Post-Assessment

Trip Description, March 2010

The overall goal of the project is to provide the community of Apatut with potable water as a means of combating diseases and improving overall quality of life.

The first major event following the EWB-PHILLY team arrival in Apatut was the community meeting, where the team introduced themselves and described the plan for the water system, including the proposed locations of the water distribution points and storage tank. The team then headed to the location of the proposed water source and found very little water. The team asked several community volunteers to clear the debris around the supposed spring and drain the main pool. Once this was done, the team attempted to measure the flow and found it to be negligible. Flow data is presented in Appendix F. EWB-PHILLY discovered during the assessment trip that the “spring” is really surface water runoff that collects through a 15-foot rock face into a series of small pools below. The pools are located in a streambed that is almost completely dry during the summer months, approximately November – March.

Based on the results of the spring assessment, the design plan was altered to include a deep well to serve as the water source and the team scheduled a meeting with a local well driller. Two potential locations were surveyed during the trip by a local well-driller, Allan Alcantara of LHS Drilling Enterprises. The proposals for the two initial locations are in Appendix G. Depending on the exact location, the well-driller estimated that the well will need to be between 40 and 60 meters deep. The team is currently working to identify documented groundwater information for the area.

During the trip, the team evaluated the feasibility of using a solar-powered pump to pump water from the well to the storage tank. Because of the required well depth and the upper limit on today’s photo voltaic cells being about 15% efficiency at best, it was been determined that solar power alone, will be insufficient. To determine the best source of power for the pump, the team met with Electrical Engineer Arthur Genero from La Union Electric Cooperative (LUELCO), the local electric utility. He identified a third potential well site due to the ease and lower cost of running new electric lines to power the pump. The team is moving forward with this site as the first choice. The proposal for running new electric lines is in Appendix L. Monthly power consumption costs have been estimated by LUELCO to be around 10,000 Philippine Pesos per month, with respect to a single phase 3HP AC motor. The team discussed this cost with the Barangay Captain Arthur Osoteo and Water Cooperative General Manager Ave Valmonte towards the end of the trip and determined that the community may be able to bear this cost.

The team learned of a plan to widen the Barangay Road throughout the community and decided that a meeting needed to be held the next day with the community and water cooperative leadership. At the meeting, the team discussed system design in detail, future plans and needs of EWB, and the community’s contribution to the project.

Over the next few days, the team met with various project contacts, collected water samples for quality analysis and conducted health assessment surveys. The results of these activities follow.

The team met with the women’s chapter of the local Rotary Club and found out that they could not support the project financially, but could assist in other ways. EWB-PHILLY met with Dean Marshal Calica of St. Louis College to discuss geotechnical surveys conducted by engineering students and future surveys of the anticipated areas for the well and storage tank. A large resort is being built very near where the team was staying, and the project manager, Martin Hirth of Philippine-Sudnt Company, met with the team to give advice on construction projects in the area. The resort is drilling a new deep well for water supply, so he was able to provide useful contacts, budget estimates and typical timelines.

The team collected water samples in each of the 7 sectors of Apatut, as well as at the supposed spring site, school, and private residential wells in the community. Samples were analyzed with field test kits and sent to the local certified lab for analysis. Lab results have not been received yet.

As a group, the team spent a large share of the actual time in the baranguy of Apatut going from house to house in this 157 household community, talking to the matriarch or patriarch to complete the health assessments. The health assessments were conducted for the purpose of finding out residents’ water concerns, daily water usage schedule, and amounts of water used. The assessment included a 15-question survey that gave the EWB-PHILLY team a good idea of the current water usage problems. Included in this effort were a few visits with the women who volunteered their time and expertise as health care providers or midwives for the community’s children and families.

The EWB-PHILLY chapter set up a solar data collector to measure the power that one could expect to get from the sun during the day. It was left in place in Apatut so that a project contact can download the data over the coming months and send it to the team in the States. The team is hoping to be able to install a solar-powered motor as a secondary source of power for the submersible pump. At the conclusion of the trip, a community meeting was held to finalize plans for the future trip’s construction project. The altered design including the well and submersible pump was discussed. The community expressed gratitude towards the EWB team. As a show of their gratitude, the residents had decided to move their annual Barangay Fiesta to coincide with the last day of EWB’s trip. The team members were treated as guests of honor and given a heartfelt farewell at the end of the night.

