SHI: Safe Drinking Water for 20,000 Rural Families

Although Orlando Montiel, Self-Help Nicaragua’s clean water program officer, had to travel 130 miles from Self-Help’s headquarters in San Carlos, Nicaragua, to reach the community of San Lorenzo in the Department of Boaco, his dedication to improving the quality of water intended for human consumption there led to a commitment to keep it’s the community’s water systems operating efficiently and effectively. “Self-Help is always willing to support all the communities that request our help,” Montiel states, “either through training, technical advice, installation of a chlorination system or by providing small financing, all with the purpose of providing answers to the problems posed by the population regardless of the distances or time needed to achieve this goal.”  

San Lorenzo has a population of approximately 7,850 people and has two gravity water systems that are managed by the Municipal Mayor's Office. One of these two water systems dates back almost 50 years, but it is still in operation and uses a drip chlorinator to disinfect the water. The second system was installed six years ago to meet the growing demand for water caused by the expansion of urban neighborhoods. When the second system developed problems purifying water, the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA) detected deficiencies in the treatment of water for human consumption, such as the presence of coliforms, non-existence of chlorine, turbidity, and other problems. Because of the quality problems, MINSA directed the Mayor's Office of San Lorenzo to improve the quality of the water in the system. 

The Municipal Water and Sanitation Unit of the Mayor's Office of San Lorenzo advised the mayor to reach out to Self-Help for the installation of a chlorinator promoted by Self-Help because, the head of sanitation unit said, the Self-Help system was simpler to manage, was less costly, and would improve the quality of the water so that it would comply with MINSA’s recommendations. After the Self-Help chlorinator using chlorine tables was installed, clean water was available to an additional 900 people in San Lorenzo. 

For its part, Self-Help International, through its Clean Water Program Officer Orlando Montiel, made a commitment to those responsible for this system that Self-Help would provide the chlorination equipment, chlorine tablets, training and technical visits necessary to strengthen the knowledge and skills of those responsible for use and maintenance of the chlorinator, as well as technical recommendations for the improvement and maintenance of collecting the water. 

Self-Help International also has provided training sessions to the directors of local Drinking Water and Sanitation Committees (the Spanish acronym is CAPS), who are responsible for the system. The knowledge gained by the directors includes all the necessary information about the management and use of the chlorinator so that it will continue to provide clean water for the people of San Lorenzo. Today, the chlorinator is working well and supplying the right amount of chlorine to eradicate any microbiological contaminants.

Self-Help also will continue to provide advice and make any technical visits when needed. If an in-person visit can’t be scheduled, communication can be accomplished by cell phones.

Because Self-Help is always willing to assist communities that desire to supply clean water to their population, the managers and directors of the water systems know that they can turn to Self-Help to provide them with the support they need so that their water is always of the highest quality, no matter the distance.