Water in Delta Islands

The municipality of Tigre, with 301,223 inhabitants, is located north of Buenos Aires (CABA) and represents one of the urban areas of Buenos Aires. With the majority of the area being rural, Tigre is a suburban town, where more than half of the area is insular. The islands are a part of the extensive delta of Buenos Aires, and is mostly wetland; a transition between land and water, that play an essential role in the environmental services of the municipality and the region.

Whereas the mainland has a steady population of 8000 people, widely dispersed and without basic health care coverage or a drinking water network, or sewage. Contrastingly, on weekends, 25,000 tourists or temporary residents come to the islands.

Goals overview

The provision of safe water and sanitation system for an island-school, benefiting a population of approximately 1000 residents. Improving the health of this population by reducing waterborne diseases. The reduction of environmental pollution and sustainability of the wetland in the islands of the lower delta of the Parana. The project will also contribute to the development of knowledge of innovative technologies to be applied in varying scenarios of climate variability.

Current status

There has been a socio-environmental analysis of Tigre Island, in the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires Province (Buenos Aires, Argentina), providing a picture of a strong urban densification process and high variability of climate change indicators. From this work we have selected the appropriate technologies to solve two major social and health problems of the islands: access to safe water and sanitation environmentally friendly.

Next to INA (Instituto Nacional del Agua - National Water Institute) and the Municipality of Tigre define which of the 13 public schools in the islands install the selected technologies.

The installation of technologies will be done in conjunction with an environmental awareness.

Project plan

Today the inhabitants of the islands are supplied drinking water through bottled water that comes from the continent. This water is not only highly costly for he Islanders, but is also reliable due to the transport, and the possibility that it will be sold on the mainland.

Currently all the sewage fluids are deposited in the river, as a result of which there is extreme pollution.

The project proposes a low-cost modular technology with high impact. The river water is extracted and stored in the reservoir where a process called electrocoagulation takes place. This process takes between 4 and 6 hours depending on what state the water is in.
Once water is pumped through a filter into the reservoir where it is stored. Water maintenance is performed with a UV-C sterilizer equipment.

The sanitation system includes the installation of a sewage plant compact. The technical conditions under which the plant operates is similar to large plants operating in the continent (activated sludge, biological treatment, primary and secondary settler). The innovation lies in its small size, modularity, and its easy operation and maintenance.

These plants will be built in public schools because we expect children and adolescents to adapt quickly and creatively to this new innovative technology, in order not to pollute the environment.

We believe that the plan also takes into account a number of issues of interest, including:

• Particularity: particular physical characteristics of the municipality (an island more than half of its territory) represents a challenge to solve problems that have so far not been successfully addressed (eg water, sanitation).

• Challenge: While island areas do not have the high population density, like the mainland at the moment. The area is undergoing population growth, and also receives some 25,000 tourists for weekends, as it is a major tourist recreation area for Buenos Aires. This intense tourism flow increases and increases the negative environmental impact of the area (waste, pollution, etc.).

• Climate Change: Various studies agree that one of the three Argentine coastal areas more vulnerable to increased flooding from climate change will be the front of the Paraná Delta. This is primarily due to increased "sudestadas" (heavy rains with strong winds from the southeast), also, as the instability of the system over the sea level rises and storm surges. This situation will increase the vulnerability of the population of the area against climate variability.

• Wetland: The entire delta is a microsystem of wetland that has various ecological and environmental functions, including: water regulation, serving a refuge for biodiversity, water purification and providing a range of socio-cultural values for the local population. The delta therefore demand a management strategy that relies on the characteristic attributes of the area (biodiversity and cultural importance) and maintenance of its ecological functions (flood control, water supply, retention of sediments and nutrients and sink toxic waste, stabilization of microclimates, transport and tourism).

• The absence of environmentally sensitive plans or policies (water, sanitation, waste, alternative energy) represent an opportunity to work in the territory.

Expected outcomes

• 1 river catchment
• 1 electrofloculacion system for water purification
• 2 treatment and storage reservoirs for water
• 1 modular plant sanitation
• 1 awareness campaign and technology transfer

The General Direction of Schools of the province of Buenos Aires made the maintenance of educational institutions faced higher costs. The proposed solutions reduce the costs of drinking water and ensure no contamination of natural resources.

The maintenance cost is very low since the electrodes have a long lifetime and slop reagents are inexpensive, while operational control consumes only few hours a month. An estimated annual maintenance cost is EU 350 for supply of 100 liters of water per capita in a population of 1,000 people.

The project provides in the long term for the 13 educational establishments drinking water supply and sewage treatment, thus becoming the basis for a strategic plan for health services for the area of the Paraná Delta.

The project also foresees made in stages. To make the two technologies together will require raising EU 63,000. But if was raised only EU 25.000 could make the technology solution for drinking water, together with the awareness campaign and transfer. In the case of sanitation needed EU 38,000.