Community Relations

The team had three main community contacts (Edgardo Ayaquil, Robert Osoteo and Lizzie Osoteo) prior to the assessment trip and established additional contacts during the trip.

Edgardo lives near Manila and travels to Apatut periodically. He is the previous president of the Rotary Club that initiated this project. The team is in constant communication with him through email. He is able to answer project questions through direct knowledge and by asking community members. He is in close contact with the water cooperative that has been formed. He has been able to give the team detailed information regarding what the water cooperative and Rotary can do for this project. He was with the assessment team during most of the trip and assisted with setting up meetings with town officials, translating, and other community relations. While he was away from the team during the trip, he was in Manila meeting with engineers at the water utility there to obtain information and documents on national standards for drinking water systems.

Robert currently lives in Toronto, Canada but grew up in Apatut. He and his extended family own the land where the supposed spring that the community hoped to use as the water source is located. Instead, the team plans to build the storage tank on a portion of the Osoteo family land, which the family has agreed to donate. The team is in constant email contact with Robert as well, and he is able to answer many project and community related questions. Robert traveled to Philadelphia to meet the project team and attend a project meeting before the assessment trip. He was with the team for the entire assessment trip and provided invaluable assistance and knowledge about the community.

Lizzie lives in San Juan, which is about a 20-minute drive from Apatut. The team stayed with her during the trip. She provided lodging, food and laundry services for the team. She also assisted with translation and other community relations in Apatut. Lizzie has volunteered to assist with project tasks while the team is back in the States and to be the designated contact person for the Water Cooperative of Apatut.

During the trip, Robert Osoteo’s nephew, Danny Opinaldo, was the team’s driver. He currently lives in Manila, but also grew up in Apatut. He was with the team during the entire trip and was eager to help out. He speaks fluent English, has reliable access to email, has available free time, and was very involved with the technical aspects of the project during the trip, so the team decided to hire him to perform periodic, technical tasks that may arise over the next few months. During the trip, the team trained him in downloading the data from the solar data collector that the team left in place in Apatut. He will download the information and email it to the team every 2 months. The team will also consider asking him to accompany additional well-drillers to the potential site for quoting purposes.

During a meeting with the community leadership at the end of the trip, EWB-PHILLY established contacts for each of the major beneficiary groups. These people have reliable access to email and have volunteered to relay messages and/or gather information for the team over the next few months. The contact people are Gloria Opinlado for the Barangay Council; Lizzie Osoteo, who will relay to Ave Valmonte, for the Water Cooperative; and Evangeline Canero for the school. Contact information is included in the meeting minutes in Appendix D.

The team was also in contact with a local college, St. Louis College, before the trip and furthered the relationship during the trip. The team signed a memorandum of agreement with St. Louis College (provided in Appendix E) prior to the assessment trip to allow St. Louis College to perform a topographic survey of the project area. St. Louis College engineering students and professors performed the survey of the proposed spring location and distribution points for the team and provided EWB-PHILLY with an AutoCAD drawing of the survey data for preliminary design purposes before the trip. The team met the entire survey team, the college president, the dean of engineering and the external affairs director on the trip. During the trip, the EWB team identified additional areas that St. Louis College will survey in the coming weeks. The dean of engineering will be providing the team with contacts for well-drilling and aerial photography and intends to involve the school in other areas as the need arises.

Community Priorities

From conversations with Robert Osoteo before the assessment trip, the EWB team was under the impression that the community wanted water at the school and at a few centralized faucets in the community from which residents could collect water to take back to their homes. During the preliminary community meeting, however, the team learned that the community wants running water for every home. The EWB team proposed a phased construction plan in order to accomplish this. The first phase will consist of capturing the water source, building the storage tank, and running the pipeline to the originally planned centralized faucets. During construction, tees and valves will be installed wherever a branch will be needed. Phase 2 will consist of installing those branches off the main and running the services to each home. This phased plan was well-liked by the community.

Summary of Data

Design Use Rate
During the first meeting with the villagers, including most of the officers of the Barangay and the Cooperative, the project team mentioned that for the preliminary design a daily use rate of 30 gallons per person was used. Edgardo Ayaquil mentioned a lower number used by Manila Water of 16 cubic meters per family per month (5 person family). This rate converts to 28.16 gallons per person per day, therefore, the project team will continue using the value of 30 gallons per person per day for design.

