The Rotary Club of West Austin would like to announce that we are nearing completion of our second Global Grant.  This is a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) project in Bilampi, Nicaragua benefiting 43 families.
 
This Global Grant with funding from Rotary District 5870, Rotary International, and Rotary Clubs including West Austin, Bastrop, Georgetown Sun City, Cosmopolitan, the E-Club and Sheridan is a partnership with the Rotary Club of Matagalpa, Nicaragua.
 
Spring 2022 Update: Water Project is 85% Complete
  • Spring Capture & Tank are 100% complete (see photo)
  • The distribution system is 95% complete.  All trenching is complete. We are currently finalizing two water crossings (See photo).
  • Work has begun on point-of-use installations in every home.
  • Work is beginning on latrines in every family home as well. 
  • Up next: there will be hygiene and watershed protection training for all community members in Bilampi.
This water system pulls water from three different springs, requiring three separate spring captures, and the distribution system is more than 20 km of buried pipe.  The community volunteers were averaging 100-150 meters of trench digging per day by hand with picks and shovels.  The entire system is gravity powered and can be easily maintained.
In designing the project, the Project Schoolhouse water engineer described the old water source as the most contaminated he had ever seen, with stagnant water that in recent years has completely dried out for several months out of the year as climate change has impacted previously predictable rain seasons.
 
This is an effort community members are committed to if it means reliable, safe water for their families. This project continues into this spring of 2022. We look forward to providing another update once the water and latrine project is completed!