plan 53Boqueron K'asa Gravity-fed Water Project

Summary

This project will provide safe drinking water and hygiene education to the 505 residents of the community of Boqueron K'asa, located in the valleys of central Bolivia.

Background

Water For People--Bolivia has been working in the Tiraque municipality since 2000 and enjoys a close working relationship with the local government office, the local NGO partner, Lemag, and the communities. The municipality of Tiraque constructed two storage tanks last year and this project will finalize the drinking water system for the community.

Location

Cochabamba, Central, Bolivia

Focus

Primary Focus: Drinking Water - Community
Secondary Focus: Hygiene Education

People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 505

101 families will receive safe drinking water through this initiative and 1 public tap will be built.

School Children Getting Water:

People Getting Sanitation: 0

People Getting Other Benefits:

Start Date: 2007-01-01

Completion Date: 2007-07-01

Technology Used:

Spring capture with two storage tanks, 17 km of pipe, and 101 household taps.

Phases:

The first stage of the project, the protection of the springs and the tank construction, has already occured. This second phase will lay the pipes and build the taps.

Community Organization:

The community had been requesting a water system from the municipality of Tiraque for several years. In 2006, the municipality included the cost of a spring protection and two storage tanks in its operational plan. This has been completed, however, the community still needs the pipeline and household taps. The people of Boqueron K'asa have been very involved in this project they began expressing demand a few years ago, and remain heavily involved in the non-qualified labor.

Government Interaction:

Ancillary activities:

Training in hygiene education with an emphasis on hand-washing, operations and maintenance, and financial management will also occur with this project.

Other Issues:

There will be a lot of emphasis on financial management training and sanitation-generation, with the idea that money from the water tariff will not only cover the cost of cleaning supplies, spares, and a plumber's salary, but that the community will be able to save money for a sanitation project.

Maintenance Revenue:

The maintenance costs include a plumber's monthly salary ($40) and a reserve for spare parts. A tariff will be assessed with the full partipation of the community to cover spare parts, cleaning materials, and the salary of the plumber.

Maintenance Cost: $680

Metrics:

Prior art before metrics

Cost: $28,981

Materials: $24,323
Transportation: $1520
Administrative Expenditures: $160
Labor: $2600
Educational Materials: $378
Total:

Co Funding Amount: $16,356

The municipality of Tiraque ($9144), the community ($3837), and Water For People ($3375).

Community Contribution Amount: $3,837

Community cost contributions vary a bit per family, but tend to be around $20 per family for a total of $2020. The remaining amount ($1817) is in-kind.

Fund Requested: $12,625

  • 2 participants | show more

    Sanitation

    Rob Bell of El Porvenir

    Hi Ned What about the conventional wisdom that it is better to build the latrines first and do the water project only after every family has a sanitary facility? I have to say I am kind of dubious about the community saving money with which to build the latrines. Has WFP Bolivia never gotten a request from this community for sanitatio...

    Hi Ned
    What about the conventional wisdom that it is better to build the latrines first and do the water project only after every family has a sanitary facility?

    I have to say I am kind of dubious about the community saving money with which to build the latrines. Has WFP Bolivia never gotten a request from this community for sanitation? And if they never build the latrines, what will happen in community health? We don't think water alone is enough.....
    is there no sanitation component to this project because it is hard to get funding for latrines?
    yeah it is.....but BPR has seen the light....

    Carole Harper

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      Hi Carole, Sanitation is Bolivia is a huge challenge....it is one of the few Latin American countries not on track to meet its sanitation MDGs. A range of social, cultural, and economic reasons place sanitation much lower on community's demands than water systems. WFP-Bolivia often uses water projects as a gateway to talking about hyg...

      Hi Carole,

      Sanitation is Bolivia is a huge challenge....it is one of the few Latin American countries not on track to meet its sanitation MDGs. A range of social, cultural, and economic reasons place sanitation much lower on community's demands than water systems. WFP-Bolivia often uses water projects as a gateway to talking about hygiene benefits of latrines and as a latrine demand-generating strategy. The cross-subsidization is a pilot-we don't know if it will work, but we're trying to get creative as current approaches to sanitation in Bolivia are not producing results. This community is beginning to express interest in sanitation options, which is great!

      Thanks for the feedback,
      Kate

  • 2 participants | show more

    piping

    Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

    i see that the project has 17 km of pipes; thats a lot. are they covered or underground? about what diameter? what material are you using? how long does it last?

    i see that the project has 17 km of pipes; thats a lot.

    are they covered or underground? about what diameter?

    what material are you using? how long does it last?

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      Hi Rajesh, You're right-17 km is a lot of pipes! A lot of the areas where we work in Bolivia are very dispersed communities, so when projects are done in these areas, a lot of piping is involved to get the water from a spring (s) to the storage tank(s) to the main distribution network to household connections. Most of the piping is lai...

      Hi Rajesh,

      You're right-17 km is a lot of pipes! A lot of the areas where we work in Bolivia are very dispersed communities, so when projects are done in these areas, a lot of piping is involved to get the water from a spring (s) to the storage tank(s) to the main distribution network to household connections. Most of the piping is laid underground-there are Bolivian construction specifications for how deep depending on the type of ground above (e.g. if it is a road with traffic, the pipes are buried deeper than through a field). There are a few above-ground pipes where ravines must be crossed. Most of the pipes are PVC, which suppsedly has a lifespan of approximately 50 years, but it really depends on quality of construction and management. I have seen poorly buried PVC pipes in Honduras that have broken after two years. I have also seen projects in Bolivia that are 10 years old and the pipes are functioning perfectly fine. Diameters of pipe differ throughout the system-from wider pipes at the intake to narrower pipes at the household connections.

      Thanks,
      Kate

      • Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

        Thanks for the info. Most folks are moving away from PVC because it does not live up to its reputation and its extremely hazardous to make and dispose of. Our Vietnamese partner avoids PVC because it just does not last for 2 years in their projects. We are trying to steer towards HDPE pipes which are more benign and 100% recyclable. Just...

        Thanks for the info.

        Most folks are moving away from PVC because it does not live up to its reputation and its extremely hazardous to make and dispose of. Our Vietnamese partner avoids PVC because it just does not last for 2 years in their projects.

        We are trying to steer towards HDPE pipes which are more benign and 100% recyclable. Just a tip for the future, need the price to come down.

    • Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

      Thanks for the info. Most folks are moving away from PVC because it does not live up to its reputation and its extremely hazardous to make and dispose of. Our Vietnamese partner avoids PVC because it just does not last for 2 years in their projects. We are trying to steer towards HDPE pipes which are more benign and 100% recyclable. Just...

      Thanks for the info.

      Most folks are moving away from PVC because it does not live up to its reputation and its extremely hazardous to make and dispose of. Our Vietnamese partner avoids PVC because it just does not last for 2 years in their projects.

      We are trying to steer towards HDPE pipes which are more benign and 100% recyclable. Just a tip for the future, need the price to come down.

  • Rating: 7

    review by Blue Planet Network

    Basing my rating on the history WfP has in the community. Am concerned about the pipe and whether the mtce fee will allow for replacements in a few years.

  • Rating: 7

    review by El Porvenir

    I read WFPs response and I still dont understand why they dont use the water project as the carrot to motivate the community to build latrines first. I am sure the water project is needed, will be well built, etc. but it is too bad not to get at least some sanitation coverage into this project now

Name Status Completion Date Final Cost
Boqueron K'asa Gravity-fed Water Project completed Jan 2008 0