Ministerio Agua de Vida

San Luis is a small community of 40 homes located in the far northwest corner of Nicaragua on the Cosiguina Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean.  The peninsula juts out into the Bay of Fonseca which is bordered by El Salvador to the north, Honduras to the east and Nicaragua to the south.  The people here are hard working, self sufficient folks who mainly make a living from livestock and agriculture. 

Getting water is a full time job when the nearest well is 3 miles away!

Typical houses of the area are made of locally available materials, logs and palm thatched roofs.

About 6 years ago a Spanish relief organization drilled a 400 ft. deep well and installed a large water tank on the hill above the community.  However, 8 months ago the pump motor failed and the community has been bringing water from the nearest well 3 miles away on horseback and with wagons ever since.  The Water Committee had enough funds in their "reserve account" to pull the pump and diagnose the problem.  However, when they found out that that the pump motor was beyond repair, they came to Amigos for Christ, our sister organization, to see if we could help.  The Amigos group agreed to loan the community $1,200 from the their small business program, to be repaid from the monthly water use fees.  Our ministry, Agua de Vida, agreed to pay the additional $3,900 to complete the repairs.

The water committee members in front of the water tank

A picture that only a driller could love - this is the $3,000 pump motor (20 hp) and computerized monitor.

To pump the water up from 400 feet into the elevated tank on the hill takes a 20 hp pump motor.  The supplier also recommended that we install a computerized monitor to protect the motor - which cost almost as much as the motor itself!  However, the 3 phase power at this remote location is quite variable and we think that poorly regulated power is what probably killed the old motor.  So, we considered it to be a wise investment to install the monitor.

There was a lot of help from the community - everyone wanted to see the repaired pump going in and all the men helped.

  She has been waiting for this moment for 8 months!

The installation was not a simple task.  The riser pipe is 320 feet of 3" diameter galvanized steel with the 200 pound motor and pump.  In the US we would use a hoist truck with a small crane boom, but the Nicaraguans are ingenious folks.  They used a heavy duty tripod and a chain hoist - accompanied by lots of sweat!  The pump was finally installed and working at 2:00 AM and the community ladies were standing by with their buckets to get the first sample of Living Water.

We were quite surprised to be met with a banner welcoming us to the dedication service.

  The community had everything set up, complete with a shaded area and chairs.  The ladies had also cooked lunch for everyone.

Tomas, the leader of the Amigos for Christ water team with some of the kids enjoying the balloons.

All the kids wanted their picture taken in front of the well.

The community wanted to have a service to dedicate the restored water system to God and to offer their thanks for all the help.  When we arrived they had strung a banner across the road and had everything ready.  The pastor from the neighboring village was invited to bring some of his music team to lead us in praise songs, after which he offered a short devotional.  We then had a meal and enjoyed some time together. To God be the Glory!!

Technical Details

Project date: April 22 - 26, 2010

Location:   Latitude -  N 12° 55.634'     Longitude - W  087° 32.226'

Elevation:     441 ft. above sea level

Total Cost:  $3,904

Drill rig used:  Drilled previously by another organization

Drilled Depth:  400 ft. (estimated)

Well depth:   400 ft. below ground surface (estimated)

Casing  type: 8 inch diameter welded steel

Screen length & type:  Unknown

Length of Gravel Pack:  Unknown

Length & Type of Seal:  Unknown

Static groundwater level:     Unknown

Dynamic groundwater level:     Unknown

Depth to base of pump:   320 ft. below top of casing

Pump description:    Submersible pump with new Franklin motor - 20 hp triple phase 220 volt

Flow rate:  50 gpm estimated

Tank and tower type:  Steel 5,000 gallon tank