Clean Water Projects
Barahona, Dominican Republic
At Home and Afar has been helping to bring clean water to three neighborhoods in Barahona. Prior to our efforts, the people either took water from the government supplied pipelines, local water courses or purchased bottled water from local vendors. Both the government supplied water and water from local water courses was contaminated and when consumed, contributed to illnesses, primarily intestinal in nature.
Cassandra
In 2014, with the financial assistance from the Vandermark Foundation, a well, pump and 25,000 gallon cistern were constructed in the Cassandra neighborhood, adjacent to the Grace and Peace Missionary. The Cassandra project was constructed with local contractors and community volunteers and was put on line in April, 2014. Gravity piping from the cistern (overland and partially buried) provides clean well water to about 200 homes. To help determine the area to be served by the Cassandra well, pump and cistern, members of the community were canvassed for the number of people living in each dwelling. The map at the left was developed by Andreina and Bella to document the homes that have water supplied by the Cassandra well or by the government source(s). This resource will help the community keep track of the waterworks project and collect support funds from the project users. In the future, AHaA will evaluate bring power for the Imbertsolar array to run the Cassandra well pump.
Rio Chil
In Rio Chil, again with funding support from the Vandermark Foundation, similar facilities (well/pump/cistern) were funded and constructed in 2018. The Rio Chil community established a waterworks commission to help manage and collect funds to pay for the wells operation. Due to some local issues, the well went off line in 2019 and has recently been re-energized and put back into use. In 2022, AHaA will be evaluating the installation of a solar array to power this valuable water supply to the Rio Chil community. Harvesting energy from the sun in the Dominican Republic will reduce the cost of operation that is difficult to afford for many members of the community. Potable water will help reduce the number of illnesses cause by contaminated government supplied water.
Imbert
he most recent clean water project was constructed in the Imbert neighborhood, on a hillside and approximately 1000’ from the Cassandra well. Water was first pumped in the Fall of 2019 and celebrated by the community. Recognizing the cost of electricity provided by the local power company, we worked with a local electrical contractor to design and implement a solar array to provide power from the sun. The 24 panel array was put on line in the summer of 2021 and the first two months of operation showed a 75% reduction in net power cost used to operate the well pump. The facility incorporates a bi-directional electric meter. During sunlight hours, the meter runs backwards, crediting the solar power produced against the meter counter. During periods of low sunlight or evenings, the pump (if operated) utilizes local power and the electric meter measures the power consumption. In time, as the demand and operation of the well pump is better understood, it is hoped that the net power charges can be further reduced. In general, for every hour of sunlight, the pump will be able to operate for two hours.
