September 2026 Project Status Update: A JASS Is Recognized, and Heavy Construction Is Coming!

Las Mercedes KM11 (approx. 1,200 people) — ON TRACK

The JASS Is Officially Recognized. The Contractor Process Has Begun.

September delivered the moment Las Mercedes KM11 has been working toward since its Water Committee was first formed: on September 14, the Municipality of Piura issued the Official Recognition Resolution acknowledging the JASS as the community's legitimate Water and Sanitation Service Management Committee. This is not a procedural formality — it is the legal declaration that this community has the authority to own, govern, and operate their own clean water system for generations. It took persistent coordination, multiple municipal visits, and the kind of in-person advocacy that Ricardo brought when he traveled to Piura September 2–4 to meet face-to-face with Municipal officers, Regional Government representatives, and village leaders and the JASS. That visit accelerated everything.

JASS Resolution officially approved in court.

Las Mercedes JASS team holds ceremony celebrating the resolution.

The community wasted no time. On September 25, they initiated the process to register the JASS in Public Records — the final administrative step that will give the Water Committee full legal standing. Meanwhile, the Water Committee continued its weekly coordination meetings with VAVV throughout the month, continuing to refine the operations, maintenance, and financial management procedures that will keep the system running well after construction is complete.

On the construction side, the Regional Government of Piura spent all of September preparing the bid package — specifying the construction budget line by line, finalizing engineering and design details, and ensuring every element complies with local regulations. On September 30, GRP formally started the bid, team contracting, and construction phase. The contractor selection process is now officially underway.

Looking ahead: In the first week of October, the JASS will complete its registration in Public Records. In the second week, VAVV and GRP will meet with the selected contractor for the pre-construction meeting. In the third week, the contractor will begin formal heavy construction with sweat equity support from the community. In the fourth week, a GPS and alarm system will be purchased for the Water Tanker Truck. After more than five years of planning, permitting, engineering, and community building — the construction of Las Mercedes KM11's clean water system is weeks away.

Las Mercedes (approx. 1,200 people) — ON TRACK

One Week of Legal Breakthroughs Puts the Deed Amendment in Motion

For months, the central obstacle in Las Mercedes has been a public deed — specifically, the process of formally registering the land on which the community's well and kiosk will be built as belonging to the community. September cracked that obstacle open, and it happened fast.

On September 3, Ricardo traveled to PECHP headquarters and met directly with the organization's directors, attorneys, and engineers to expedite and streamline the path to consolidating the public deed in Public Records. That same day, he visited the Public Records office itself to get precise, attorney-level guidance on the fastest way to resolve the observations that had been blocking the deed registration. By the third week of September, VAVV and the community had taken a significant step: they created a formal branch of the local association at Las Mercedes, specifically for the purpose of validating the public deed before Public Records — a legal instrument that clarifies ownership and makes the deed registrable. That same week, VAVV and community leaders acquired from PECHP all the internal records needed to properly amend the deed.

Then, in the fourth week of September, PECHP began drafting the amended public deed — the corrected, complete version that will be signed before a notary public and submitted to Public Records. That process is now actively underway.

In a single month, a legal obstacle that had been slowly worked on for the better part of a year moved from stalled to in motion. That is what focused, in-person advocacy and the right partnerships make possible.

Looking ahead: In the second week of October, VAVV and the community will complete the Public Records registration of the public sales deed on the land — securing the community's legal ownership of the well and kiosk site. In the third week of October, VAVV will resume engineering meetings for the planning and design of the groundwater well and associated infrastructure. Once the deed is registered, the legal and technical tracks of this project will be fully aligned and engineering can accelerate toward design completion.

Totoral Bajo (approx. 800 people) — ON TRACK

The Maps Are Finally Complete. The Technical Record Is Taking Shape.

Every water system needs a map before it can be designed — and for Totoral Bajo, with its six distinct, geographically complex sectors spread across a river-and-irrigation-canal-fed landscape, getting accurate maps has been a persistent challenge.

On September 3 and 4, Ricardo visited multiple offices in Piura specifically to track down an official, complete map of Totoral Bajo including all its sectors. On September 14, the community leader followed up independently and obtained a map directly from the Agricultural Authority covering the village and all surrounding sectors. On September 28, an improved, higher-resolution scanned copy of that map arrived. For the first time, the project team has the accurate geographic picture it needs to design a water system that actually fits the terrain and reaches every sector of the community.

The map of Totoral Bajo’s village boundaries.

Throughout all of September, the VAVV team met weekly to assess the incoming information and build the foundation for two critical next steps: contracting a topographic surveyor to survey the proposed water system alignment, and preparing the Technical Record that will be submitted to the Local Water Authority to formally request water rights over the selected river source. Both of those move forward in October.

Looking ahead: By the end of October, VAVV aims to contract a topographic surveyor to survey the proposed alignment for the water system. Throughout all of October, VAVV will continue preparing the Technical Record for submission to the Local Water Authority to obtain water rights for the irrigation canal source — with the community actively supporting that preparation. Water rights are the legal permission to build what the maps and surveys are making possible. October is when Totoral Bajo earns them.

Looking Ahead: Three Milestones and New Promise on the Horizon

September ended with three projects all pointed sharply in the same direction. A JASS that is officially recognized and days from being registered. A public deed being actively drafted for notarization. A village map acquired. Ricardo's September 2–4 visit to Piura touched every single one of these threads, and what that kind of in-person, multi-office, multi-stakeholder presence makes possible is hard to overstate.

October is going to be a milestone month. A contractor will be hired in Las Mercedes KM11. A deed will be registered in Las Mercedes. A topographic survey will begin in Totoral Bajo. These are not incremental steps; they are the moves that unlock the next phase of each project.

And there's more flowing beneath the surface. Behind the scenes, our team has quietly begun laying the groundwork in Tierra Prometida, a rural community living without clean water, gathering everything we need to move forward at full speed. As we keep advancing through our shortlist of communities waiting for True Water, True Life, Tierra Prometida is next in line. Stay tuned: we'll share the full story in next month's update!

None of this happens without the people who believe it is worth doing. If you want to be part of what October delivers and what comes next for Tierra Prometida, we would love to have you with us.