Summer 2021 Solar Pump Workshop Documentation

Nicaragua Project

Community Background - Climate

• Tropical Climate, consisting of rainy season (mid-April to early December) and dry season(early December to mid-April)
• Temperatures generally are within the 70(low) - 90(high) °F range throughout both seasons, with the lowest temperatures occurring in January
• About 5-6 hours of usable sunlight per day
• Roughly 45 inches of precipitation annually on average

Community Background - Politics

• Division into Eastern (Main) and Western branches
• Consisting of about 90 families, 11 live on the Western branch and have limited municipal water access (shown in red)
• Conflicts of interest and and political division of Main and Western branches make it difficult to create solutions
• Main branch gets running from ENACAL four days a week
• Western Branch does not receive any running water; must walk 1-2 km and get water from a river down a steep hill

Western Branch

Main(Eastern) Branch

Extent of Municipal Water System

Problem Statement

Western side of the community does not have easy access to clean water. They have to walk ~1-2 km and climb ~60ft down a steep hill to fill up their water containers multiple times a day.

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We want to make it easier for them to get clean water by eliminating the need to walk down the steep hill for safety reasons.

Solution List

• Dig Hand Pump
• Dig well and use solar powered submersible pump that stores water in an overhead tank
• Build springbox and pump water from spring using solar powered pump to store in overhead tank

Final Solution

• Dig well and use solar powered submersible pump that stores water in an overhead tank, with a backup hand pump

Reasoning:

• Community is experienced at digging wells
• They don’t want a springbox
• It’s difficult to build a springbox when no one has the experience
• Well water would be cleaner and easier to protect from animals
• Easier to clean the water

Design Process 1

• Researched things that had been done before
• Narrowed down to 6 different potential solutions to research in depth
• Presented on our ideas
• Finalized decision for project implementation: Alternatives Analysis Presentation
• River & Solar Pump
• Rain Catchment System
• Drum for Storage
• Chlorination & Ceramic Filtration for Purification

Design Process 2

• Received input from FA (Dr. Chang) & the community
• Chose Solar Pump with bucket as water source for Workshop
• Chose to have community build well for in country implementation
• Chose solar pump based on: Simple High Lift Solar Pump
• Researched potential locations: Scouting Locations
• Needed ~60 ft of elevation
• Selected Terrapin Trail Parking Garage by Xfinity Center
• Drafted workshop procedures & materials
• Aadya brough ~17 gallon buckets
• Bought Solar Panels and pump
• Used Materials from the Space (EGR 1134)

Building Process 1

• Tested Solar Panel and Charge Controller system with pump
• Setback
• Didn’t have screwdriver! Made one out of paper clip
• Charge controller didn’t work (meant for battery)
• Solution
• Connected pump to solar panels directly with live wires

Building Process 2

First Day of workshop!!

• We filled up a water bucket and transported it to Xfinity Parking Garage (where the workshop took place)
• Setback
• Weather: the solar panels need a lot of sunlight to work and the first day of the workshop it was cloudy and rainy so the pump did not get power
• We ended the workshop early and planned for the next one.

Building Process 3

• Installed Pipes alongside garage columns
• Attached to columns with duct tape
• Passed to person on higher level
• Setbacks
• Wire Adapters didn’t connect
• Pipes leaked/connections broke
• Connected Live Wires directly
• Tightened connections, cemented connections near pump

Documentation Video

Conclusions & Reflections 1

Reflections for future workshops:

• Plan for multiple contingency dates
• Got lucky with usable weather for second workshop day, but this may not always be the case
• Pre-check weather, location, timings, availability, and materials prior to workshop to prevent any potential issues
• The Xfinity Center garage area is a convenient location for summer workshops
• Not much foot traffic and we can leave items overnight if necessary

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Conclusions & Reflections 2

Reflections for future implementation:

• Account for weather and climate
• Implementation is during dry season, but should still prepare for anything unexpected
• Check for waterproof materials and material safety in regards to water
• Bring bug spray, sunscreen, shade, and other protective gear and items
• Workshop setup and implementation setup are not the same
• Slightly different conditions and environment, as well as design
• Plan for these differences: what worked here may or may not work in Nicaragua
• Protect yourself and personal items
• Wear proper clothing, including long pants, comfortable shirt, and boots
• Secure personal items and belongings to prevent damage