Assessment+Trip

LINK TO FINAL (and SUBMITTED) VERSION OF 522: [] which you may also find in the WELL OF INFO folder of dropbox if you have access.

Link to Google version of 522 that can be edited (Paolo's suggestion; better browsed in Google Chrome): []

Updated 522 form: 522 instructions:


 * November 12-20 Assessment Trip**

Trip to Mercado de Artesanias, San Salvador volcano, and colonial town of Ataco
 * Day 7 (Saturday 18)**

We dried the cistern of the booster pump to see the inside and got more elevation data. We also talked to a company supplying pumps (we're thinking about adding a second dedicated booster pump for the new tank as the curves indicate low efficiency at high flow-low head) and talked to Jose, the hydrogeologist about the possibility of the new well.
 * Day 6 (Friday 18)**

We met with Morena, local health representative, and obtained valuable data about the state of health, as well as demographics, in Las Delicias. We also obtained the requested original **performance curves** for the two pumps from Dora Alicia, the head of the Water Committee. We visited the school and took data for possible location of the new water tank near the day care/soccer field. We visited a house that uses a filtration pot and has a rudimentary water catchment system.
 * Day 5 (Thursday 17)**

We met with the office of the Mayor at 10 am, established contacts, and obtained support for our project. Daniel from Roraty was present. Trip to the ruins of San Andres.
 * Day 4 (Wednesday 16)**

We talked to Daniel from the Rotary and followed Chilo to figure out the distribution system. We talked to people at the clinic (Kalli, FEMRC) and learned about health issuse at the village. The school has contaminated tank; 80% of children have parasites; those that don't bring filtered water from home. 25 familes use pots from Potters from Peace. The main pipe broke near the clinic; it will take 2 days to repair.
 * Day 3 (Tuesday 15)**

We tested submersible and booster pumps using level difference and repoduced the booster curve. Submersible cannot develop enough head to go to the new tank. The piping from spring to Tank 2 is broken; it is being repaired.
 * Day 2 (Monday 14)**

We met with the water committee and learned about their needs. With the help of Fredi, we welded two pressure taps, one on the submersible and one on the booster, and installed manometers.
 * Day 1 (Sunday 13)**


 * September 1, 2011 EWB-MAP meeting**

1) VFD option for the new tank. We only need to add a VFD (variable frequency/speed drive) to the booster to maintian flow of about 200 GPM (to match the summersible) at a lower head required to pump to the new intermediate tank.

Here is Brian's paper on VF pumping:

One issue we face is whether we need to replace the booster motor to match the VFD. Page 11 of the above paper says it's normally not requred up to 440 V. We're at 460-475 V, a little above that. Still, we may be able to keep the existing motor. We have to investigate it further.

We still have to look at the harmonics issue (Lisa T.).

2) PF (power factor) savings. We got quotes for capacitors. We would be able to run at the PF of 0.96 (>0.90) and avoid the $47 penalty.

We don't need capacitors for the VFD option. If we intall VFD on the booster and run the submersible the way it is now we should be able to run at PD=0.93 (still >0.90). Lisa found out we don't need capacitors for the booster if we use a VFD.

3) Pump tests. We have to keep in mind that we may exceed the submersible's MAWP (maximum allowable working pressure) if we backpressure it to test how much head it can develop. Dan to look into getting an ultrasonic flow meter.

4) During the trip we will also look at rainwater harvesting and contact (the office) of the mayor (alcalde).

5) We have to look into the issue of sharing the pipeline with the other village.

6) We have to closer investigate the existing spring area to find out if we could dig the well there (ownership, capacity, sharing).

7) We will look at the possibility of incorporating the existing tank next to the soccer field into our plans.

8) We have to talk to Bob D. about the new well (Adam).

Minutes from discussion with Bob D on Sep. 20th: Study by Dana indicates high uncertainty in finding water at higher elevation. Typically, a hydrological study would involve: (a) a literature search; (b) identifying wells in the area and putting them on the map; (c) fracture (fault) analysis of the rock formations to indentify possible drilling sites; (d) stereo photos of the area. The existing spring near Tank 2 does not mean this is a good place to drill the well. Finding a fracture doesn't always mean that it contains water. Normally, one needs to investigate a large area to find the best location for the well. It would be very hard to find such a location near one of the existing tanks. The new well would have to supply at least 100 GPM for the full benefit. There is no guarantee that it will even if the water is found (in theory, it could supplement the existng well for partial benefit). It is possible that the water table is about the same at higher elevation as it is at the existing well (which would negate the benefits). One has to weigh the costs of doing the survey against potential savings (the survey alone costs $3,500; the electricity costs roughly $20,000/year). Bob is willing to communiacte with Jose about possible survey details.

