By Orlando Montiel Salas | Clean Water Program Officer
Nueva Jerusalén is a rural community located in the municipality of San Carlos, Nicaragua. It has an estimated population of 800 people living in 200 homes.
Around ten years ago, the Nicaraguan government designed and implemented a well drilling project in the community. It included a pumping station equipped to apply drip chlorination via a dosing pump. However, the local water system officers weren't well trained on the use of the complex system, and it failed after only a few years, leaving the population receiving untreated, contaminated water.
After repeated visits over many years by Self-Help International's Clean Water Officer, the community of Nueva Jerusalén made the decision to partner with Self-Help on a new chlorinator system.
The peculiarities of the community's water system, which consists of 3.5-meter tanks on top of 10-meter high towers, meant that the type of chlorinator most commonly used by Self-Help International wouldn't work in Nueva Jerusalén.
In the end, though, an innovative pressure chlorinator was successfully installed in the lower part of the tower to allow for regular monitoring without the need for the operator to climb up to the tank each time the chlorinator needs to be refilled with chlorine tablets.
The chlorinator is designed and equipped in a simple way to ensure easy operation, maintenance, and repair in case of a breakdown. This is the most essential aspect of Self-Help International's Clean Water Program – providing a simple chlorination system so that people are not dependent on a third party, but rather feel confident that they can operate the system on their own, with Self-Help's training and support.
The new system purifies 32,000 liters of water each day, and the community feels confident in receiving and consuming good quality water, thanks to all the effort and dedication of Self-Help International's Clean Water Program.
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