Cochabamba is a region with a vast history in terms of water shortage, which has been incrementing due to combined phenomenon of urban growth, lack of infrastructural development of the water distribution network, and serious droughts in past few years. It’s worth mentioning that it was in Cochabamba were the rights for water gained notoriety around the world because of the movement “War of Water” in the year 2000, when the administration and operation of the water network of this country went back to the state.
This is why, its central to develop alternative projects that improve access to water, in front of the negative scenario of having water supply through the distribution network from the municipality, or from local water wells, which is common practice in this region. This school is 15 km away from the closest water well, which is transported by tanker trucks.
This project, which presents itself as an alternative in front of the aggravated conditions regarding climate change, pretends to give better access and quality of water to a population of 600 children that attend school during the scholar cycle, thanks to an integral system of water management. Previously, the access to water of this kids depended on tanker trucks that were rented by the school twice a month and supply water, which had dubious quality. The supply that this method provided, was far below of the required minimum to cover basic needs of sanitation and nutrition, according the World Health Organization, the minimal requirement for a person per day are 20 liters of water. With 20’000 liters per month, the average of water that each infant had available was below 1.6 liters a day. Very often, the school would not receive the full supply of water, which meant a constant risk in terms of sanitation and quality of life for the infants, and also a very high cost due to the payment of a service that did not even ensure access to the minimal standards established on an international level.