Water Resource Development
Developing water resources using low-cost and innovative strategies.
TERRA developing drinking and irrigation systems in communities susceptible to recurring droughts and the future loss of water from disappearing glaciers.
No
community should be without clean
drinking water and sanitary facilities. The lack of these basic
necessities leads to serious
illnesses, greatly contributes to infant morality, and is the primary
cause of perpetuating extreme poverty—it is difficult for
people to work and earn a living wage when they are constantly sick and
weak. In the Altiplano region, the average income is less than $2 a
day, 78% of rural communities have no access to potable water, and
people suffer from chronic dysentery.
Water sources for communities in the Bolivian Altiplano are threatened
by acid mine drainage (AMD), climate change and poor sanitation. In the
case of AMD, rivers, lakes and groundwater are contaminated with
harmful heavy metals, killing aquatic life and endangering humans that
consume the water. Due to recent changes in climate, all glaciers are
rapidly disappearing. With current rates of glacier retreat, thousands
of people may be without water within twenty years. Finally, many
communities lack basic sanitation facilities or have latrines that
directly empty into rivers, contaminating water with dangerous
pathogens.
TERRA targets motivated communities where water resource development immediately improves health, income, and the environment, and mitigates future problems resulting from droughts and the loss of glacial runoff. To improve access and quality of water and to improve sanitation conditions, TERRA aids communities with the following projects:
- Potable water wells that utilize windmill pumps
- Ground water development in glacial-fed systems
- Water storage tanks and community distribution systems
- Formation of local water management committees
- Education
- Water quality analysis and improvements
- Acid mine drainage education and remediation
- Latrine construction
- Water Development Projects
- acid mine drainage
- Chiquipata Baja
- Titiri
- Cobremayo
- Venta y Media
- Jankusaya
- Additional Information
- Small Project Initiative
- Community-Based Disaster Management
- Natural Resource Management
Each year more than five million people die from water-related disease. The leading cause of child death in the world is diarrhea.