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Youth with a Mission Nicaragua

Proposal for Ferro-cement Tank and Rainwater Harvesting System

Existing Situation/Current Problems

The YWAM base in Diriamba is located in Barrio Berlin, a neighborhood with minimal public services. The government-owned water company pumps water to our barrio for a few hours usually daily, but with insufficient pressure to fill our existing water tanks. There often are periods of greater than 24 hours without water service. In the past, the property has endured months without water.

There are approximately 50 adult staff and students living and working on the base, with an additional 150 students attending our elementary school during the day. Our facilities also host short-term missionary teams and offer hospitality to visiting missionaries about 3 months out of the year. Conservative water use estimates would place our current need at between 1200 and 4000 gallons per day for all cooking, cleaning, laundry, toilet use, and showering. Currently, we have storage for approximately 1500 gallons of water, only 500 of which is in elevated tanks connected to our water pipes. This storage will cover the existing need only when water service is consistent and timely every day, and when very strong water conservation measures are in place. Even then, low water pressure means that the elevated tanks are usually not filled, and there is consequently no water to our pipes.

Currently, there is zero water pressure in our pipes more than 90% percent of the time, and water must be carried in buckets from a cistern for all washing, cleaning, cooking and sanitary purposes.

There are two buildings on site with partial guttering, designed to collect a portion of the rainwater that falls during the rainy season. These gutters and the attached storage are vastly undersized, resulting in warping of the gutters and a loss of potential collected rainwater. The rain that does fall on the buildings and land of the base drains off the property and into the dirt road that runs through our barrio. During the rainy season there is often flooding along this street that erodes the roadbed and has flooded houses, dramatically affecting local families.

Proposed Solution

The readily available solution for all of these problems is to substantially increase our storage capacity and collect the rainwater falling on our existing buildings to supplement the municipal water supply. We could then install a pump to fill the elevated tanks, thus eliminating the need for hauling water in buckets.

Elements of Proposal

1. We are proposing the construction of a 15,000 gallon (60 cubic meter) ferro-cement water storage tank to increase our water storage capacity. Ferro-cement tanks are very economical and durable storage solutions, which can be built using cheap, locally-available materials.
2. We will then install a rainwater collection system on the largest building, which has a footprint of 375 square meters. This will provide an annual runoff of more than 580 cubic meters (150,000 gallons). The rain collection system will include complete guttering (6 inch) with leaf filters, downspouts, and first flush devices. The water collected will flow directly into the ferro-cement storage tank.
3. The tank will be fitted with a pump to lift the water into existing elevated storage tanks as well as a tap for emergency water withdrawal. New pipelines and connections will be installed for the ferro-cement tank, the existing gravity feed tanks, and the municipal water connection.

Cost

The materials alone for the tank will cost $2500. Labor and oversight will be an additional $1000 and the gutters, pipes, first flush devices and pump will be $1500. An additional $500 is budgeted for contingency costs, transportation and inflation. The total estimated cost for this project is $5500 USD.

Future Solutions

In the future we would like to expand this idea to more of the existing buildings on the base. There is a total building footprint of over 1200 square meters. Collecting from all of these buildings could supply all of the daily water needs and allow the base to expand its production of agriculture, growing more of our food needs directly on location and thus reducing costs for training students.

Added Benefits

Each technological innovation that we install at the base serves as an example for the local community. We will use this project to train at least one local tradesman to build ferro-cement water tanks in our local department (county), which has need for water storage because of the fast rain runoff and deep water table. This in turn could provide several local workers with a good source of income, and will increase the economic capacity of local agriculture and industry. Through the school we can disseminate ideas and solutions that can ripple through the barrio and our nearby communities, creating workable solutions for each family in need.

Existing elevated tanks, 250 gallons each. These tanks supply the water for all the pipes on our campus. Because of low pressure and intermittent service, these tanks are usually dry.	The comedor (dining hall), our largest building with a 375 square meter footprint. Rain collection alone from this building would supply our water needs for 5-6 months of the year.