Rainwater Harvesting in Honduras

FYI: This is a very lengthy post created for those interested in our rainwater catchment system and as a resource for other folks working around the world that may be looking for ideas. Many of the ideas that we used in our system came from outside, undocumented sources (to which I am very thankful ) and some are original ideas. Whatever the case, we hope this information can be to use to those interested in utilizing the amazing resource that God has given us in rain. Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions, we’d welcome your feedback.
 

A storm rolling into Las Lomitas.

History

I started thinking about harvesting rainwater before we actually came to Honduras. I had done some research into the climate here and realized that there would likely be sufficient rainfall for our personal needs. As we’ve experienced thus far and from investigating with the locals, the climate here has a “dry” season from late February until early May in which a storm only passes once every 2-3 weeks. May experience above average rainfall as a miniature “spring.” From June through October, precipitation becomes very regular, with rainfall starting around 5-6PM and ending around 10PM. Among these regular rainfalls, at least one strong storm passes per week. Then, in November, the “wet” season starts and runs through early January. During this time, the temperature drops and it is common for rain to go days without stopping.

The most precipitation we’ve seen out of a storm, since we began measuring in May, was 6+ inches in 5 hours (the rain gauge maxed out in this time, so who knows how much we actually received.) With a metal roof, it seemed that the apocalypse was upon us.

Since we receive one hour of low-pressure water, three days a week, it seemed insane to not harvest this water in some capacity. Using the system described below, we have water 24/7 in the taps of the house: two sinks, toilet, shower, and outdoor tap.

 

The System

Rain Collection

Our collection system collects water from the aluminum/zinc roof over our house  (including our porch, this is ~600 sq.ft. of floor space).  The water from the roof falls into PVC gutters that in turn empty into 3” drainage pipes that run toward the cistern. Between the roof and the cistern, we have included a plastic barrel that acts as a barrier to capture the first 55 gallon wash from the roof. According to a few studies I’ve read, this should effectively capture 85 percent of the contaminants on the roof. Here’s how the barrel works. 

The first water from the roof falls straight down the pipe past the “Y” and passes into a 2” pipe that passes into the barrel. Once inside the barrel, the 2” pipe passes through a reducer into a 4” pipe, from that 4” pipe, it passes through another reducer into a 6” pipe and out the holes cut into the bottom of that pipe. Within this pipe is a Styrofoam ball. As the water level rises within the barrel, so does the ball. The water continues to pass the ball until the ball arrives at the 2” reducer, at which point the pressure that the barrel exerts on the ball effectively closes off the barrel to additional rainfall. The water that continues to fall can now not pass the ball and begins to back up the tube until it falls through the “Y” and into pipe that continues to the cistern. The dirty water remains sealed in the barrel for later use (accessed through a faucet we installed at the bottom). The important part to remember is to always empty this barrel after each storm. If not emptied, the next first wash will fall directly into the cistern. However, the barrel can be set to “self-drain” by leaving the faucet part open. However, we normally use this water throughout the day for the garden, etc.

Once the water passes the barrel, it passes through the 3” drainage pipe underground and enters the 6000 liter cistern.  The only notable feature in this stage is the outlet into the cistern. The outlet pipe passes to the bottom of the cistern and then angle’s ninety degrees straight up. The pipe is positioned like this so that incoming water flow up and does not disturb any sediment that may have collected on the bottom.

Once the cistern fills, any excess fall into an overflow pipe positioned 2” below the ceiling of the cistern. From there, it runs into the home’s central drainage pipe and off towards the road it goes.

 Water Extraction

 

From the cistern, water is collected through a 1.5” pipe and pumped into a plastic storage tank positioned on the roof above the shed (this a 5’x10’ section of 4” thick reinforced concrete). This water is collected 6” below the surface, since theoretically, this is the cleanest water. The idea is that the dirtiest water is below, since most contaminants settle to the bottom. However, some contaminants also float, so you don’t want to collect the water directly from the surface. So, in order to make this collection pipe float, we made a hole in the end of the pipe and connected a standard plumbing float with a 6” arm. In order to create a joint that allows the pipe to raise and lower with water level, we made an elbow using a double layer of rubber bike inner-tubes stretched over the ends of the pipes with PVC “ribs” in the middle cut and sanded from the same 1.5” tube to prevent inner-tube collapse between the two pipes. The inner-tubes are held in place using brass exhaust clamps (brass to avoid rust). 

