Safe Water and Sanitation Project in San Lorenzo, Honduras

Organization: WaterPartners International
Project Founders: Marla Smith-Nilson and Gary White
Geographic Area: Central America, Asia
Link: www.water.org

While hiking up a steep mountainside in San Lorenzo in the fall of 1995, some inconspicuous white plastic caught the eye of WaterPartners' founders Marla Smith-Nilson and Gary White. The PVC (poly vinyl chloride, an upgraded plastic) piping represented one piece of a sad tale; it should never have been placed over ground because it deteriorates in sunlight and snaps at the tread of a toe. Up in the village, the dry taps and empty storage washbasins – deep concrete double sinks outside every home – told the rest of the story.

This community of subsistence farmers – among the 22 percent of Honduras' rural population who do not have access to safe drinking water – reverted to collecting water from water holes or small streams that they shared with farm animals. The San Lorenzo government's 20-year-old water project of harnessing spring water to feed household taps had failed.

Enter WaterPartners and it's Honduran partner organization, COCEPRADIL. In consultation with the farmers, they ascertained what they needed: a viable, inexpensive, easy-maintenance water system to cater to domestic needs. Technology appropriate for the community and the mountainous countryside was essential.

A simple gravity-flow system was designed by COCEPRADIL that consists of a concrete, box-like structure capping the mouth of a mountain spring with a pipe coming out the bottom. This protects the spring and allows water to flow into the main water transmission pipe that leads to a distribution tank.

The tank, situated on a hill above the community, naturally provides the pressure for distribution. Water fills it overnight and the pressure and gravity are sufficient to allow the 544 village residents to have water at the turn of a tap. Pipes carry the water from the tank to the outdoor washbasins. The beauty of this is that it does away with pumps that require constant upkeep.

WaterPartners provided the start-up capital. The community provided local materials like sand and gravel, and all the labor (approximately 10 percent of the capital cost of the project) including miles of excavation done entirely by hand. Community buy-in is apparent from the fact that village residents walked two hours to the site, put in eight-hour work days, then walked two hours back home.

The community contributed a small percentage of the cash costs, and 4 percent of non-local materials like rebar, concrete and PVC pipes. Project leaders insisted on participation of an adult female and male from every household during training sessions on environmental protection, reforestation, basic sanitation, and health. Full attendance before, during, and after the project was required. COCEPRADIL also requires that local water committees a rules and regulations agreement be signed. It tries to get the mayor of the village to commit city funds as well.

Such extensive involvement insures that the community is prepared to meet challenges such as dealing with the occasional mudslides that could break the pipelines. They have a store of replacement parts and know exactly where to dig because they laid the line themselves!

In 1997, San Lorenzo residents completed construction. To date, safe water continues to flow from their taps, the locally-elected water committee that oversees the project is active, households still pay the monthly water maintenance fee of 25 cents (equal to one day's labor per household per month), and the latrines that the villagers constructed are still being used.

WaterPartners' philosophy of initiating comprehensive public health and community development projects works well. All of the water projects that they have funded since 1990 are still operating. Community participation, where project beneficiaries are treated as the owners and implementers of a project, compounded by a sound local organizational structure, are central to this success.

WaterPartners' comprehensive approach includes driving home the importance of the forest to a healthy environment. Replanting trees in the heavily deforested region, and maintaining vegetation near the spring that feeds the water system have insured that rainwater will recharge the drinking water source for years to come. San Lorenzo residents also learned about alternatives to chemical herbicides and pesticides, and keeping animals from grazing in the area, to protect the water quality of the spring.

WaterPartners stresses the public and personal health benefits of safe drinking water. A vital part of its program is training local health promoters to carry this mission forward; this strategy has helped stem dengue and cholera epidemics.

San Lorenzo's success has inspired neighboring communities to request assistance from COCEPRADIL. These communities don't just want safe water and sanitation; they want the extra time that comes with having tap water at home. They want to grow vegetable gardens to supplement their nutrition, or make crafts to augment household incomes. They've seen that the communities that pull together to build a water project become sufficiently organized enough to work for further community development, such as building a school, putting concrete floors in their homes instead of dirt, or lobbying the government to build a road to the village.

Information about the contributor:

Susan M. Davis is director of development & communications for WaterPartners International. Davis has been with WaterPartners for more than three years. She has visited many communities in developing countries and has seen the incredible difference that a comprehensive safe water and sanitation project can make. She has a background in human health risk assessment and a Masters degree in Public Health. Email: sdavis@water.org.