The core of the Armenta Project is — and always will be — the community of Armenta Lirios, nestled in the foothills of mountains bordering the large industrial city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

This picture was taken by EWB member Dale Thomas during the Armenta Pedestrian Bridge Project in 2009. The children in Armenta were very intrigued by the EWB team, as well as the project, and were eager to help in any way they could. EWB-Chicago Professionals were  welcomed as the first North American team to ever assist this community.

Heart to Honduras acted as the NGO partner to connect EWB work to the community, and supplied skilled labor, translators, and coordinated all material purchases and accommodations ahead of the team’s arrival for the bridge project. We look forward to further developing our ties with the community in the coming year!

If you’d like to know the basics about the Armenta Water Distribution Project, you can now download the Arementa Water Distribution 512 Sheet. A “512″ provides the background, need, response, and future involvement  of every EWB project, essential for quick reference and project description. Print it out and share it with your friends!

If you’d like to get involved in the project, consider attending a chapter meeting for EWB Chicago Professionals to get acquainted with the community, culture, and process of EWB. The January Chapter meeting will occur tonight at 6pm in downtown Chicago. More information about the meeting, and EWB membership, can be found on the EWB-Chicago Professionals website.

(Featured image of EWB team in Armenta by Dale Thomas, 2009.)

The vision of the Dayton Service Engineering Collaborative is to leverage the talents and resources of the Miami Valley engineering community to add value to domestic and international development programs through technical leadership in concert with global partners.

(Image of technical drawing from Wiki Commons.)

A good map is often one of the basic needs of a good engineering project. This featured excerpt from a topographic map (techinically, a quadrangle) was uncovered in an Arizona library, to the great delight of the Armenta Water Distribution Project team members.

The topo map has since been georeferenced and rectified in ArcGIS, and layered on a basemap of satellite imagery. The next step will be digitizing the river flowing into Armenta, as well as roads and buildings. All of this will be done in preparation for laying out the groundwork and design of the water distribution system.

One surprise in this process came in comparing satellite images of the locale between various sources (Google Earth, Bing). The same location shows drastic changes in development depending on the satellite image used. We already reported a change in population from 4,000 to 9,000 expected in 2013 — this drastic upward swing is one of the reasons a better water distribution system is needed.

To check out the location for yourself, use coordinates 15° 34′ 1.15″ N 88° 2′ 17.10″ W — and don’t forget to peruse the geotagged pictures available in Google Earth for a real treat!

Approximately 4,000 people living near the water storage tanks will be directly affected by the water distribution enhancements. The village has grown substantially in recent years and is expected to more than double to 9,000 people by 2013. This anticipated rapid growth means that a water distribution system upgrade is needed as soon as possible as the current water shortage will only get worse.

This impressive pedestrian bridge was constructed for the safety and development of Armenta in 2009 by EWB-Chicago’s Armenta Program team, led by Scott Eshelman, Chicago bridge engineer extraordinare. The need for the bridge was presented by community leaders in 2008; a dangerous river crossing split the community and proved impassable in the rainy season. The 45-foot concrete bridge with “U” shaped deck cross-section and cambered span was completed in 2009 with the help of the EWB-CPC team and skilled labor, translators, material purchases and accommodations provided by the NGO, HTH, and community. It is because of this great experience and community connection that the EWB-CPC team will return this year! For more information about the Armenta Bridge Project, check out our previous project site.

Armenta is nestled in the mountains near San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in the Northeastern section of the country. For another map, check out Wolfram’s page and follow the links to your heart’s content!

Current population: 350 families, about 4000 people
Projected rapid growth: Add’l 5000 people in next 2 years for 9000 people total then levels off
Other utilities: Electricity

Community Visits:

August 2009 – Scott Eshleman (EWB-CPC) and Dale Thomas (EWB-MN)
August 2011 – Brad Doudican (DSEC), Scott Eshleman andDale Thomas (EWB-MN)

Projects Identified by Community:

Water distribution enhancement

Project Timeline:

2012 Site Assessment,
2012/2013 Implementation

Key North American Contacts:

Heart to Honduras
EWB-CPC
DSEC
Sister Church
SLCC in Colorado

Roles/Responsibilities:

Lead Agency: EWB-CPC
Technical Design: Combination of DSEC and EWB (collaborative effort)
Funding: EWB with DSEC, HTH & SLCC support
Other functions: To Be Announced

Project History and Milestones:

No work has been done except for 2006 Public Health Report. Milestones to be set at meeting with
sister church, DSEC, EWB and HTH in Fall 2011. Memorandum of Understanding with Community to be
set as part of early 2012 Site Assessment Trip.

Technical Report:

Will seek to obtain copy of 2006 Public Health Report. Water source visit and pipe line walk was
conducted with Armondo, Pastor Neptali, Scott and Dale in late Spring of 2009. Preliminary pipe line
survey was provided to Scott at that time.

The village of Armenta is located northwest of the City of San Pedro Sula in the foothills of the mountains that border the west side of San Pedro Sula. This village has a water supply shortage that results in homes typically receiving water only one day a week. Water they receive comes from a mountain stream that flows through the village. A water catchment system is located 1 ½ miles upstream of Armenta in the mountains. A 3” diameter pipe connects the water catchment system to a 16,000 gallon storage tank in Armenta. This storage tank supplies water directly to one of the four neighborhoods of Armenta having 160 homes as well as to a second 12,000 gallon storage tank. This second storage tank supplies water to Armenta’s remaining three neighborhoods that have a total of 190 homes. In all the current water distribution system has to deliver water to 350 homes containing approximately 4000 people. The water quality is tested every three months by the medical center and always tests good for consumption.

Based on a 2006 report by the Public Health Center, the water shortage seems to be due to an undersized conveyance line from the water catchment system to the 16,000 gallon storage tank. The report recommends that an additional 4” pipe be added between the source and this tank to handle the demand.

Armondo explains existing water distribution system to Brad and Scott during August 2011 Site Visit However, Armando noted that the village has grown substantially in recent years and is expected to more than double to 9000 people by just 2013. The village population is then expected to level off as all available lots will be occupied and the neighborhood borders have nowhere to expand as they are bordering other communities and the mountains. This anticipated rapid growth means that a water distribution system upgrade is needed as soon as possible as the current water shortage will only get worse with every passing month.

From a previous interview Scott had with Armando, we know that Armando walks the water line every day inspecting and fixing water leaks and “bleeding” the line of air pockets. He controls all the valves that distribute water to the four neighborhoods. This includes at least one school and a medical clinic. Based on the expected population growth, Armando believes that in addition to the existing 3” line, the additional 4” line proposed by the 2006 report should really be a 6” line extending from the catchmentsystem to the 16,000 gallon tank. Apparently no water studies have been performed since the 2006 study. The itemized material cost for this project consisting primarily of 200, 20-foot long segments of metallic pipe and 200, 20-foot long segments of PVC pipe plus miscellaneous elbows, valves and connection material is approximately 1,000,000 L (~$54,000).

The village has been working to save money for the new line, but has very little savings at this time due to the 30 L (~$1.60) per family per month currently collected going mainly to cover maintenance costs. There is no government funding available for the project as the village chose to have SENA design and provide the original project at little to no cost a number of years ago. The agreement was that the village would get a water distribution system, but would then be responsible for all maintenance and upgrade expenses thereafter. At that time the village chose not to have the city of San Pedro Sula provide the system as the village’s required contribution would have been way too expensive. Now, San Pedro Sula is not willing to work on a system they did not install and SENA claims the village is on its own per their original agreement.

Armondo said they are eager for any assistance we can provide and noted that the village would provide all required labor to construct the project.