The water arrives on the roof using a very simple, hand-operated (no electricity here) deep-well pump that is positioned on the platform with the tank. 30 minutes of pumping fills the 750 liter tank.When the cistern is full, the water travels vertically about 12' and horizontally about 15'.

 Water Distribution

 
From the tank, the water is lowered through a 1” tube to the house’s 0.5” distribution line. If we don’t need the water for the garden, we last ~10 days on one plastic tank of water.  Using the tank to liberally water the garden, it lasts about three days. 

This system has worked alarmingly well. When we “opened” the system in May, the cistern filled in less than 2 hours. We were astounded. We expected weeks! Needless to say, it was an exciting moment when water started flowing in. As a result, the cistern is nearly constantly full to the brim, with all the excess (including floating contaminants)being shuttled 150 feet away to the main road’s drainage ditch. Having running water available in the house has totally changed our lives. No more bucket showers in the shed. No more need to use purified water for teeth brushing. No panic if the community water doesn’t come one day. No more bucket sitting next to the toilet for flushing. 

The water purity is somewhat questionable since there is no actual filtering taking place. However, two weeks after the system was “opened” we had a water text performed, and its result was free of fecal coliforms and several other popular nasties. I occasionally drink the water if I’m feeling impatient, but for the most part we stick with purchased purified water (at one dollar per 5 gallon jub, it’s hard not to).  We plan to add a couple levels of simple gravel and sand filtration over the coming months, but as of now, we’re very happy with what we have. 

The Cistern Construction Process.

By far, the biggest challenge of the project was designing and constructing the cistern. We decided that we wanted to place the cistern below ground in order to save space above ground for the garden. For the same space-saving reason, we decided to place the cistern below the porch.

Using a very comprehensive calculator we found online HERE, we decided to aim for a storage capacity of  6000 liters. As a result, we dug (with pick and shovel) a big, big hole:  10’ long x 5’ wide x 6.5’ deep. It took us about 3 days to dig the hole, and it was pretty delightful work for those that may be wondering.

And fantastic for trapping curious children.

Once the hole was finished, we dug a 6”deep ditch within the hole around the perimeter to make the foundation for the cinder block walls. We filled this ditch with rocks and concrete, with 3/8” rebar pointing up every 2’.

From this point, we layed the 4” blocks, filling in each hole in the block and placing rebar between every two lines horizontally. In order to have enough room to work, it is necessary to leave at least 6” of space outside of each wall.  At every two lines, we also backfilled the space left outside the wall with the dirt we had removed earlier. We also left a hole to pass the three tubes entering the cistern.

Once the block walls were complete, we plastered them with a mix of fine sand and concrete. Once the plaster was dry, we put on a final smooth coat of pure cement paste. 

Once the smooth coat was dry, we poured a 3” thick concrete floor. After a couple days of allowing all of the concrete to cure (always maintaining it wet to cure well). We began the process placing the roof.  We wanted the porch to be one continuous piece of concrete, so in order to accomplish this. We created a rebar cage that sits two inches below the level of the final floor, sitting on the porch and house foundation. Tied into this rebar cage is a metal access hatch we had custom-made for the cistern.

Before the pour and placement of the cage, we created a form for the roof using 2x10 planks cut to the size of the final product.

The side walls were nailed into the concrete with concrete nails and the top planks were supported with 2x4s placed within the cistern. Having cut a hole for the access hatch and placing the rebar cage above it, we were ready to pour.

We poured the porch/ceiling with 2" above and 2" below the rebar. We then left the supports in place for 48 hours to allow all to cure well. We then entered the cistern and began to remove the forms through the tiny access hole. Thank God, all of it fit and was removed fairly trouble free.

We then cleaned the cistern and applied a final double coat of water-proof liner commonly used here for drinking water tanks and pools. After two more days of drying, we were content with our set-up and we opened up the pipes to allow the water to come in. With the setup we have here, we don’t seem to be losing a drop of water, so I can recommend it for now.

Back to School

September already.  We’re sure you are all in “Back to School” mode or at least wrapping up summer and looking forward to fall.  Life is different here.  The school year runs from February to December, we’re still in school mode and there never is fall here.  We’ll continue with hot/dry days and cooler rainy evenings until December when it starts to rain all the time.  Please enjoy the beauty of the four seasons back home for us.  This Sept. 15^th will mark one year since we arrived in Honduras.  We moved out of our apartment in Centerville, OH in July, 2011, spent two months with family, and then moved here in September.  We began construction on our home in Feb. 2012 and moved into Las Lomitas March 25^th.  As all of you know our commitment was for one year.  That will be coming up in just a week.  We wanted to give it a trial run to see whether we thought this was the place God has for us.  O we of little faith.

