The current sources of drinking water in La Ceiba include hand-dug wells and a local river; all of which are contaminated. A Peace Corp volunteer, Emily Reese, contacted EWB with the concern that the water collected from these sources was harmful to the people. The Rowan University chapter adopted the project and traveled to La Ceiba for the first assessment trip in May of 2007. A land survey was conducted to collect lengths and elevations of the town. A citizen’s survey was conducted to collect important information about household water usage. The current water sources were tested for pH levels, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates, and fecal coliform. All of the water sources were contaminated with fecal coliform. It is assumed that the groundwater source is contaminated with fecal coliform because the wells are not properly lined or maintained and because direct surface runoff enters the wells from latrines during the wet season. Some latrines may also be close enough to the wells for bacteria from the latrines to travel through the soil and contaminate the wells. The citizen’s survey also revealed that many residents suffer from diarrhea, bloated stomachs, and infections as a result of drinking unclean water.

The community reported that 34 children had died between 2002 and 2007. This shows that children in La Ceiba are dying at a much higher rate than the average infant mortality rate in El Salvador. The infant mortality rate for El Salvador is 21.52 deaths per 1000 live births (CIA 2010). The citizen’s survey shows that the average household in La Ceiba consists of 5.6 people. There are about 150 households in La Ceiba, so the total population can be estimated to be about 840 people. With children attributing to 48% of the population in La Ceiba, it can be estimated that there are about 403 children in La Ceiba. According to the average infant mortality rate, it can be expected that 2.152 percent of these children will die. The typical infant mortality rate in El Salvador would account for 9 of the 34 reported deaths. It is believed that the high rate of deaths in La Ceiba is due to children consuming unclean drinking water on a daily basis. Parents provided descriptions of why they believed their children had died in 24 of the 34 cases. Diarrhea was blamed for 10 of the deaths, 5 were described as being caused by fevers and vomiting, 6 were still births, 1 occurred during birth, 1 was believed to be the result of tetanus, and 1 child was run over.

After the first assessment trip many water supply alternatives were researched and evaluated based on several criteria, including the quality of the water provided, the quantity of the water provided, the cost of the solution, how many people would be required to maintain the solution, and how satisfied the community would be with the solution. Cost estimates were made for each alternative to assess the financial feasibility of each solution. All of the alternatives were evaluated and compared in a table. Household-scale biosand filtration and a community distribution system were selected as the best options.

A second assessment trip was conducted in May of 2008 to present the two possible solutions to the community, educate the community about safe drinking water, and collect data needed to finish designing the solution selected by the community. When presented with the two possible solutions, the townspeople understandably selected the distribution system with 15 community spigots.  After the trip, the Rowan chapter decided to collaborate with the Drexel University chapter, which is working on providing a water distribution system to the town of Miramar. Miramar is a smaller town adjacent to La Ceiba. Since the two bordering towns have similar water problems that could be solved with the installation of a water distribution system, it would be more efficient to extract water at one point to provide both towns with clean drinking water.

A hydrogeologic survey was conducted to determine the best location for a well and the type of well that would be required to provide the town with a sufficient supply of potable water. The survey reported that the well would have to be 17.375 inches in diameter and 460 feet deep. This was much deeper than anticipated. It was decided that drilling a well of this size was not economically feasible for the Rowan University chapter and that operating a well of this depth was not economically feasible for the people of La Ceiba. A verbal quote from a local well driller put the estimated cost for drilling the well at $30,000. A written quote from a local pump supplier put the estimated cost for purchasing and installing the pump at $20,000. This does not include the cost of storage tanks, pipe, or spigots which was estimated as an additional $20,000. The Rowan chapter cannot afford these capital costs. The surveys conducted during the first assessment trip showed that each household was willing to pay around $2.00 per month for water. The estimated costs of operating the distribution system, which mostly consist of the electricity costs for operating the pump, are around $9.00 per month. This cost would approximately be cut in half by the current government subsidy on electricity, but the amount of the subsidy changes over time.

Surveys were sent to each household to explain the problems that the chapter was experiencing and obtain the community’s input on how to move forward with the project. When asked about the operation and maintenance costs for the system, almost every household responded that they could not afford to pay $9.00 a month for water. Almost every household also reported in the survey that they would use a biosand filter if the chapter helped to provide it. The community also said that they think biosand filters are a good solution for now, but the community would like to work towards installing a distribution system in years to come. The chapter began looking into many alternative sources of water for the community, including an infiltration gallery, rainwater catchment, and treatment of surface water. Research was also conducted to determine what would be required to build biosand filters with the community. The chapter embarked on the third assessment trip to further investigate these possible solutions. During the trip, team members met with the community, discussed the project, collected surveys from each household, signed an MOU and discussed payment options.

Team members also researched the prices and availability of materials that would be needed to build biosand filters in La Ceiba. Water quality tests were conducted on the local river, wells, and biosand filters. Flow measurements were taken from the river. A system was set up so that community members could collect data that would allow the chapter to estimate the flow in the river throughout the year. Soil tests were completed and a topographical survey of a possible construction site was conducted.

Due to the rocky terrain in La Ceiba, the travel team found that building an infiltration gallery would be very difficult and expensive. The community was not enthusiastic about rainwater catchment because they felt that biosand filters would be a better solution. A surface water intake and a slow sand filter may be feasible, but such a system is likely to be expensive and would take a long time to implement. All of the materials required to build biosand filters are locally available and the community is enthusiastic about building filters.

After the 522 Post-Assessment Report on the March 2010 trip was written, submitted, and reviewed, design of the biosand filters for La Ceiba began.  In July 2010 two members of the project team attended the “Project Implementation for the Biosand Filter” workshop offered by CAWST in Calgary.  The 524 Preliminary Design Report on the filters was written and submitted in August 2010.  Finally, the 525 Pre-Implementation Report was written and submitted in September 2010.  The chapter presented the filter design to the Southeast Technical Advisory Committee on October 5 2010, and TAC approval was received on October 23, 2010.