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Nicaragua

Removing Spoil from the Settling Pit
Scale: It is estimated that up to 5,000 hand-drilled wells have been constructed in Nicaragua.

Use: Drinking water.

Expertise: Two companies are known to be involved in the construction of hand drilled wells.

Techniques: Baptist, EMAS, Rota-Sludge, Stonehammer.

Pumps installed on hand-drilled wells Rope pumps have been installed on RotaSludge and StomneHammer drilled wells.  EMAS flexi-pumps have been installed on Baptist and EMAS wells.

History: Nicaragua has a tradition of hand dug wells, with experts locally known pozeros.

The Stonehammer technique was tested in 2001 by PRACTICA Foundation. Modifications gave birth to what is now known as the Rota Sludge technique. By 2003, some 50 manually drilled wells had been completed by drillers from the NGO CESADE and the private enterprise AMEC. and Baptist drilling. The construction of hand drilled wells using hand auger, rota sludge,

EMAS drilling was introduced in Estelí and Malpaisillo in the early 2000’s, and in 2004 in León. Apparently not many more EMAS wells have been subsequently drilled for reasons that have not been documented.

The Baptist Drilling technique was introduced in four locations in León in 2004. Subsequently dozens of people learned the technique from peers and drilled their own wells. By early 2008, a total of 100 wells had been constructed and installed with pumps. The Baptist technique was was introduced in Jinotepe in 2008.

More recently, UNICEF has been trying to introduce hand drilling technologies near rivers in the Atlantic areas.

Standards: No published national standards for hand drilled wells – only internal standards of the organisations involved.

Average Costs:

  • Rota-sludge drilled well of 4” diameter and 20 meters deep well is approximately US$ 1,050 (information from Practica).
  • Self-built Baptist wells (not deeper than 18m and installed with EMAS pump) - US$ 40 to US $65 (information from Water for All).

Suitable Areas: Large stretches of non-rocky plains in the Pacific north-east region. However it has been suggested that the Atlantic coast may be even more suitable.

Estimated potential target population: No estimate available. In the coastal plains, which cover most of the country, the water table is usually less than 20 m deep.

Hydrogeological Mapping: Not published.

Water Quality: In specific places there are issues with Arsenic and other heavy metals (in the mining areas) and cyanides (of volcanic origin)

Organisations involved:

  • PERFOR (Aris van Herwijnen http://www.perfor.org/index2.html)
  • AMEC, Save The Children, Practica, Interchurch Organization for Development Co-operation (ICCO), UNICEF Nicaragua
  • Asociación Desarrollo Comunitario Abangasca (ADCA), Abangasca, Sutiaba, León - Sr. Agustin Ruiz (via: Maria Yanirée Alvarez Olivas, myalvaarez@yahoo.com)
  • AUCS, Tuscany Italy - Stefano Dell’Anna s.dellanna@gmail.com;

Documentation:

Last update of information: May 2009