After the completion of a water distribution system aimed at pumping water to individual households in Kimuka, Kenya, EWB-NU began searching for a new project in 2018. One that particularly stood out was another water project aimed at providing clean, easily accessible water to the residents of Paja Colorada in Manabi, Ecuador.
In late March 2019, EWB-NU submitted a proposal through the national EWB organization for work on this water project and were accepted. The team then began research and fundraising for an assessment trip to record necessary social and geographical data in Paja Colorada. Due the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, progress on the project was slowed until July 2021, when the data-collection assessment trip was able to be completed remotely by our local NGO, Engineers in Action (EIA).
Shortly after the assessment trip was completed, EIA completed phase 1 of the pipeline project in September 2021. After securing funding, a second, in-person assessment trip was completed in December 2022. On this trip, members collected and corroborated social survey and water quality data needed to close out the assessment phase of the project. In addition, meeting with the engineers from EIA helped to make significant progress in refining a proposed solution.
The chapter’s next steps are to work to design a water pipeline, storage tank, and pump station that will extend the water system to Paja Colorada, while working to fundraise for this implementation. The implementation of this water pipeline will be split into 2-3 phases that include connecting from the highway mainline uphill to the community center; connecting the community center to households even further up the hill, remote from the center; and possibly building a further extension to a nearby community also in need of water but not currently included in the plans.