La Colorada Arriba Water System Tank Project - Dominican Republic
This project is the third project to be implemented under the Water Charity Ferro-Cement
Tanks for the Dominican Republic and Haiti Program. It calls for the construction of a 50,000 liter ferro-cement tank for water storage to serve the community of La Colorada Arriba, Dominican Republic. It is the largest and most ambitious undertaking, and offers significant economies of scale as a result.
The project is under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer and Engineer Sarah Casey as part of a larger plan for a comprehensive water system for the community.
La Colorada Arriba is a rural community of almost 900 people, living without access to potable water. To meet their daily needs, families are left with no choice but to buy river water contaminated with diarrhea-causing parasites from passing trucks. Particularly in young children and the elderly, diarrhea can lead to serious health complications, including dehydration and malnutrition, or even death.
Community members, well aware of their need for potable water, have identified a sustainable solution—a water distribution system powered by a centrifugal pump. Water will be pumped from a protected spring to a storage tank located above the community. From there water will travel completely by gravity to the community below. The spring, with almost a liter per second of flow, provides sufficient water to meet the residents’ demands as well as those of the community centers: a schoolhouse and three community churches.
To ensure sustainability, the community has formed a water committee to manage the project through all stages: planning, construction, and maintenance. The residents of La Colorada Arriba will supply all necessary labor for construction as well as a monthly quota towards future system upkeep.
Additionally, each family is contributing $35 towards the purchase of materials. While the community is contributing in kind a large percentage of the overall project cost, they do not have the financial means to purchase the majority of the materials.
A significant part of the overall project is the construction of the storage tank, which will use the proven ferro-cement tank technology. The tank will have sufficient capacity to provide water on demand for the community during all seasons of the year and all hours of the day.
Project funds will be used to purchase materials, including rebar, wire mesh, cement, sand, gravel, wire, aluminum lids, plywood, tarp, paint and plumbing fixtures.
As part of the overall program, the construction of this tank will include the training of several Haitians who, immediately after completion of training, will go to Haiti to build additional tanks. As this is the third tank in the process, they have already gained substantial proficiency, and this construction of a larger tank will provide needed additional experience.
The construction of this tank is underway, and expected to take a week or so to complete.
To indicate your desire for your contribution to be allocated toward this project, please click the Donate button below.
Six Senses Resorts & Spas has graciously offered to provide matching funds for donations contributed for this project.
This project has been completed. To read about the conclusion of this project, CLICK HERE.
Conclusion of La Colorada Arriba Water System Tank Project - Dominican Republic
This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Sarah Casey. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK
HERE.
This project, to build a ferro-cement tank for water storage, was the third to be implemented under Water Charity’s Ferro-Cement Tanks for the Dominican Republic and Haiti Program. It was the largest to be undertaken to date, and built upon the technology developed during the construction of the prior tanks.
Sarah reports:
In the community of La Colorada in Maimon, Puerto Plata, a ferro-cement reservoir tank was constructed with a capacity of 50,000 L. The tank is part of a water system that will provide potable water to 135 households, three churches, and a primary school.
The construction, which took place over a five-day period, was part of a program to train masons in ferro-cement techniques, with the aim of popularizing this low-cost method to more effectively meet water needs in underserved communities, particularly in Haiti.
The pictures demonstrate the construction process. Through the construction of these three tanks, the Haitians have gained proficiency in the technology, and are now capable of replicating the process in various locations in Haiti that are in dire need of water storage capacity.
We again wish to thank Six Senses Resorts & Spas for providing matching funds for this project. Without their commitment, this project, and the entire ferro-cement tank program, could not have become a reality.