Water Source
During the first two days of the assessment trip, the project team focused on the “spring” as the potential primary source of water based on the information provided in the original project application. Two major tributaries come together and form the “spring.” On the first day, the project team found that the flow was too small to measure; some trickles appeared to be flowing through cracks of the rocky stream bottom. Based on this observation, the project team was still hopeful to tap any available “spring” flow and possibly augment it by an undetermined supplementary source. There was a pool at the confluence of the two tributaries, and, on the second day, the project team planned to explore this pool for any measurable flow going into it.

A stake with the top driven level with the surface of the pool water was placed and, using 2 half-inch plastic pipes for siphons, the team monitored the rate of drop of the water surface of the pool. The idea was to adjust the flow rate from the siphons at which the surface water would stabilize. However, even using one siphon at a flow rate of about 2 gallons per minute (gpm), the pool water kept dropping, indicating that the flow was much less than 2 gpm. After about an hour, the pool was almost completely drained. Visible flow into the pool was so low and that it was probably less than 1 gpm. After that exercise, the project team believed that the team needed to investigate an alternate primary water source.

There was no perennial stream within or near the project site, so groundwater was the obvious alternative. The villagers are using groundwater for drinking and irrigation from shallow dug wells, which the project team believes are tapping the surficial groundwater aquifer. The project team enlisted the help of an established well-driller, Mr. Llandro (Allan) Alcantara, Manager, LHS Drilling Enterprises, (Candon City, Ilocos Sur, Philippines) in this region of the Philippines. The project team accompanied Mr. Alcantara to review the site, and he selected a site near the bottom of the mountain next to a field on the Osoteo property. The project team requested a cost estimate for a well at his identified site and another site higher up on the hillside. The estimates were for an 8-inch diameter well, 60 m (197 feet) and 40 m (131 feet) deep and costs of PHP (Philippine Pesos) 780,000 and PHP 920,700, respectively. See Appendix G for a detailed breakdown of his cost estimates. The higher cost for the second well was due to the difficulty of access to this site. Mr. Alcantara stated that wells that he has drilled in this area have produced a sustained yield of no less than 6 lps (95 gpm). His experience includes drilling of deep wells used by the town of Balaoan Water District.

Watershed Protection
During the walks up to the “spring” and back down to the valley through at least two different routes, the project team observed that the flatter parts of the mountain were cleared for crops and for cattle grazing after the crops were harvested. One area appeared to have been planted with upland rice or peanuts but now is grass. The grass was brown and very short, indicative of overgrazing and/or low nutrient soil and low moisture. The soil was very shallow and estimated to be less than 12 inches at the flatter areas of the hills and somewhat thicker on the sides of the hills. The project team suspected that the shallower depth at the flatter slope of the hills was due to erosion when farmed and grazed in the past.

The project team believes that there is a need for watershed protection on these hill tops by planting trees in order to increase groundwater recharge. As the project team traveled north and south along the national highway going to and from the project site, the team observed that second crops (crops grown during the end of the rainy season and well into the dry season) were very much dependent on groundwater. The team was informed that the second and sometimes third crops provide a large percentage of the income of farmers living in this region. Therefore, it is imperative to protect the groundwater for long term viability of this region to produce second crops.

The team learned that there have been some efforts toward re-forestation, but the local community experienced a very low survival rate of trees planted on these hills. Based on observations, the project team believes that a properly sized planting area may not have been loosened. The team will develop a simple planting detail and instructions to help improve the survival rate of planted seedlings.

Also, soil analysis for nutrient and other elements should be made and a recommendation for soil amendments developed based on those analyses. The team will explore where such analyses could be made through coordination with St. Louis College.

Storage Tank and Location
There are three potential sites for the storage tank. As noted in Section 5.2 Mapping, EWB-PHILLY has requested the survey team of St. Louis College to obtain additional topographical survey for these three potential locations. When the survey is completed, the team will select the appropriate site depending on pressure and other needs of the system.

Delivery Points
Delivery Points (DPs) for Phase 1 of the project were discussed with the villagers on the second day of the trip. They were identified as DP1, DP2, DP3 and DP4 and their locations marked with flags for the villagers to see their locations. There are three Delivery Points for the community and one for the Elementary School. Each Delivery Point is proposed to be a faucet on a concrete pad. Details will be developed as design progresses.

