cost for the crane from their CAPS bank account. As a result, the successful replacement/repair of the pump was accomplished in just over three weeks and done solely by the El Corozo community and CAPS group. Even though it was discouraging to have the pump fail so fast, the repair effort was a huge success.
THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WHAT COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY LOOKS LIKE.
Update
9/11/23 - We got word that the project engineer has returned to the project, and that the final system leg has been installed! Recall that one part of the system had to be delayed due to cost increases, and when the project engineer had to return to other scheduled projects. We're delighted that these issues have been overcome, and the complete system is now done!
Water Testing and Pump House Completed
10/1/22 - The water project in El Corozo, Nicaragua made great progress during October.
The community has really stepped up to help the project move forward. It makes us smile when we see the photos and watch the short videos showing the involvement of the community members.
Our hope is that the distribution system from the well to the homes will be completed by early December. But we do have to remember that it is Nicaragua and things often do move more slowly that we would like them to.
But what a great Christmas gift to have families able to access clean, potable water at their homes!