9) We confirmed the availability of sister Gloria's guesthouse for the team.

10) More people vounteered for the assessment team.

11) Brian M. found a link to the book that Brian H. brought to the last meeting on construction of ferrocement tanks if anyone who doesn't have a hard copy of it is interested.: @http://www.ferrocement.com/tankBook/indici.en.html

It's a little less user friendly reading online but it seems to have the entire book posted. There's a lot of great useful info but I still have a ways to go to get through all of it.


 * August 4, 2011 EWB-MAP meeting**

A) New well (lead: Alex Turner)

Here is a paper on hydrogeology of La Libertad Alex procured: The author of the study, Dana Novakova, was contacted. She says nearly all wells at San Juan Opico are at **about the same elevation** as the existing well in Las Delicias (she gave a list). She has **doubts** about finding water at higher elevations.

We have 3 hydrogeologist options: 1) Bob DiFillipo agreed to lend his expertise. 2) Federico - was contacted 3) Rich's university contact in ES - no response yet

It would be good, but not necessary, to have a local expert in addition to Bob.

1) Schedule a meeting with Bob - AT (done) 2) List of questions to Federico - AB, AT (done) Federico replied Aug. 12, said he was busy, and recomended another engineer Jose Roberto Duarte.
 * Action items** - person responsible:

Some questios for Federico/Jose's answers: 1) Does he know Las Delicias area hydrogeology? 2) How likely is it to encounter water at elevation (perched aquifer)? 3) How much a test drilling would cost? 4) How much the study it would cost and how long it would take.
 * Yes.**
 * There are 3 types of the aquifer in the area at 3 distinct elevation**. Theoretically, water can exist at the elevation of Tank 1. We need to do a study.
 * $80-$/120/m**, depending on geology.
 * $3,500+tax; it would take about 30 days**.

During the first assessment trip we saw a team drilling a well nearby, at an elevation higher than the existing well and probably Pedronas Crossing: [|https://picasaweb.google.com/mountainelm/ElSalvadorEWB10#5499505098152382258] They have reached 102 meters w/o finding water. For comparison, elevation difference between Tank 1 and Pedronas Crossing is about 100 m. Existing well water level is about 70 m. This doesn't mean there is no perched aquifer.

B) New tank

B-1) Building materials and cost

1) We should find out who built the existing 5 concrete tanks (Tanks 1-2-3, tank at the clinic, tank next to the soccer field) and how much they cost (Gustavo?). Tank 1: [|https://picasaweb.google.com/mountainelm/ElSalvadorEWB10#5499505512811595026] 2) Ferrocement tanks. The Penn student team and EWB-Apatut team think this is a good option. They can be fabricated on site. Materials abs expertise can possibly be sourced locally from Electrama: [] [] (Impermeabilización de lozas, parqueos, **cisternas**, jardineras, etc.) 3) Plastic tanks. Those off the shelf seem too small. 4) ?

B-2) Location

1) We have to secure real estate. Dave has some lead here. **Dave**, what is the location you had in mind? 2) The location should have good tie-in points to the existing gravity distribution system. Pedonas Crossing is a good candidate. 3) Another thing to consider is the % of households below the new tank. The southern part of the village (near the soccer field) is at about the same elevation as Pedronas Crossing but the water may have to go though a point at a higher elevation to get there from the Crossing. One solution would be to to elevate the tank at whatever location we choose. A modest elevation may be sufficient. We have to get good **elevation data** from various points in the village. We have to bring good GPS (can be borrowed from DU). 4) ?

