Provide water access to 435 poor Filipinos

Project rehabilitation is almost completed for the solar water pumping system, the repaired solar panels were relocated near the community including installation of transmission line from the source to the new location which is 500 meters away.  A new inverter and the repaired solar panels were installed near the community so as to secure the system and avoid damage by untoward incidents including lightning. 

The next component to be installed will be a new pump --- the old pump was not repairable as found out by the project team.  For now, the team is in the process of procuring a new pump which will provide the most efficient water pumping system and for the Paang Bundok villagers to enjoy drinking and water supply year round.  After pump installation, the next activities will be for assessing /testing and conduct of necessary repairs of the water distribution line from the water supply to the households.

The next site visit will entail testing of the new pump, and once functional, the team will now proceed to testing and repair of the water distribution lines from the water source to the households.  A parallel pipe distribution will be set upon installation of the grip-pump.

The Paang Bundok villagers are really looking forward to the completion of the solar water pumping system!

The solar water pumping project in Paang Bundok was installed in 2005 providing water supply to 85 families in Paang Bundok.  Unfortunately, during the three-year operation of the potable water system, some of its main technical parts (electrical inverter) were accidentally hit twice by lightning that affected the over-all performance. Most of the solar panels were badly damaged and some inverters were missing.  Although some parts replacement was done with the help of a partner institution, the maximum capacity of the water system to supply the requirement of the whole community was greatly affected.  After this episode, the decision to move the solar panels system closer to the community was taken and also install transition line from the source to the new system location, around 500 meters far, buy a new inverter and repair the solar panels in order to rehabilitate the system.

At present, the whole potable water system is at zero performance level due to the missing inverters and damaged solar panels.  From September 2008 up to this time, the residents are doing the old ways of fetching water for their daily needs.

Thanks to you and Global Giving that facilitated online fundraising, SIBAT engineers are now working on the rehabilitation of the solar water pumping system.

Project Update:

Presently, the solar panels have already been repaired and placed in the new location closer to the community.  The inverter has been delivered to the community and already in place.  The transmission line from the water source to the location of the new solar panels have been installed.  The project team is composed of Carlo Fabia (electrical engineer), Diana Benato (mechanical engineer), Jade Angngalao (agricultural engineer and Myrna Herisano (community facilitator).

During the site visit to rehabilitate the the system, SIBAT Team has discovered that the pump is not functional any more probably due to the fact that it has been left inoperative for a long period.  The team has decided to bring the pump to the SIBAT workshop in Urdaneta, Pangasinan so as to clean and make it work again before take the decision to buy a new pump.  Installation of the pump is targeted to be completed within the month of December 2011. 

The project engineers, Carlo Fabia and Diana Benato, will then test the repaired pump and plan out next activities for making the water pumping system fully operational.  As such, after testing, if the pump is working, the next activities will be for the assessing/testing and conduct of necessary repairs of the water distribution line from the water supply to the households.  If in the case that the repaired pump will not work, then SIBAT will then have to procure a new pump for the system.

8-9 October 2011:  Installation of the inverter.  The team went to Paang Bundok to clean-up and do maintenance work of the solar system, install the new inverter and the transmission line from the water source to the solar panels located 500m from Paliparan Spring which is the water source.  Unfortunately, the engineers were unable to test the pump as it was rainy weather and there was not enough power to run the pump.

26-27 October 2011:  Test of the pump.  The team returned to the site to test the pump on a sunny weekend, and discovered that the pump was not functional due to impurity inside the rotor as the pump has been left without working for a long period.  As such, the engineers brought the pump for clean-up and repair work to SIBAT’s workshop in Urdaneta.  

11-17 November 2011:  Pump Repair in Machine Shop in Urdaneta, Pangasinan.  The pump was cleaned as it has already some parts with rust, pump oil was replaced and now ready for testing.

Next site visit on December 2011:  Pump Testing.  The next site visit will entail testing of the repaired pump, and once functional, the team will now proceed to testing and repair of the water distribution lines from the water source to the households.  If the repaired pump is not working, then there will be a need to procure a new pump for the system.