The project team asked the villagers for desired features for the DPs and for comments on their locations. They were asked to let EWB or officers of the water cooperative know of these desires and comments. The team also asked the elementary school teachers and principal to develop the desired details of the DP for the school. EWB-PHILLY will follow up with the officers of the cooperative and the principal of the school.

Pipeline alignment
During site view of the proposed main pipe alignments, EWB-PHILLY learned of a future plan to widen the existing paved road from 3.0 m (10 feet) to 5 m (16.5 feet). Based on measurements of paved roads in other towns in northern Philippines, it appeared that a 5 meter wide pavement was the standard for a paved roadway for non-major town roads. The proposed widening was still not scheduled as there was no budget yet for this project. The funding will be coming from the Town of Balaoan as the village’s share of tax revenues collected by the national government.

Along the east to west road from DP 1 to DP 3, the project team believed that the proposed widening would most likely be 0.5 m along the north side and 1.5 m along the south side based on locations of existing utility poles and other markers. The north side appeared to be the better choice for the pipe alignment due to less conflict with existing buildings.

There was about a meter drop-off from roadway level along the north side from DP 3 until about 100 meters east of DP 1. Along the remaining locations, the roadway was about 30 cm higher than the adjacent fields. Tobacco was presently planted along the roadway as a second crop, rice being the primary crop. A typical road section is shown in Appendix K. There was a culvert that carried a dry stream about halfway between DP1 and DP3. In order to safely cross the stream, the pipe is proposed to be encased in concrete with the top of encasement level with the bottom of the culvert. The concrete encasement was measured at about 5 meters (16.5 feet). Riprap will also be needed downstream of the encasement in order to stabilize the outfall of the culvert.

The soils along most of the alignment are silty clay or clay loam. When moist, these soils are not too difficult to dig for a pipe trench but they are hard to dig when dry.

Materials – Type and Unit Cost
Materials at relatively large quantity that are anticipated for the project will be concrete hollow blocks for the storage tank, high density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for the distribution pipes, valves, cement, gravel and sand, deformed reinforcing bars and lumber for concrete forms. As detailed material lists have not been developed pending a more thorough design, the team concentrated on locating reliable suppliers of these materials. The following suppliers have been identified:

1. Mr. Llandro Alcantara, Manager, LHS Drilling Enterprises. He sells pipes and valves for pressurized drinking water system. Contact: Llandro (Allan) Alcantara, 0918 546 5984 (mob); 0919 316 4876 (mob); 077 742 5066 (land line).
2. NORSO Industrial , another well drilling company. AE-14 A Western Buyagan, La Trinidad, Benguet, 2601, Philippines. Contact: David Apacway. 0921 210 7133 (mob)
3. Philippine Top Wood for cement, reinforcing bars, pipes. Contacts: Roger Pua Pee 607 6492; Nancy 700 0222.
4. R. S. Ojales Construction for sand, gravel, and concrete hollow blocks. Contact: Mr. Robert Ojales, 0920 559 8577; Engineer Joseph Ojales, 0916 608 5392.

Construction – Labor and Machinery
During a meeting with the villagers, including most officers of the Water Cooperative and village, one of the village officers stated that a skilled list of residents of the village can be developed. This task will be carried out by General Manager of the Water Cooperative Avelino (Ave) Valmonte and Barangay Captain Arthur Osoteo.

The team was informed that a bulldozer with operator could be rented from the town of Balaoan. The team will follow up with the town and obtain rental cost for a bulldozer and other equipment that could be rented from the town.

Management and Operation
Based on the team’s observation, the officers of the cooperative, together with the help of the Barangay Council, have the ability to manage construction and the operation of the system when completed. EWB-PHILLY will provide the needed assistance during those phases.

One important item identified was the need to have at least one member of the Executive Officers of the Cooperative and the Barangay Council able to send and receive emails for communication with outside parties, including EWB-PHILLY. The following individuals have been identified:

• Gloria Opinaldo, Member Barangay Council.
• Elizabeth Osoteo, Member, Water For Life Cooperative. She will relay emails to Avelino Valmonte, General Manager, Water For Life Cooperative.
• Evangeline Canero, Principal, Apatut Elementary School. Member of PTA & SGC.

Water Quality
The team collected water samples throughout the community for analysis with field kits and at a certified lab. Lab results have not yet been received, but field kit results are shown in Appendix I. The field kits show that the most of the drinking water that was sampled is free from fecal coliform. The certified lab will also test for fecal coliform.

