Ministerio Agua de Vida

Cristo Rey is a "new settlement" near Tipitapa, which is just east of the capital city of Managua.  There are so many new families in Managua that have no place to live that the government opened this area up to those who meet the criterion of not owning property any where else.  It is an amazing community of what looks to us like shacks, but the people are full of hope.  It is amazing what having your own place can mean to a family - even if it is only a 2,200 square foot lot with a tiny 150 square foot house. 

The little houses seem to just go on forever - over 2,500 families so far and growing

This house belongs to George Flores - it is a nice one made of sheet metal instead of plastic or cardboard

The area is growing very fast - with an average of a family a day moving in.  Needless to say this puts a strain on the city services.  In reality - there are little or no services yet.  There is one well with an electric pump (powered by a generator) about 2/3 of a mile form where we installed our well, and there is another old hand dug well from a previous landowner.  The hand dug well is fed by the shallow water table and is contaminated by all the latrines in the area.  So when George Flores invited us to come visit the area, we immediately saw the need and started to plan for a well.

People getting water at the one community well - for 2,500 families!

The dear Granny next door to the well we drilled - she visited with Linda every day.  She is only 70 years old!

Once everything was set up the well drilling went quite smoothly.  We used the DR100 rig that Amigos for Christ owns and Tomas, their manager and lead driller, operated the rig.  We had lots of help from the community.  It seemed like everyone was ready to get the well in so that they could have some fresh, clean water.

The rig got stuck in the mud, so ALL the guys came to help push it into place

  George worked as Tomas' helper - here he is putting on another rod

We had initially planned to install a well with a hand pump, but when the sector (about 42 houses) got electricity, we decided on an electric pump.  This allowed us to include an elevated tank and plumbing system.  We just ran the water lines to a wash station and two stations for filling buckets, but it can be enlarged at a later time to include the entire sector.

Installing a tower and tank adds to the expense of a project but adds the flexibility of a distribution system

  The neighborhood ladies were getting the water as we cleaned out the tank.  We told them not to drink it but it was fine for cleaning (it was dosed with bleach)

Pastor Aquiles (right) and church members with their new wash station

Ed presenting a short message at the well dedication

Everyone was quite excited about the water system - it is the first with spigots in the entire community.  Hopefully in the future we can fund a project to enlarge the distribution system to include the entire sector.  There are SO many wonderful images and stories to share about this community that Linda wrote a separate piece in Stories to Tell - obviously called Cristo Rey - check it out.

We closed with a dedication service.  Pastor Aquiles led us in thanking God for the well and some of the youth sang songs.  Ed offered a brief message on the Samaritan woman at the well and Tomas (the leader of the Amigos for Christ water group) offered guidance on how to share the water in a Biblical fashion.  To God be the Glory!!

Technical Details

Project date: Aug. 31 - Sept. 24, 2009

Location:   Latitude -  N 12° 13.149'     Longitude - W  086° 03.974'

Elevation:     224 ft. above sea level

Total Cost:  $4,681

Drill rig used:  Drilled with Deep Rock 100 with 8" blade bit

Drilled Depth:  220 ft.

Well depth:   212 ft. below ground surface

Casing  type: 4 inch diameter Schedule 40 PVC bell & socket

Screen length & type:  40 feet of 4 inch diameter Schedule 40 PVC with 0.10 inch machine slots

Length of Gravel Pack:  96 ft.

Length & Type of Seal:  3 ft. of bentonite pellets

Static groundwater level:     63.4 ft. below top of casing

Dynamic groundwater level:     67.1 ft. below top of casing

Depth to base of pump:   120 ft. below top of casing

Pump description:    StaRite pump with Franklin motor - 1/2 hp single phase 110 volt

Flow rate:    17 gal/min

Tank and tower type:   Plastic 3,200 liters (842 gallons) tank with 20' steel tower