What a Difference Seven Months of Clean Water Can Make!

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Recently, Vera Aqua Vera Vita’s (VAVV) Founder & Executive Director, Jacob Niemeier, and Peru Project Liaison, Alberto Montoya (providing translation) sat down with the Mayor of Monte Castillo, Javier Leonidas, for a follow-up Review Interview via telephone on the “State of the Water Treatment Facility” in Monte Castillo that VAVV funded. Operation of the Facility officially commenced on August 3, 20219.

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March 24, 2020

Jacob: On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (very), how impactful would you estimate having clean water has been on the quality of life of the people using the water? Javier: I would give the impact a rating of 4. Access to clean water is helping a lot!

Jacob: What is your perception of the community on the number of cases of waterborne illnesses? Javier: I have not heard of any cases recently, and in fact, we have seen a decrease in the number of reported cases in recent months.

Jacob: Has the Water Treatment Facility been operating effectively? If not, what are the problems? Javier: Things have been working fine under normal operations except in January when the canal (source water) ran dry for 22 days due to increased demand for irrigation water and drought. The ground storage tanks/cisterns provided water for 1 week during this period.

Jacob: What is the approximate average daily number of customers purchasing water from the facility? Javier: I estimate about 50 customers/day (20 – At Facility, 30 – Delivery) purchasing approximately 200 liters/person/day. Of those daily customers, 80% are repeat and 20% are new

Jacob: Is the “Trucked” Delivery system operating effectively? If not, why not? Javier: Yes, it is operating fine other than having to replace a battery on the delivery truck which we were able to do quite easily with the money from the water sales.

Jacob: How much are you are charging for the water? Javier: The current rates are 3 soles (~0.88 USD) per 200 liters (~26 gallons) when sold at the Facility and 5 soles (~1.5 USD) per 200 liters (~26 gallons) when sold via the “Trucked” Delivery system.

Jacob: Have the Facility’s operations been financially self-sustaining from the rates being collected? Javier: Yes, we have been collecting enough money to operate the system and put some in savings.

Jacob: What is the estimated growth in customers since operations commenced about 7-8 months ago? Javier: When we first began operations and selling clean water to the people, we were averaging about 5 customers/day, and now we are averaging 50 customers/day which is a 1000% increase in customers.

Jacob: Has the growth in the number of customers been steady or not? Javier: As the numbers indicate above, we have seen good growth in the number of people obtaining water from the Treatment Facility. Initially growth in the number of customers was a bit slow, but especially recently, we have seen increased growth in the past few months.

Jacob: Are you doing anything to intentionally advertise the use of the facility? Javier: Not really since operations began but we will begin doing another advertising campaign as soon as the COVID-19 Pandemic passes.

Jacob: Have there been any problems with the functions and work of the Safe Water Committee (SWC) and the Water Treatment Facility Operators? Javier: No, the SWC and Operators have been working very well together, and there has not been any internal issues with maintaining operations and managing the Water Treatment Facility.

[Infographic depicting Vera Aqua Vera Vita’s timeline from Water Treatment Facility project inception to project completion in Monte Castillo, Piura, Peru (AP Graphic developed and created by Felicity Samaniego)]

For more information about Vera Aqua Vera Vita’s work in Peru contact Jacob Niemeier at jniemeier@veraaquaveravita.org or visit www.GiveTrueWater.org.

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