Nicaragua Taps Into Water Management

By Rick D'Elia

Beneath the daily downpour, Eligio Machado Rizo stands knee-deep in a muddy ditch in the impoverished northern highlands of Nicaragua. Eligio is president of the potable water committee in Potrerillo, a town in Esteli department. He and a crew of neighbors set up a new 1-inch pipeline that will bring potable water to six rural homes and a school downslope from a natural water source.

Until recently, water technologies have been out of reach for the rural poor of Nicaragua. Lingering effects of war, recent natural disasters and droughts also combined to limit water access.

In October 2007, CRS and local partners launched a five-year program that protects poor people from the effects of drought, flooding and other emergencies affecting their water supply. It does this by installing dams and pipes, building soil and water conservation structures, and teaching water management. CRS supplies expertise and supplies while local committees provide volunteer labor to complete installations.

The program helped the Potrerillo committee build a natural rock filtration system that collects runoff from the slopes above the village and fills a large concrete storage tank which in turn feeds the homes and school.

"In some communities people were drinking irrigation water, so they are grateful to be receiving clean water that is filtered at the source for human consumption," explains Jorge Castellon, CRS coordinator for the program. "Before, women went to the nearest river to wash their clothes and take a bath, but now they can wash at home."

Clean Water, Healthy Homes

Each water committee pays for maintenance and repairs to the system by collecting a monthly fee for usage. Residents pay 50 cents for up to 9,000 liters, and 25 cents for each additional 1,000 liters. The volume is monitored by water meters installed outside each home.

CRS is working with three local partners—Fundación de Investigacion y Desarrollo Rural (Research and Rural Development Foundation) in Esteli, Caritas of Matagalpa and Caritas of Jinotega—to reach 3,751 families or 19,445 people in seven communities.

As waterlines make their way to some homes, other residents of the highlands construct or rehabilitate wells for water fit for human consumption. They also maintain reservoirs to keep cattle and crops hydrated during the dry season. Meanwhile, the program is preserving natural and water resources, conserving soil and promoting reforestation by planting hand-raised trees around the reservoirs and existing watercourses.

The program also improves cleanliness and sanitation in homes by building latrines, instituting better garbage management, and teaching better housecleaning techniques to keep pollutants out of homes and water resources. The program further encourages greater participation by making spot checks to grade the cleanliness of homes. Each month, the local program coordinators award "Healthiest Home" baskets of cleaning supplies and nonperishable food items to the highest-scoring families.

Rural residents who have long felt ignored by the outside world are grateful for the program, says Castellon.

"What the program does is provide a menu of projects for a population in need: latrines, water, reforestation. It is gratifying to know that in several years we will have tangible results in the project."

Rick D'Elia is an Arizona-based photographer and writer. He has documented CRS projects in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Uganda. On his most recent trip he visited CRS programs in Brazil and Nicaragua.