Investigations Begin

The water system in Limones and Villadora is the first chance for Tom and I to really get to grips with how a gravity fed system looks here in Ecuador. One of the great attractions of working here in the opportunity to get my hands dirty and to learn by doing, and I'm making the most of it by getting involved wherever I can. It's going to be tough going back to an office after this!

Taking a closer look at the water flowing into the resrve tank (above). This tank of 12.5m3 capacity serves around 33 households. It overflows during the night, which has been cited as the reason why the water is not chlorinated.

The chlorination tank sits disused on top of the reserve tank, above.

The realities of maintaining this system began to hit home on our first trek to see the spring where the water for the system comes out of the ground and is channelled into the piped system The walk took around 3 hours of hard uphill hiking. When we arrived I was so tired Ihad forgotten what i had gone up there for! My fitness will definitely improve here...

En route we followed the pipework and had a chance to see the various infrastructure along the way: air valves, washout valves and break pressure tanks, such as the one seen in the background of the photograph above. Here Nivo, the operator, and his wife Maria point out the reserve tank, which lies across the valley we have just walked, to Tom. They do not own any form of transport, making their work all the more time consuming as they have to walk everywhere.

Here Nivo shows Tom the water meters that are used. Users pay a monthly fee of $2 for the connection, for which they can use a basic allowance of 25m3 of water, around 830 l per day. For each m3 above the basic allowance used a slighly elevated price is paid. My immediate thought is that this is a generous basic allowance which could be reduced if the system is overstretched. However, there is strong resistance in the communities to this and as any changes would have to be approved by the water regulator and passed my majority vote in the community this is unlikely to be achievable.

The operator has been describing a whole range of issues, such as:
- Difficulty detecting leaks, having to search for the pipe and the leak for in some cases months before finding the rupture
- Pressure: the two communities are essentially on two levels, with the water serving Limones at high level first and then passing down a steep slope to Villadora. At times there is excess pressure in Villadora, with water coming out of the taps "like milk"
- The pipe crossing a valley and prone to rupture at the low point due to the high pressure
- At one location a hole has been made in the pipe to release air, but can also allow contamination to enter at this point.
- Some of the infrastructure that was built by the Government is of unsatisfactory quality
- Insufficient storage volume in the reserve tank at the head of the system
- Misuse of water: some people use the water in large quantities for commercial gain yet pay the same rates as domestic users
- People being unwilling to pay excess use charges or fines for non-attendance at community work days


At this stage it is difficult to ascertain the extent and relevance of these issues and to understand exactly what impact they have on the provision of clean water. It is also clear that there are some deep-seated social divisions between the two communities which we as outsiders are in no position to tackle.