Engineers Without Borders

Arizona State University Student Chapter

Ecuador

EWB-ASU was awarded the Ecuador Water Project in May 2007. Initial assessment trips were conducted in August 2007 and March 2008 and implementation began in June of 2008.

Ecuadorian children gathered at a forest edge The community of Tsuraku was founded in 1975. At the time of construction, it consisted of about 200 men, women, and children but was experiencing rapid growth as it served as the cultural center for the Shuar nation. The community included a primary and secondary school for Shuar children as well as a health center and religious facilities. The community relied on a heavily polluted river as their primary source of water. Intestinal diseases were widespread and had become a routine in daily life. Children often died or became very sick from these diseases and in general life expectancy in the community was quite low.

The first implementation trip consisted of reinforcement of existing dam and reservoir facilities to prevent water loss as well as basic community water education and foundations for future work. The dam was located on an isolated river that was free from most human contamination. The total trip time for the first implementation was 72 days.

The second implementation trip began in June of 2009 and lasted 56 days. During this time, a half-mile transmission line was installed through the rainforest from the dam to the reservoir located at the near the community. A distribution line was then installed from the reservoir to homes within the community. Additionally, a water treatment system that consisted of a gravity-fed, rapid-rate sand filter and a chlorine tank was installed at the community health center.

Evaluation trips were conducted in March and July of 2010 and the project was officially closed out in December of 2010. You can view the program closeout document here for more information.