B-3) Pumps 1) We need pump curves. First thing we want to do, before running any experiments, is to ask around face to face (Fredi, the Mayor's office, etc.) 2) We want to test if the submersible pump can develop enough head to reach the new tank. Here is the setup: [|https://picasaweb.google.com/mountainelm/ElSalvadorEWB10#5499504184728225586] There is a flow meter in place: [|https://picasaweb.google.com/mountainelm/ElSalvadorEWB10#5499502606349236146] The pump is already backpressured by a butterfly valve partially closed. We need a pressure gauge. There is a bleed line with a valve, ending with an elbow open to the outside. The backpressure has to be to at least 110 psig (elevation difference to Pedronas crossing). This will take some plumbing. To keep things in perspective, the pump would have to develop more than **twice** the differential head than it currently does. It may not be **rated** for that pressure. **Any suggestions**? 3) The booster has no flow meter, pressure gauge downstream of the discharge block valve: [|https://picasaweb.google.com/mountainelm/ElSalvadorEWB10#5499502343330240130] Dan suggested ultrasonic flow meter (no plumbing req'd): [] [] Rich suggested isolating Tanks 1-3, redirecting flow to the tank next to clinic (shared line) and backpressuring the pump with the valve next to the tank: [|https://picasaweb.google.com/mountainelm/ElSalvadorEWB10#5499507874637613986] __homes for sale orlando__ 4) What if we piped the submersible pump discharge directly to the booster suction? While pumping to the new tank, the flow would be higher than 200 GPM, say 250-300 GPM. I think we may loose NPSH and cavitate the pump by lowering the submersible discharge head by ~30'. **Any comments**? 5) We could add another pump about the size and rating as submersible (about the same differential head at 200 GPM) **in parallel to booster** to pump to the new tank. 6) The submersible pump may be capable of more flow - it is throttled at the discharge (probably to match the flow with the booster and not to overfill the cistern). We want to find out how much more flow. 7) We want to understand how the water distribution to the other village (shared pipe) looks like. 8) ?

C) Time-of-day savings

Here are some issues: 1) We have to find out if they are interested in this solution in the first place. 2) Noise is an isssue. Possible solutions: (a) Enclosure around pumps; (b) relocating Vincente's family. 3) One would have to operate pumps at night. It may be possible to fill the tanks at night but distribute water (Chilo the valvulero) in the morning. 4) ?

D) Power Factor savings

Current Power Factor is 0.85. They are paying a penalty of $47 (over 3% of the monthly electric bill) for having the PF below 0.90). Lisa T., an electrical engineer, looked into it and got some quotes.

The questions/answers: 1) How much would it cost for 75 HP installation? 2) Would the savings show up on the electric bill? Brian contacted the meter company and they said the meter measures power factor so it will **automatically detect the change** once we get to .9. 3) Can we install them ourselves? 4) Should we install the capacitors without knowing if we need a VFD. With a VFD they are not necessary, 5) ?
 * $230 w/o installation for the 60-HP motor (17 kVARS); less for the 15-HP motor (4 kVARS), maybe $100.**

If we could pull (C) and/or (D) we would have an early success story.

E) Assessment trip issues

1) We should use people already on the ground to get as much information as possible befor the trip. Those include Gustavo, Alex at the clinic, and Meredith. Action item-person responsible: Contact Meredith - Lisa S. 2) We should develop better ties with the community. This includes the Water Committee and possibly the Mayor's (Alcalde) office: [] 3)

F) Assesment trip tasks and priorities

To be developed 1) ?

The assessment team: 1) Brian Hamill 2) Adam Brostow 3) Lisa Schneider? 4) Alex Turner? 5) ?


 * End meeting notes**


 * The new assessment trip will serve dual purpose**:

1) Exploring the feasibility of the new tank solution (at an intermediate elevation). What is the best location for the new tank? Can we reuse existing pumps with or without modifications? Can we use the tank next to the soccer field? What are the tie-in points for the supply and distribution system that we can use in the retrofit? Can we obtain pump curves, existing ones or by running an experiment? What do we need to run an experiment, if required? How does our systems interact with the supply system to the other village? Who built existing tanks, at what cost? Can we use a local company to build a ferrocement tank? Is it possible to look into providing the labor (either EWB or the townspeople) to build our own ferrocement tank? If so, we should find vendors for the necessary materials and get costs. Also, in an effort to think ahead, should we explore locations to put other tanks in the future (obviously the first one is priority)? If so, should we put together a distribution system model on EPANET that we can calibrate while we are there? To test and measure flows, I (Dan) may be able to get a portable, strap-on, ultrasonic flow meter from my workplace if you would be able to use it.

(a) Testing the submersible pump would requre adding a pressure gauge. The flow meter is already in place. I (Dan) would check on the last calibration (and type) of flow meter as they can drift over time. Cross-verifying is a good idea. The flow can be cross-verified by a stapping chart on the cistern. The purpose of the test is to determine if it can develop enough head to pump water to intermediate tank. This is probably unlikely but worth exploring.