Solar Power Data
The team installed a solar data collector in Apatut to determine if solar power can be used to supplement the electricity supplied by the electric grid for the pump. Data was gathered at intervals for two days during the trip and then downloaded by the team and project contact, Danny Opinaldo. The data collector was then reset to hold two months worth of data. Danny will download the data and email it to the team over the next several months. The data that was collected during the trip was corrupted, and the team is currently trying to recover it.

Community Health Data
The team collected health, water and sanitation information through surveys at many of the homes in Apatut. The team found great inequality between the different areas of this small community. Some homes reported no problems concerning water and others stressed how difficult it is to obtain water.

Mapping

As previously mentioned, the project team coordinated a topographic survey of the project site before the assessment trip with Ms. Grace Molina, Director of External Affairs and Mr. Marshall Calica Jr., Dean of Architecture and Engineering of St. Louis College, San Fernando, Philippines. The college is located about 30 km from the project site. The project team received a traverse control survey in February 2010 that showed the elevations and horizontal locations of the “spring,” three potential locations for community taps and few points in between those locations. The survey data enabled the project team to complete a preliminary design of the major components of the project, which included a spring box, a storage tank and the main distribution pipes to the potential three community taps.

During a dinner meeting with the survey team along with other persons involved in the project, Mr. Calica provided the team with a more comprehensive result of the topographical survey done in February 2010. This submission included a scaled plot of more points than previously provided along with computed coordinates of the major points. EWB-PHILLY thanked the survey team for their work and informed Mr. Calica that the project team will ask for additional survey after the team comes up with a revised design based on information gathered during the assessment trip and other pertinent information. The project team met with Mr. Calica towards the end of the assessment trip and requested additional survey data. He said the survey will begin when students return to school for the summer session. These areas (three potential locations of the storage tank and the proposed location of the deep well) were marked with survey flags during the assessment trip with a representative of the community present during flagging. This representative will accompany the survey team at the beginning of the field work.

Monitoring and Evaluation Data

In order to monitor and evaluate the project, the team focused on community health data and water quality analysis. The team conducted personal interviews at many homes regarding health, water and sanitation. A community health worker also filled out a survey for the community as a whole. The EWB team will compare this health information with health data after the project has been implemented for a significant time period and note changes or trends.

The team analyzed the water quality at several locations throughout the community. At least one typical well in each sector was sampled for analysis, along with other water sources of interest. Water was analyzed with Hach test strips, Coliscan Easygels and was delivered to a certified laboratory in San Fernando for official analysis. Field test kit data can be found in Appendix I. Once the new well is drilled, the water quality will be analyzed immediately. After the system is installed, the water will be sampled and analyzed periodically and compared to the current water the community is drinking and to the original results of the new well water. EWB will monitor this sampling and results to ensure that the water system is providing uncontaminated drinking water.

Project Feasability

The project team believes that the quantity, quality, and location of the water source and how these three factors affect the overall costs of the project are the overriding considerations for this project. Based on information contained in the project application, the proposed water source was to be a spring located uphill of the village. The estimated flow rate was stated at about 10 liters per second – a quantity more than sufficient to meet the needs of the village. However, the date of measurement was not noted in the project application. Because of the two distinct climatic conditions (dry and rainy season) of this area of the Philippines, the project team recognized the need to determine the water supply both during the rainy and dry months of the year.

As previously mentioned, the EWB-PHILLY team had initially envisioned tapping in to a mountain spring as the primary water source. Upon evaluation of the “spring”, however, it was determined that the “spring” would not provide sufficient flow and an alternate primary water source was necessary. Ultimately, the team settled on installing a deep well and pump to supply water for the project.

The team recognized that the change of water source from gravity fed system to a pumped system meant a higher operating cost to be borne by the villagers. EWB-PHILLY presented this information to the villagers and they recognized the added operating expense. At the conclusion of the meeting, the villagers urged the project team to proceed with the next steps toward project implementation.

The project team believes that the project is still within the scope of the application and the project costs are not out of reach. The change in the source of water from a spring to a deep well is expected to increase the project cost, but the team has not finalized a new budget. In some ways, the new design will reduce the cost. The construction is possibly now easier because the spring box is no longer needed and the main pipeline will be completely outside of the stream corridor; therefore, the potential of high stream flows damaging project features is no longer an issue.