Clean Water Institute of Calvin University Study on the Innovative Subterranean Spring Capture Method Developed by LGWI and CODEINSE

A 2021 study published by students and professors at Calvin University notes the improved water quality that is the result of the innovative subterranean spring capture method developed by LGWI and CODEINSE staff over the years. 

Sustainable Pumping Station Design

In cases where high-pressure pumping is required, submersible pumps provide high efficiency and reliable service. A simple pump station design using submersible pumps installed in an economical structure is presented. This approach has been used successfully by a large number of rural Ecuadorian communities in Chimborazo
Province.

Studies (Solis, 2006) indicate that only 13% of the rural water systems in Ecuador are sustaining. Sustainable water pumping facilities are crucial to attain UN Millennium goals.

Sustainable Water Quality
Protected springs and wells used by rural Ecuadorian communities in Chimborazo Province can provide consistent water quality of a sustaining nature without water treatment. The range of water quality found in communities supplied by groundwater without further treatment is compared and discussed.

Studies of rural water systems in Ecuador (Solis, 2006) indicate that only 13% of existing rural water systems are sustaining. Adequate consideration must be given to the environmental, technical, organizational, economic, cultural/social and legal challenges of rural community water systems to improve sustainability and fulfill the UN Millennium goals.

 Spring Protection

Naturally occurring springs often provide the water supply needed for rural Ecuadorian communities. Springs offer the advantages of a consistent flow rate, consistent water quality and sometimes an adequate elevation to provide water to the community by gravity flow without pumping. Many communities have used careful construction procedures to adequately protect water quality so that their water supply is potable quality water or close to that level of water quality. Although these practical techniques used by many Ecuadorian communities for spring protection vary from the spring box techniques advocated by many references, they are proven to be
reliable, sustaining, and worthy of replicating.

Well-built spring protection structures normally last for decades without significant maintenance. Therefore this water supply approach can be more reliable, economical, and sustaining than water treatment.This presentation elaborates the basic method used for successful spring protection. Several examples of spring protection design and construction are provided to illustrate these methods.

Rural Water System Disinfection

Sustaining clean water supplies are vital to human health and well-being. It is for this reason that the UN included water supply infrastructure in their Millennium Goals for 2015. Water disinfection using chlorine experiences only a low level of acceptance in the rural sector of developing countries. Greater levels of understanding are needed to identify and resolve these problem issues. This pilot
study was implemented to advance a better understanding of these issues.
This paper discusses the implementation and results of the Carabuela community water system chlorine disinfection pilot project. The water system uses two automated diaphragm dosing pumps to provide measured amounts of liquid sodium
hypochlorite to the water supply. The seven communities of Carabuela built and manage the water system supplying more than 500 homes. The water system receives water from a number of protected springs. Vozandes Community Development designed the water system renovations and continues to provide limited follow-up support to Carabuela. Each home has either an outside water spigot or a house connection to the community water supply.
The Ecuadorian government now requires rural communities to disinfect their water supply with chlorine. In spite of this, rural Ecuadorian communities rarely disinfect their water supply due to numerous cultural and technical factors. This pilot project was conducted to determine if these factors could be overcome by using automated chlorine dosing pumps to minimize and precisely control the chlorine levels while also providing reliable disinfection of the water. A serious incidence of water supply contamination with domestic waste water in a neighboring community provided significant impetus to this pilot project.

The pilot study scope includes monitoring the public acceptance of the chlorine levels, and willingness to maintain the disinfection equipment. In addition the chlorine levels and occurrence of coliform in the water distribution system were periodically monitored. The pilot study was successful in dosing chlorine to disinfect the protected spring water used by the community for a number of months at levels low enough to minimize the taste and odor for public acceptance but adequate to eliminate coliform.

Achieving Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Improvements
for Rural Ecuadorian Communities

Sustaining community water systems protect health in rural areas of developing countries. This paper addresses the importance and strategies of self-sustaining rural water systems based on 28 years’ experience in Ecuador. Water transmitted disease is one of the most frequent causes of death worldwide. Diarrheal disease kills almost two million children annually. More than one billion people lack an improved water source; many more endure low quality and poor availability of water. Yet, rarely does water transmitted disease receive due attention.


Sustaining water and sanitation interventions offer a more significant health impact than merely improved medical care. In the US, for instance, the average life expectancy doubled over the last three centuries. The increase is primarily due to preventative factors and less than four percent can be attributed to twentieth century advances in medicine. In developing countries where preventative health measures lag the rest of the world, patients with diarrhea and other water-transmitted diseases occupy more than half of all hospital beds.
The UN Millennium Development Goals for this decade (2005-15), aspire to save 30 million children, who would normally die before age five by reducing the child mortality rate two thirds. A key objective augments the water and sanitation infrastructure available to rural populations. The Millennium goals include investments needed in water, sanitation, living conditions, education, health, environmental management, and other basic infrastructure to reduce poverty and inequalities. 
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Chachi boy demonstrates importance of hand washing

A Comparison of Water Supply Methods for Rural Ecuadorian Communities
LGWI responds to the need for improved rural water & sanitation in Ecuador by facilitating community projects with a focus on sustainability. The ensuing discussion on rural domestic water supply methods reflects the learning acquired during three decades of working with hundreds of rural communities. A majority of the communities are indigenous in nature but the circumstances range from high elevation Quichua communities in the Andes Mountains at close to 4000 meters to tropical Shuar and Chachi communities in the jungle at elevations near sea level. Some communities do not have road access.
The importance of sustaining water supply methods cannot be under estimated. Successful water supply methods are crucial to meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce the child mortality rate by two-thirds over the ten year period ending in 2015. Water Aid studies indicate that mortalities due to water-transmitted disease can be reduced 90 to 95% by three factors: a clean water source, adequate sanitation, and improved hygiene.
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