Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting and Storage

Mexico has the largest indigenous population in Latin America. Indigenous people, especially those living in rural areas, live in almost all cases, in extreme poverty. In the project region, more than 70% of the population lives on less than 1 dollar a day. Practically, all water sources are polluted with heavy metals such as lead and cadmium. The last resource for clean water is the rain. Additionally, water sources are not protected to avoid contamination by human and animal feces and detergents. The areas surrounding water sources have different degrees of deforestation. According to the older people in the community, deforestation has been so devastating that rainy seasons have been altered.

Goals overview

The goal of the project is to provide safe clean water to 160 people living in a rural community in the Huasteca region by constructing 32 rainwater storage tanks. Secondly, to train parents in the construction and maintenance of the tanks. Third, to increase access to basic hygiene information to the families involved in the project.

Current status

For the last two years, Fondo para la Paz has worked with 512 extremely poor families living in the Huasteca region aiming primarily to provide access to water and sanitation to all the households within our coverage. So far, through community participation and commitment, half of this population has achieved access to dry toilets and has constructed rainwater tanks that add up to a rainwater storage capacity of close to 2 million liters. Nevertheless, we still have 200 families that have not been able to improve their access to water and sanitation.
Prior to the beginning of the project, local planning committees were formed to determine the best way to solve their water needs. Also, water analysis from different water sources were taken resulting in alarming levels of lead and cadmium. It was decided in meetings with all the stakeholders, that rainwater harvesting was the best solution to the water problems of the region.

Project plan

In this project, brick and cement tanks are constructed and maintained by local families as part of a broader program. Several groups comprise of 5 to 7 families are formed to receive a practical training for the construction of the tanks. One tank is constructed and the commitment is made to help the others construct their own tank. This procedure is then repeated with the rest of the families. In the region, there are already 42 health promoters, each one responsible for around ten families. Their main roll is to visit each household to deliver hygiene information to the families and supervise and promote the adoption of the new technologies. This is done, depending on the family, in Spanish or in the local language (Tenek) at least 10 times during a year. For this project, 3 additional health promoters will be trained. Due to community involvement both the adoption and the construction of the technology is cheaper and more easily accepted.

Expected outcomes

• 32 tanks with a storage capacity of 352,000 liters
• 32 families trained in the construction and maintanance
• 5 workshops of construction and maintanance
• 3 promoters trained to deliver hygiene information
• Hygiene information delivered to 160 people

The brick and cement tanks can be made with locally available material and required very low maintenance. Every family receives training on the construction and maintenance of the tanks and handouts with this information is given away. One local technician is specially trained to solve any technical problems that may result after the project is finished. Local planning committees have been previously formed and trained in participatory planning, so if any future problems should arise, the committees have the skills to follow a planning methodology to solve it. As the project was planned in a participatory manner, the adoption of the technology in similar previous projects within the region has been remarkably successful.