The Guatemala Water Project has been working with Wuqu’ Kawoq, a Guatemalan NGO, since Fall 2007 to design and implement a potable water delivery system in Socorro, Guatemala. Socorro is a small village of about 450 indigenous Maya people where Wuqu’ Kawoq has been working and in other nearby villages to help provide medical care, primarily to children.
Despite the village’s proximity to a major international highway, infrastructure is severely underdeveloped. Few people in the village have latrines or other waste disposal systems. The distribution pipelines are obsolete, and most waste is channeled into the same river that provides the village's drinking water. Villagers are not receiving adequately filtered and disinfected water and suffer from water-borne illnesses. Getting clean water is important to ensuring their quality of life.
The project team is comprised of students involved in several academic disciplines. Individual and group work are both used to complete the project.
It is important to note we will be working with the community - not merely for it. The goal of this project is not to create or force something onto the community. The intent is to work with the community by using and improving the resources available to them and teaching them how to make the most of those resources.
The EWB Guatemala team would like to thank American Water for their recent donation to the project. Their time and help has made an important contribution to our project.
EWB-UIUC Guatemala Water Project Group - View project designs, reports, data, and more
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