Benitzul Water Project - May 2012

The blog below was written by Kristen, a recent grad from Lipscomb College of Engineering.  She helped work on the Benitzul water system during the May 2012 engineering team and then stayed with us in the Valley, along with Luke, until June 10th!  We were  blessed to have her and Luke with us for three weeks!!  And we are thankful for her sharing this part of the May engineering team's project since DeeDee and I were down at the bridge site.  Enjoy!

Update from Kirsten the Intern:

In addition to the bridge team, the water team and solar team successfully completed their projects as well.  As a part of the water team, I am much more able to explain what all happened with water than I am able to for the solar team.  The solar team was able to set up four new solar charging stations and added supplies to a few other stations.  From what I was told, the team had a wonderful experience in the homes of the Qeqchi people and enjoyed their visits.  They worked quickly and efficiently and were able to complete all of their stations within a few days.

The existing water system in Benitzul consisted of an old ram pump from a project three years ago and two spring boxes which gave little to no pressure at the pila at the school.  Our goal for the water project was to first bring water to the Benitzul school and allow the overflow to go down the west side of the hill toward the base camp and other homes.  The idea for the project is somewhat hard to visualize but I’ll attempt to explain through words here on the blog.  The school is close to the top of a hill with the bodega and more homes on the west side of the hill.  The east side of the hill has a currently working system that they helped install although the water pressure was low.  During the dry season, or somewhat less rainy season, the west side of the system gets pretty dry while the east side of the system still has plenty of water.  Our idea was to draw the excess water from the east side to supply the school and then the west side of the system.

The water team included Alex Casey as the project lead/student, Patrick Roesner and I as students, Kevin Colvett and Kerry Patterson as advisors, Brooke Mcallister as translator, and Stephen Dodson and Rick Forehand as alumni.  The students with the help of our advisors decided to install a water system which would include adding three tanks, a solar-powered submersible pump, and a large solar panel.  The pump needed to supply about 1 gal/min up to a tank 3 meters above the school. 

This tank would supply a pila in the yard, a pila in the kitchen, and a smaller spigot in the yard for the small children to wash their hands.





The pump was installed into one of three tanks placed about 25 meters below the school.  These three tanks were connected such that they were essentially one large tank fed by two springs on the east side of the hill.  This new location for the tanks at a higher point also gives the east side more water pressure.  The pump is submersed in the first tank in the picture which flows out of the top up to the tank above the school.



The solar panels which powers the pump was installed on a 20 foot pole on a small hill close to the school which overlooks the valley.  The solar panels and pump are highly efficient which is a huge plus for unfavorable conditions.  Before the solar panels were lifted up with the pole, they were pointed toward the ground in a cloudy sky and the pump was already humming.  It’s really neat to hear the pump humming even when it’s cloudy and sprinkling outside.  In the picture below, the students who worked on the project stand proudly around the panels, Patrick, me and Alex from left to right.

Putting up the solar panel and the pole was quite frightening, but God’s hands were definitely there holding it up while concrete was poured around the base and sticks were installed for temporary support.  Around all of the expensive parts of the system barbed wire fences were put up for security.  The Benitzul community has taken pride in this new system and wants to take great care of it.

A few days later, some of the team went back up to the school to do a dental lesson for the children.  When they went to brush their teeth, they all ran to the pila and spigot to use the water.  It was really fun to see them brush their teeth with the water and wash their hands and feet.



It’s been such a blessing to be a part of this project and to allow God to work through us to bring water to His people.  It’s been a blessing to grow closer to the men during the installation and the children after the project was completed.  I’m so glad that God has chosen to use me here in the valley and I pray that He will continue to find use for me here in the future.