Establishing a community water project with a solar-powered pumping system seemed improbable for the peasant families of a Salvadoran village. However, despite their doubts, they made the solar project a reality and now have drinking water in their homes.
34% of Rural Salvadorans Face Urgent Water Shortage
In El Rodeo, a small village in the municipality of Victoria located in the department of Cabañas, there is an urgent need for drinking water since the government does not supply it to rural communities like this one in northern El Salvador. Official figures indicate that 34% of the rural population lacks access to piped water in their homes.
The community had to organize itself to source water from local springs. However, when the board of directors announced that the pumping system would be solar-powered to cut costs, there was some collective disappointment.
"When solar energy was mentioned, the community's hopes for reliable water seemed to vanish; they were sceptical and lost faith," said Marixela Ramos, an inhabitant of El Rodeo.
However, at that time solar energy was the most practical solution for a village focused on subsistence farming.
"Given the small number of families, connecting it to the national power grid wouldn't be financially viable," added Ramos, the secretary general of the El Rodeo board of directors.
El Rodeo's Solar Project Highlights Community Efforts
The El Rodeo solar project is the most innovative in the area, utilizing renewable energy. However, other villages in the Department of Cabañas rely on community-run initiatives for their water supply managed by local Water Boards (Juntas de Agua). The largest of these is Santa Marta, a home to approximately 800 families.
Across the country, other rural communities adopt similar methods due to the government's inefficiency in providing water to the 6.7 million residents.
El Salvador has approximately 2,500 Water Boards which serve 25% of the population or around 1.6 million people.
El Rodeo’s Spring Purchased for $5,000
The El Rodeo system is fed by a nearby spring called Agua Caliente. Since the spring was on private land, the community had to purchase the water rights from the owner for $5,000 using funds from international organizations.
From the spring, the water is directed to a catchment tank with a capacity of 28 cubic meters. A five-horsepower pump then transfers the water to a distribution tank situated on a hill from where it is gravity-fed through pipes to the users.
Families receive about 10 cubic meters (10,000 litres) of water per month for which they are charged five dollars. At a height of about five meters, 32 solar panels were installed on the roof to power the pumping system.
"Before, we had to go to the wells and rivers to fetch water. Now it is easier, we get the water at once in the house," said Ana Silvia Alemán.
The construction of the water system in El Rodeo involved several Salvadoran and international organizations including the Washington Ethical Society, the City Council of Bilbao, Ingeniería sin Fronteras and the Rotary Club.