Panama - Tranquilla, Norte
Current Activities
The Panama program transitioned to the San Francisco Professional Chapter with collaboration from the Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter to increase volunteer support following the COVID-19 pandemic travel ban.
The Panama program has been led by the Sacramento Valley Professional chapter since 2014. The team assessed a gravity-based water system that crosses a vast landscape of rolling hills and valleys constructed solely on PVC pipe serving rural communities to a population of 2500 residents. Since 2017, the team has rehabilitated punctured segments of the water system that had been damaged during recent drought seasons by local residents for water access when the system failed; reinforced the hillside against erosion where the principal water tank is located; performed a survey of the entire water system; accessed a water well for reactivation; and initiated the process for land deed required by the local government.
The team has been monitoring the conditions of the water system through their NGO contact (Sustainable Harvest International (their NGO contact) who have established a network of families to communicate on community needs. The community has since identified additional needs.
EWB-SFP plans to continue to work with the community of Tranquilla and collaborating communities in Panama to help realize both clean water, health and safety, and socioeconomic advancement. The activities in the future include:
Assess and monitor quality of water well at Tranquilla
Assess and design infrastructure improvements at river and creek crossings
Construct Tank Reservoir Support for water system
Process and receive issued land deed to the well location for electrical service
Install electrical service/ Solar Powered source for water pump at well in Tranquilla Centro
Community Overview
Tranquilla is a small community in the District of Caballero located in the Municipality of Anton, Province of Cocle, Panama. The community comprises 200 households within the district. The gravity-based water system provides water to a number of community nodes between the District of Caballero and Anton. A total of 2500 people were being serviced in 2013. In 2016, the Panamanian federal government promoted a homestead policy encouraging the development of rural areas where the communities in Caballero and Antion districts had increased to 5000 people. The water system was constructed in 1980’s when the population was roughly 500 people but with population growth the system remained the same. Droughts and overuse of water springs had impacted the water system from constant flow to hourly availability on a daily basis depending on the vicinity of the water source. Over a period locals would walk closer to the source to puncture a segment of the system to access water further debilitating the system. Many community members also relied on the use of the water system for farming practices which debilitated water pressure and potable use.
People would trek 2-3 miles from the springs to bring 5-gallon buckets of water for consumption. The recent droughts had compromised the service of the water system as the Municipal government had to send water trucks to the community to ration water when the (3) springs that serviced the community would be exhausted.
In 2012, a German Nonprofit organization provided the construction of a water well in Tranquilla to help mitigate the supply. Lacking access to the electrical grid, the nonprofit installed solar panels which then powered a water pump for the service of the community. The solar panels fell into disrepair in less than 2-years as the climate impacted its lifespan. Lacking the logistical support of solar panel repair in the community, the solar panel system failed and the water well deactivated from the water system.
Electricity and road pavement was not introduced to the community until 2014 making it feasible to transport materials to remote areas and consider reactivating the water well. In addition, internet service was also promoted from the federal government in 2015 for local service providing access to online communication.
Since 2013, the EWB Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter has partnered with Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) to help the community improve their farming practices and access to clean water.SHI connected with the community by a sustainable farming program that provided practices to local families with non-erosion farming methods; and efforts to conserve their ecological environment. SHI had first learned of the water issues and connected the community’s water board with EWB. The water board, La Junta, operates on a fee structure and volunteer maintenance where members are elected every 5-years from their respective communities. La Junta has provided monthly maintenance of the water system and recently added (2) additional springs.
La Junta has proven to be eager, proactive, and dedicated to provide water service to their communities at any opportunity while working with our team. The group has provided consistent effort to raise funds and work with community members to have access to water. La Junta has currently identified objectives to provide consistent water service to the communities:
Water system crossing improvements over creeks & ravines.
Additional water reservoirs.
Reactivation water well near Tranquilla Centro.
Rehabilitate the water tank.
Improve segments of the water system where high water pressure bursts during the rainy season.
Additional water treatment.
Past Activities and History
The Panama program began as a EWB-CSUS (Sacramento State) program where Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) had submitted a request on behalf of the community on improving their water system. The program was adopted in 2013. The original scope was described as a gravity-based water system 5 km long for the community of Tranquilla. Upon the first assessment, the team discovered the water system serviced a wider community and the Tranquilla was a sector. Upon a land survey conducted in 2014, the water system was recorded to be ~45 km. long (completely structured on PVC pipes). The system was originally constructed in1980s by the Noriega regime and maintained by the military personnel for the community of 500 people at that time. Upon the regime change in 1989, the community relied upon themselves to provide maintenance of the water system. In 2013, the population had grown to 2500 people and the system remained intact since the 1980s with (3) springs as their primary source.
EWB-CSUS transferred the Panama program to the EWB Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter for consistent follow-up and expertise as the project proved to be larger than expected for a college chapter in 2015. Since 2016, EWB Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter has led the program with support from the La Junta (local community elected water board) along with the SHI partnership on assessments and improvements to the water system.
The team visited the Tranquilla community and neighboring communities impacted by the water system in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017. Each time making emergency improvements, segment repairs, surveys, and additional spring connections. In 2018, the project came to a halt due to a corruption scandal from misuse of public funding by then La Junta President. La Junta went through an investigation and project expenditures were frozen until new elections were held in 2019. New members were elected with a new President of La Junta in 2019, however COVID-19 pandemic halted swearing in of its new members, providing an extended term of existing La Junta members. COVID-19 shutdown of traveling and mandatory quarantine has delayed further progress on project improvements since 2019.
Since 2019, community members have provided basic maintenance to the water system while communication between Project Lead, SHI and La Junta members have been ongoing. Currently, the Tranquilla, Panama project is being transferred to the SF EWB chapter while EWB Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter will remain supporting the effort during the transition. A new team will be formed and an assessment trip to be organized to follow-up on objectives to complete.
Get involved
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