los alas, el salvador

THE COMMUNITY

Four rural communities — Los Alas, La Loma, Las Minas, and El Caulote — located in the hilly, underdeveloped northern region of Chalatenango, El Salvador. These communities are remote, with limited infrastructure and minimal access to public investment in basic utilities. Despite these challenges, residents are highly motivated and actively engaged in improving local living conditions.

THE NEED

The communities face chronic water shortages, with many households going weeks without running water. During shortages, residents rely on neighbors or nearby surface water sources, which are often unreliable and insufficient, especially during the dry season. Existing water sources are also contaminated with bacteria, leading to waterborne illnesses such as parasites, particularly affecting children. The lack of safe, consistent access to potable water posed serious health, sanitation, and quality-of-life challenges.Our team is working to design and implement a reliable, sufficient, and uncontaminated supply of clean water for in-home use. Taking advantage of an existing mountain top spring box, we will design and construct a 6.8 kilometer pipeline and storage tanks to provide easy access to clean, potable water all year round!

Our Involvement

Our team partnered with the communities to design a gravity-fed water distribution system supplied by a protected groundwater spring. The project scope includes:
  • Designing a 6.8 km pipeline and multiple storage tanks to deliver clean water directly to homes
  • Finalizing engineering design drawings and technical plans
  • Supporting construction planning and management, including tank foundation preparation
  • Leading fundraising efforts during Spring/Summer 2018 to enable pipeline construction
  • Collaborating closely with community members, local stakeholders, and Engineers Without Borders (EWB) volunteers
Key skill areas involved included engineering design, construction planning, health and safety, surveying, and Spanish-language communication.

The Results

By the close of the design phase, the project was nearing full completion, and the communities had begun constructing tank foundations, marking the transition from planning to implementation. Once completed, the system will provide a reliable, year-round supply of clean, uncontaminated potable water, significantly reducing waterborne health risks and improving daily living conditions. The project also empowered local communities through collaboration, capacity-building, and long-term infrastructure ownership.