(b) Testing the booster would require measuring both flow and pressure. The pressure gauge is downstream of the discharge valve. It could be used if there is another way to backpressure the pump. Flow rate could be determined by adding a flow meter or by a stapping chart on the suction cistern. The purpose is to explore the possibility of adding a VFD to use booster both for pumping to Tanks 1 and 3 and to an intermediate tank. It might be worth looking up pump and VFD suppliers to get a better idea of costs on the different options and also meet some people who may have some good ideas. If they are familiar with contractors or engineers who could be good local contacts, that is also something to look into.

If test (a) is positive we don't have to run test (b). For future use, why not run test b anyway? We may want the data later and my guess is we'll come back to it. I (Dan) agree that if a is positive, it should be less of a priority. The only equipment we need is the new tank. We would fill the new tank w/ the submersible and Tanks 1 and 3 with the combination of booster and submersible (the way it's done now).

?

2) Exploring the feasibility of drilling a new well at an elevation. Can we hire an expert to do the feasibility study?

Here is a message from Rich (July 18): Here is a response from Jaime Cea – he runs a small company (perhaps and NGO, I’m not sure, but it has a Christian affiliation) that drills water wells and installs water systems throughout El Salvador – he is an option to think about when we get to the point of drilling a well. He also speaks English very well.

He is recommending grupo in geo below – there are a couple of examples of hydrogeological studies completed by Federico Castellanos on the website @http://www.grupoingeo.com/hidrologia---hidrogeologia (attached) We should have a couple of people evaluate them to see if he would be good for us. Contact: Ing. Federico Castellanos fcastellanos@grupoingeo.com web site: www.grupoingeo.com ?



We also want to explore the possibility of running pumps at night to take advantage of time-of-day savings. This would require talking to people and addressing the noise issue. Are we still considering looking at power factor? We are still looking at PF ( currently 0.85); they are paying a penalty of $47 (over 3% of the monthly electric bill) for having the PF below 0.90.

In addition, we want to look at water catchment, find out more about sources of parasites and dengue fever. We want to explore solar option: cost and availability of solar panels, etc.

Household Rain Water Catchment (Questions put together by Dan B.) Explore existing rainwater catchment systems: - Type of tank: cement? plastic? open-top or sealed? size? - Roof Material: metal? plastic? shingles? other? is it dirty? What are the approximate dimensions of useable roof area? What is the style of the roof (gable, flat, one slant, etc.)? i.e. what is the length along which to place gutters? - Gutter Material: PVC? metal? plastic? - Do they use a filter or other method of keeping out contaminants? - What type of people have it? (rich, big families, etc.) and what convinced them to get it? - What is the interest level? Would people pay for part of a catchment system? how much? Explore material availability and cost: - Gutters: PVC pipe? Metal? Plastic? - Tanks: cement/concrete? plastic? - Filter/Screen: Check hardware stores, plumbing stores, water treatment stores, pool stores, irrigation filters, etc. There are a lot of different sizes and styles. Ask about micron size, cleaning options (if any), and lifetime or some comparison of the available area - PVC Piping and Valves?

Large Scale Water Catchment (Questions put together by Dan B.) - Are there existing ravines etc. that form and flood during the rainy season? Where are they? - How much debris gets washed out through the ravines during a rainy season? - What is the possibility of forming a "dam" in these areas? Dimensions? Height of water during flooding? - Would there be a potential risk to property by damming a flooding area? - What is the availability and cost of large amounts of sand, gravel, PVC pipe, cement, and concrete? - What is the accessibility of these areas during the rainy season for treatment? - What is the availability and cost of liquid or dry chlorine (bleach, HTH, calcium chloride tablets, etc.)? Check water treatment stores and pool stores (perhaps hardware/plumbing stores as well)... - How could we get an agreement to use the land? - Who would maintain the catchment system? - How close is it to the existing water pipelines and tanks? - Would people be interested in this type of system? Would they drink water that came from it? - What is uphill? Farms, animals, latrines?

(DB) To try and think ahead, I suggest you ask some questions and hear about what they are doing and/or want to do for water treatment for health and sanitation purposes. If they have done any more lab tests on water quality, see if you can get a copy. We also might be able to put together a test aeration system to take down and take a look at.

(DB) I suggest we backtrack and verify the facts that we think we know about the town, the size, the length of pumping, more copies of finances and electric bills, etc. Things change over time and we don't want to be using old assumptions that are no longer valid. Whatever assumptions we made in the 523 should be verified to make sure they are still true. Any new general assessment or opinions of the water system (from the guys who maintain and run it) may shed some additional light on the situation as well. Socializing helps build the relationship and also provides the local viewpoint on the problems. Do they see the same problems and have the same priorities? We want to make sure we have community buy-in.