william b. moeller

A Discussion Regarding Water Resources: One of Life’s/Mankind’s Basic,

Essential and Multi-Dimensional Assets

William B. Moeller

Some Preliminary Ideas -

• While this conversation will be with respect to activity relating to water resources, I feel I should first mention a few broader basic ideas which may be seen as a frame within which we may then converse more effectively

First Order Challenges

• Developed-world engineers are generally only educated by and for the Developed World

• Local (foreign) problem conditions for them:– Lack, or weakness of “normal” societal infrastructure,

i.e. not like in U.S.A – Language– Leadership structures– Nationally insufficient financial resources– Untrained (?) human resources– Limited local material resources

Second Order Challenges

• Commonly, there are only a few (no), locally appropriate engineering professionals available

• Local conditions of instability and uncertainty– Social – Political – Economic– Technologic

• Lack of data• Dependence upon local labor, construction

practices and materials• Defining functional sustainability• Finding ways to assess for functional

sustainability

Outline of Presentation

• A number of cases will be gone through • A history of the formation of the Initiative

for Sustainable Infrastructure in Developing Regions (ISI) will be sketched

• Organizational/Institutional entities with which I (and ISI) have been, am/(are), or seek to become engaged will be introduced

• Discussion on points of interest is invited

My View of “Water Resources”

• One part of the band of inter-related, essential life-system resources

• My life’s-work area of focus

• Open to definition by each group that would address it.

• Definition is also varied by inputs of time, location and cultural parameters

Regarding Cases Being Presented

• Discussion is largely based upon personally experienced situations

• Cases demonstrate multi-dimensional nature of conditions encountered

• Cases came to me by invitation, and not by my determination of a need for attention which I then executed

Case 1: New (Relocated) Community Near Panzos, Guatemala

• Post “Mitch” CRS effort• Design is for perhaps 70 families• Stream water supply is logical option• Hope is to tie into existing gravity system in use

by another, lower community• Source has (pollution) problems• Infrastructure needs:

– access road for chlorination supplies– Improved water intake system

Partial View of Town Site Showing Upland Source Area

The Edge of Town

Chlorination Site and Reservoir

Community Dam, Reservoir and Acquaduct

Reservoir Pool

New (Relocated) Communities Near Ixcan, Guatemala

• Relocating to higher ground after Mitch flooding destroyed original communities

• Seven sites chosen without any evident regard to water and sanitation factors

• To have hand dug community wells

• Individual family privy waste disposal

• Site topography very critical

Town site One (high land)

Town Site Two (low land): Proposed Well Site

Another View, Town Site Two Well Site

El Aguila, Honduras Water Project

• First Water Partners International (now Water.org.) project

• Participation by individuals required to be eligible for a service connection

• Source: a spring on the highest peak in region• About 25 miles of transmission line installed• 600 people in biggest of seven communities

served• Total of 250(+-) families served

System Spring, Near Mountain Top

Project Area Geography

A Local-Area Storage Reservoir (Being Constructed)

Local Community Customer Residence

New, Pour-flush Privy

Local Community Planning Meeting

Leader Presentation at Meeting

Choluteca, Honduras

• Catholic Relief Services asked to aid execution of project (Not the Planning)

• A new community to replace flood loss area in town, about 2.5 mi from town

• A ‘wrong political group’ area was flooded

• Lava flow area being used

• Town giving no water or wastewater connections

‘Do-Gooder’ Donation: Privy for a Rural Family (In Guatemala)

• A not uncommon sort of event

• Evidently ‘foreign’ wisdom and assets utilized in all regards

• During our visit, owner laughed about and dismissed the gift he got

- The Homestead -

-- The (Dry) Composting Privy on High (3 Steps Up) --

Inside Finishing Touches(untouched for over a year)

Water Resources Planning for Queretaro, Mexico, The Rio

Extoraz

WHERE: • Central Mexico• Upland east of Continental Divide

SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY:• Poor state (had highest % migrants in U.S.)• Queretaro City, about 590,000 people (2004)

More Basics

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY:• 60% high plains (W) 40% Sierras (E) CLIMATE:• Plains, 20 to 60 cm Precip/yr.• Sierras, up to 200+cm Precip/yr.• One Wet & one Dry season per year• Temperatures go warm to hot over yearCURRENT WATER RESOURCES:• Rapidly depleting, local aquifers under plains• Rio Extoraz watershed system

And Further

• Dam and reservoir site are within Sierra Gorda Biological Reserve

Project Statistics• Project life: 50 years• Design daily pumping rate: 2.5 m3/sec• Pipeline length: 138 km.• Untracked lands along pipeline: 48 km• Static lift on pipeline: ~ 1300 m

Further Relevant Issues

• Population growth is uncertain, but rapid

• High sediment load (>660,000yd/yr, net)

• Permanent stratification of reservoir likely

• Located in cinnabar (mercury) mining area

• End-of-life costs for dam and silted pool

• Downstream effects on river system

• Ecological impact on Preserve’s resources

Thoughts Outside the Box

• Fix the distribution system• Use pricing to control consumption• Transfer groundwater from irrigation to potable

use by purchase• Treat waste flows, develop non-potable uses for

all such flows• Restore degraded watershed vegetation• Increase infiltration with water spreading• Explore high sierra tributary diversions to off-

channel storage reservoir

A Sad Haitian Tale

• Do-Gooders donated wells and hand pumps in a locale and everyone felt good

• A Notre Dame faculty member saw trouble and so trained a fellow to repair pumps

• returning some time later he found broken pumps, dirty water being used, again

• The fellow was unemployed • “We’re waiting for them to come back and

give us new pumps for free.”!!!

The Montes de Oro Coffee Cooperative Program

• An MOU has been created between MdO and ISI

• We and they are working with the Mesoamerican Development Institute to get projects funded and implemented relating to new solar drying and Integrated Open Canopy technology development

Initiative for Sustainable Infrastructure in Developing

Regions (ISI)• Refer to brochure for general information• Academic Program: MS Certificate “Sustainable

Infrastructure for Developing Nations”• Current activity: developing a “Networked

Engineering Research Center (NERC)” which involves:

• UMASS Lowell• UMASS Amherst• University of Nicaragua (URACCAN)• The Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica• The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras

More re: NERC Project

• Areas of activity:– Agro-industrial processing, focusing on

three sectors: coffee, essential oils and the biofuels industries

– Sustainable, biodiversity-friendly systems for growing the raw materials

– pursuing funding for projects

– Integrated Open Canopy reforestation

ISI Connections

• NERC project partners:– Mesoamerican Development Institute– 1420 Foundation

• Other ISI relationships: – Catholic Relief Services– Ecumenical Program for International Cooperation (EPIC)– Engineers Without Borders – Global Village Engineers– Individuals (with international program skills/experience)– Spring 2011 Graduate Class– Water for People – Water.org.

Comments and Questions, PleaseThank you