|
San Jose De La Zorra |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water
System |
San
Jose De La Zorra is a Kumiai Indian community with approximately 42
families (or service connections) with a total population of
approximately 185 including a large population of approximately 60
children. The community has
a newly built Kindergarten with eight children, a primary school with 28
children, and a middle school with seven students.
The community is located in the municipalities of Playas de
Rosarito and Ensenada and is centered in San Jose, a small, remote
valley located about halfway between the former mission site of San
Miguel on the Pacific Coast and the Valley of Guadalupe.
Currently the community has an electrical system that has
recently been installed, however many homes are not yet hooked up.
However, some homes have a small solar power system for in-home
electrical use. It is
anticipated that electricity will be available to most homes by the end
of 2005. The community source of water supply consists of
multiple hand dug wells. There
are no water distribution system or functioning storage tanks for
domestic use. Most houses have their own hand-dug well on their
property or a well is shared by several households.
These wells are approximately 4 feet in diameter, with a concrete
casing that was built pre-formed above ground and then dropped down as
soil was excavated from within. On
average, 6 concrete rings are placed with a 3-foot depth per ring; thus,
the hole is approximately 18 feet deep.
The depth to groundwater appeared to be approximately 15 feet.
There are no concrete aprons around the wells to prevent the
contamination of surface water. The
apparatus to bring up water is a bucket tied to a rope, which may be
commonly found lying on the ground.
Residents haul the water from the well to a 55-gallon drum or a
small storage tank in their home.
Water quality data obtained since 1996 from this
community have consistently shown the presence of fecal coliform
bacteria; in fact the hand dug well located in the school yard community
well was the most highly contaminated of all samples taken during a
study that included four other communities. (Wilken Robertson, 1996).
The following table is a brief summary of water quality
monitoring of the water well sources; additional samples taken in the
past years have shown similar water quality results.
na
– not analyzed Water
sampling of the water sources has consistently shown bacteriological
contamination. Analytical
testing and a sanitary survey have determined that the continuing cause
of the contamination appears to stem from the water sources. * NOTE: Microbiological data generated by the JA JAN Coalition with the assistance of CUNA, Aqualink, and trained community members Many of the hand-dug wells are not covered; some
are inadequately covered with plywood and opened fully when water is
gathered. Cattle and other
herd animals as well as outhouses are often found surrounding the
vicinity of the wells. The
wells also do not have a surface apron constructed to prevent surface
water from flowing toward the well.
Because of the construction, these contaminants are easily picked
up manually with the use of a contaminated bucket.
The well is exposed to the environment; dirt, bird feces, and
fecal matter from cattle may be blown or drained into the well.
The water produced by the wells is not treated or filtered. None of the houses have plumbing from the
well to the house, most use a 5-gallon bucket and carry the water to a
55-gallon drum container. Given the nature of the construction of the
wells, the water produced from these wells should always be considered
contaminated due to surface contamination.
Drinking water with coliform and E. coli bacteria is a health
risk and could cause serious illness.
Water System Improvement Recommendations The proposed solution to improve the water system would be to construct a drilled water supply well, chlorination treatment, storage reservoir, and distribution water system. This would replace the current contaminated drinking water supplies with a water supply that meets drinking water standards. The community should have electricity by the end of 2005.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
