Current Project: Water Distribution System in Buenos Aires, Honduras
Project Team Members: Jim Paul – project lead
About Buenos Aires, Honduras: Buenos Aires is located in a mountainous region near the center of Honduras in the municipality of Quimistan and has a growing population size of approximately 600. Background: In 2008, EWB-Detroit was put in contact with Global Community Development (GCD) to obtain a project. GCD manages multiple efforts to revitalize and restructure growing communities all over Honduras. With their help, EWB-Detroit was able to get in contact with the community of Buenos Aires that was asking for help designing and installing a water distribution system. GCD performed a preliminary assessment of the population, territory, potential built site and surrounding areas to establish specific community needs. With current estimated size of 600 members, the community continues to grow and in the past year alone experienced a 25% increase largely attributed to the employment opportunities brought in by nearby coffee plantations. Considering further growth and development, as well as, the fact that, at the time of preliminary analysis, a single water source supplied water to only 26 out of 200 families, a sustainable water distribution system became a priority.
Fellow Man International and EWB-Detroit Partnering with Buenos Aires Community: Having established water distribution system needs, EWB-Detroit applied to adopt this as one of their sustainable projects in October 2008. Having enthusiastic support of the local non-governmental organization Fellow Man International and village residents, five team members, James Bartshe, Jim Paul, Mary Warren, Grand Ovist and Fritz Burt, visited Honduras in February 2009 for the project’s first assessment trip. The team obtained test samples from an additional water source identified during initial area analysis and located approximately 5 km northwest of the proposed water tank location. They also inspected the community’s existing 30-year-old water system and took water flow measurements. Further surveying the community population proved beneficial in establishing a solid relationship between EWB-Detroit and village residents. Since their return Detroit, the team is investigating water system design alternatives, including temporary water treatment methods to put in place until the project implementation begins. EWB-Detroit sent a second assement trip in July of 2009 in order to gather dry-season flow data and plan an in-depth topographical study. Although the team was held up in a hotel for a few days due to the political situation in Honduras they were eventually able to gather the needed information to begin the design stage of the project. The team is currently using topographic information gathered to design the pipe line. EWB-Detroit hopes to begin implementation in Spring 2010.
For details on how to get involved and otherwise contribute to this cause, please, contact project leader Jim Paul at
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Past Project:
Water Distribution System in Las Glorias, Honduras Project Team Members: Steve Cook – project lead
About Las Glorias, Honduras: Today the Republic of Honduras boasts the population of 7.5 million people on the territory of 43,000 square miles. Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982.
Background: When the project came to our attention, the inhabitants of the small village of Las Glorias, Honduras were in great need of a comprehensive water distribution system. Without one, village residents obtained drinking water from either open streams or seasonal pools. The above sources are generally unprotected and prove unreliable for long-term use. For example, since open streams lie in an area that is commonly used as agricultural land, they are susceptible to contamination by fertilizers and other chemicals associated with farming. The seasonal pools, on the other hand, are generally vulnerable against outside contamination and rarely last through the dry season.
Peace Corps and EWB-Detroit Partnering with Las Glorias Community: In the summer of 2006, the community of Las Glorias contacted Nathan Haugen of Peace Corps, asking for help in obtaining a water distribution system. During the following months Nathan performed a topographic study of the surrounding area and conducted a water usage assessment. Using that data he determined that a mountain spring located about 2 miles away would provide a sufficient amount of water to meet community’s everyday needs.
Nathan’s efforts proved very beneficial in speeding up project assessment and implementation when EWB-Detroit stepped in to lend a hand in March 2007. Project team Steve Cook, Meghan Wahlstrom, Nate Dennis, Mary Warren, Jim Paul, Amelia Letvin and Matt Simonini received an approval to conduct an assessment trip in November 2007 and three members flew to Honduras to complete additional water testing, conduct surveys, build-sight review and to meet and greet the water board and community members. In March of 2008, following a successful assessment, the team submitted a preliminary water distribution system design, largely unchanged from the careful sketches Nathan Haugen created during his initial area study. The project was fully implemented by August 2008 and team member Mary Warren headed up “Safety inspection and maintenance” manual development that was presented it to the community in September 2008.
