Not every month brings a ribbon-cutting or a groundbreaking. October was a month of exacting, unglamorous, essential work: correcting registration observations, assembling legal records, and preparing technical documents so that nothing can be challenged later. It also meant some timelines moved. In Las Mercedes KM11, the Water Committee resubmitted its registration to Public Records after correcting observations, and the contractor hiring we hoped to see this fall now looks to land in late November. In Las Mercedes, the team assembled the full legal package needed to amend the public deed. In Totoral Bajo, weekly technical work continued ahead of the topographic survey and the water rights submission. We believe in telling you where things really stand, and the honest picture is this: the finish line is closer, and the last stretch is paperwork done carefully, because systems built on solid legal ground are the ones that last for generations.
Las Mercedes KM11 (approx. 1,200 people) — ON TRACK
A Corrected Registration, a Contractor Process in Motion, and a Late-November Window for Construction
When the Municipality of Piura officially recognized the community's JASS in September, the next step was registering it in Public Records. In October, that process required a correction. Public Records returned some observations on the registration, and in the third week of October the JASS resubmitted its filing with those items corrected. Observations like these are a normal part of formal registration, and fixing them properly now is what keeps the JASS's legal standing airtight for the life of the system.
Throughout the month, the Water Committee kept meeting weekly with VAVV, continuing to refine the operations and maintenance procedures, system management practices, and revenue and expense controls that will help the clean water system run well long after construction ends. Meanwhile, the Regional Government of Piura continued preparing the technical record for contractor selection, specifying the budget item by item and finalizing engineering and design details to comply with local regulations, while also working on the bid, team contracting, and construction phase.
Looking ahead: In the first week of November, the community aims to complete the JASS registration in Public Records. In the third week of November, VAVV and the Regional Government will meet with the selected contractor for the pre-construction meeting. In the fourth week of November, the contractor is to be hired to begin construction, with sweat equity manual labor support from the community, and a GPS and alarm system will be purchased for the Water Tanker Truck for added security. These dates have moved from what we shared last month, and we will keep you posted as each one is completed.
VAVV Missionaries standing with the water tanker truck at the Las Mercedes KM11 construction site, which will soon host the clean water system supplying water to all 1,200+ residents (Aug., 2026).
Las Mercedes (approx. 1,200 people) — ON TRACK
Building the Legal Package to Amend the Public Deed
After September's breakthrough meetings with PECHP and Public Records, October was the month of assembling what those meetings made possible. Ricardo Arbulu Guerra, village leaders, and PECHP officers spent the month preparing the technical records to be submitted to Public Records, including every attachment required to record the amended public deed and consolidate the community's land rights.
The community also took a key legal step: the Village Association formally requested the registration in Public Records of a Committee as a branch of the association. The purpose is specific and important. Registering the Committee as a branch allows it to become a party to the new amended public deed, so that the land beneath the community's future well and kiosk is held in a way that serves the community for the long term.
Looking ahead: In the second week of November, three things are targeted to come together: the community receives its Public Records registration of the Committee as a branch of the Association, the new public deed is signed before a notary public, and the land consolidation technical record is submitted to Public Records. Once the deed is registered, the legal and technical tracks of this project will be aligned, and well engineering can move ahead.
Totoral Bajo (approx. 800 people) — ON TRACK
Preparing the Map and the Technical Record for Water Rights
In Totoral Bajo, October was a month of steady preparation. The VAVV team met on October 6 and October 29 to assess the information gathered so far, prepare for the topographic survey, and continue building the technical record that will be used to request water availability from the Local Water Authority. Having the village's complete maps in hand since September means this work is now focused on turning that information into the documents that regulators and surveyors need.
Looking ahead: In the second week of November, the team plans to complete the map that will be used for the topographic survey. Throughout all of November, VAVV will continue preparing the Technical Record to be submitted to the Local Water Authority to obtain water rights for the river source, with the community supporting that preparation. Water rights are the legal permission to build what the maps and surveys are making possible, and this is the work that earns them.
Photos of the Totoral Bajo’s river source, identified during the summer mission trip field visit (Aug., 2026).
Looking Ahead
October did not give us a headline moment, and we would rather say so than dress it up. What it gave us is something just as important: corrected filings, complete legal packages, and technical records built to hold up. Behind each of those is a community leader, a government partner, or a member of our team who kept going when a form came back with observations.
November is a month to watch. A JASS registration in Las Mercedes KM11 is due in the first week, followed by the pre-construction meeting and contractor hire later in the month. A deed signing and submission is targeted for Las Mercedes. We're finalizing a survey map and water rights record in Totoral Bajo. Each of those is a step toward families turning on a tap and finding clean water.
If you have been following this journey, thank you for staying with us through the months that look like this one. Your support keeps the work moving between milestones, and it makes the milestones possible.
Give at veraaquaveravita.org/donate
True Water. True Life.
