Las Malvinas rainwater catchment system 2014

About this project
Keywords	rainwater catchment
Authors	jake; Alberto Jasso; Dominick Triola
Status	Verified
Date completed	2013
Location	Dominican Republic, Las Malvinas, Santo Domingo
SDGs Sustainable Development Goals	SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities

Las Malvinas pharmacy roof for catchment.

Abstract

Our project consisted of creating a new rainwater catchment system located at the pharmacy in Las Malvinas. Our group made the appropriate calculations and developed an easily accessible rainwater catchment system that captures, filters, and distributes water that can be used by the local community. It is our goal that available rainwater can be captured efficiently and filtered sufficiently to be used for a variety of other purposes, thus providing the community with a cost effective solution to their water shortage, with the cost of the materials listed below.

Background

This appropriate technology project is located in the Dominican Republic in the Las Malvinas neighborhood of Santo Domingo. The team includes 3 students from Humboldt State University and 4 students from UNIBE and is taking place in the month of June, 2014. Concurrent to the project, the Humboldt State students are taking classes at UNIBE in Santo Domingo. The classes are focused on appropriate technology and engineering and are paired with one Spanish class. The system in Las Malvinas is a new rainwater catchment system which has been developed using spare parts from the La Yuca System.

Objective

Our objective for the water project for the 2014 Practivistas Dominicana Program at the Las Malvinas pharmacy is to design a new catchment system using spare parts from previous systems and make non-potable water readily available for the community.

Literature Review

Here is the link for the information we collected to help us understand and review information that will allow us to build the appropriate rainwater catchment system in Las Malvinas for the 2014 practivistas dominicana program.

Location

An Interactive Map for Las Malvinas.

Loading map...

Construction

Pictures of Design

Las Malvinas Pharmacy Catchment

1. Gutter being installed on pharmacy roof.
2. First flush being installed.
3. Building the platform for the tinaco. We needed enough height to be able to fit a bucket under the output valve.
4. Connecting the first flush to the tinaco.
5. The output valve from the tinaco.
6. Arlene attaching the finishing touches to the system. We attached instructional signs in spanish.

Cost

The table below shows the cost table for the pharmacy's rainwater catchment system in Las Malvinas.

Material	Quantity	Unit Cost (DOP)	Total Cost (DOP)
PVC Gutter [9 ft.]	2	1600	3200
Botellon [5 gal.]	1	195	195
Botellon PVC adapter [2]	1	31.12	31.12
Botellon PVC adapter [4]	1	60.00	60.00
Botellon PVC adapter [6]	1	80.00	80.00
Bag of nuts [25 mm.]	1	92.00	92.00
Bag of bolts [40mm.]	1	67.00	67.00
Outdoor L-brackets	3	320	960
Metal mesh for botellon [6 Yrd.]	1	48.12	48.12
Gutter connector	2	168.00	336.20
90 degree turn for gutter	1	520.10	520.10
Total Cost			5,589.54

Maintenance

This system needs maintenance year-round to ensure that everything works properly and stays clean, especially when taking into account cleanliness of a potable system.

Weekly

Make sure the botellon screen is clean
Make sure there isn't too much debris in the gutter
Make sure the first flush isn't clogged and water is able to drain to avoid mosquito breeding. Our team re-poked small holes that were previously clogged in the first flush to make sure water was able to drain out of the system after rain. Make sure the holes are too big that the first flush doesn't fully fill up.

Monthly

Clean the first flush system
Check for leaks
Make sure the roof is clean (no debris on the roof)

Yearly/Biyearly

Clean the tinaco

How We

Steps to Ensure a Proper Catchment System:

Using string to follow for gutter setup.
Set up a line to follow when setting up your gutter. Make sure the gutter is at an angle so the water can flow. We used L-brackets to putter the gutter on.
Example of the U-brackets to hold the gutter.
Secure your gutter. We used metal U-brackets to secure the gutter to the wall. We also eventually put a water shield on the far side of the gutter to ensure no water spilled over.
The gutter being directed into the botellon.
Direct the gutter into the botellon.
The first flush system
Make sure to build a first flush system that can store the first ten minutes of catchment water, for the water will be as much as 90% cleaner after the first ten minutes.
Alberto cleaning the tinaco.
Make sure the tinaco is nice and clean. Direct the water from the botellon into the tinaco after the first flush.
Gutter curtain.
If needed, add a curtain on gutter to ensure no overflow of water from the gutter catchment system. Make sure to use a thick plastic.

To replace filters refer to this table to find AQUA TEC

AQUA TEC SRL La Julia, Santo Domingo de Guzman 10107 Republica Dominicana info@aquatec.com.dom 809-732-1572 Aqua Tec website

Video Here is a quick run-through of the Las Malvinas system. <iframe title='Play video' src='//www.youtube.com/embed/_f0NO7y6FsU?enablejsapi=1&rel=0' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen='true'></iframe> Team Arlene Arlejo, Enrique, Alberto Jasso, Giancarlo, Jake Burns . AKA water team 2014.

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