Construction Photos of Maldonado Water Project – December 2017
Construction of the water reservoir in Maldonado is continuing to make progress.
These are recent photos of work taking place at the Maldonado reservoir, which is currently focused on protecting the reservoir wall from soil erosion in the future. The boulders in place are the “maestra”, or reference line, which farmers will use as reference points to help fill in the rest of the areas with smaller boulders in order to protect the levee wall from erosion. The levee wall is 65% completed.
We are projecting for the reservoir to be finished around the middle of 2018.
Maldonado Water Reservoir Project Details
Mano a Mano staff started work on this new water project in February 2017. As with many of our projects, the working conditions are difficult: it is about 14,000 feet above sea level, and it is cold, wet, and windy.
When completed, this project will make it possible for 96 subsistence farm families (about 600 people) to irrigate 250 acres of cropland and to water their livestock, as well as having water for household use. With the severe drought currently affecting Bolivia, water projects like this one are especially important to help rural communities manage their resources.
Because of the need, water projects are a high priority for Mano a Mano and the communities that we partner with. In addition to building large-scale water reservoirs, we also build surface wells and small water ponds in communities where the smaller projects are a better fit.
Wirkini Water Reservoir – Mano a Mano’s Most Recently Completed Water Project
At about this time last year, Mano a Mano was dedicating a water reservoir in Wirkini, Bolivia. The Wirkini project joined Mano a Mano’s 8 other large-scale water retention projects that benefit 131,062 people throughout Bolivia (51,062 directly). When complete, the Maldonado water project will join these other water projects.
The Wirkini water reservoir, started in 2012, was dedicated on October 18, 2016.
Our first water reservoir was built in Ucuchi, Bolivia in 2005 (this reservoir is the other project featured in the video) and has been consistently providing water to the community for more than a decade, even in times of drought like Bolivia is currently experiencing.