 We never want to pretend we know for a second what tomorrow may bring, so we truly try to live one day at a time and do what God has placed in our laps and in our paths that day.  At the same time people have started to ask the “big” question, “So how long are you guys going to stay down there?”  The answer is we really don’t know and we will continue to take life as it comes and God leads.  For now, we have planned to stay until the end of Nov. this year when we will come to the States to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with family and friends.  We will then come back to our humble abode in Las Lomitas and finish a full year living in Las Lomitas, which will be until end of March 2013.  We feel called to at least complete a full year living and working in the community to be able to see if we’ll be here longer.   Please be in prayer for us as we are in serious prayer about our future and “where” God wants that to be.  To be honest, we love it here and it feels like home, in addition, we’re seeing the community take huge strides towards development.  We feel like we’re doing what we were made to do and living in a way we were made to live.

Yes, it is hard every day in more ways than one and sometimes we don’t know if we can make it another day.  Without a washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator, power tools, electric outlets and everything you plug into them, etc. daily life can be rough.  Sure, we’d prefer to live in a house with smooth, painted walls, sofas, chairs, carpet, and tile.  But are those things really necessities?  We’d challenge you to answer that question as well.   We make up for this knowing that we have the best jobs in the world and based on how God made us we are in a place where we are most effect for His Kingdom.  Is that not truly the ONE necessity?  So as you are “back to school” or “fall clothes” shopping, challenge yourself and your family with the question of “what truly is necessary?”  Could you go against our culture and downsize or simplify to bring God glory?  Could you make the sacrifice to truly get into the job/place that God made you for?  Do you even know what that is?  Maybe start praying for God to place you where you can be most effective for Him, because none of us really know “the day or the hour” when this life as we know it will be over.

We are assembling a “one year in review” letter that we will be mailing out.  If you have never received anything in the mail from us and would like to, please email us your address and we’ll make sure you receive it.  There are some of you who are donors and we don’t have you on our mailing list, please let us know who you are.

Long Overdue Update

We’re happy to announce that we have not forgotten about our blog (or friends and family), although it may seem the case. We’ve been fairly occupied over the past month of two and have neglected all of thousands of people that follow our blog (that’s a joke). However, we truly do appreciate those of you that do check in on us. The craziness of our schedule coupled with lack of internet access (and that which is available being unreliable), general forgetfulness, and a non-functional camera brings us to our current situation where the blogs are few and far between. However, we are resolved to improve this situation and from this point on will dedicate ourselves more dutifully in the future. 

So, to catch everyone up. We’ve now received visits from the Eldridge side, the Reeder side, dear friend Anna Pyles, and our home church Apex. Mixed in there, some engineers from University of Dayton spent 10 weeks down here and came to visit some as well; greetings to Memo, Yo, and Milena. We had some memorable moments in our MicroMachine/Suzuki. We’re looking for great things from them in their respective futures. 

We’ve also been living strictly on rainwater through the catchment system designed into the house. It’s going really well thus far. Look for an involved post on that project in the coming month. We’ve also put in the fence around the yard (to protect us from the wily schemes of the neighborhood chicken gangs). For being nearly unfunctioningly dumb, chickens are surprisingly resourceful when it comes to accessing forbidden areas. And, that being said, even one nugget-sized chick can wreak an alarming amount of havoc on vegetable beds. At first, we would thoughtfully and carefully herd out the offending poultry, but at this point they’re immediately grabbed and slung over the nearest border. They’ve had their warning period. 

The poultry barrier has been erected in efforts to protect a demonstration garden that is currently in the works. We’re demonstrating various low-cost erosion control and soil improvement methods, mostly using permaculture and organic gardening methodology. So far, it’s getting a good amount of attention. The goal would be to see the yard as a demonstration area that’s available as a model and training area for local folks looking to start harvesting more food at home or improve their yields in small plots. I’m actually surprised at the amount of interest it has generated. Should this first harvest be successful, we’ll be looking at a potentially interesting program.

We’ve (and by we, I mean mostly Stacey and a 15 year-old neighbor, Iris) has also been working with the kiddies in a “Little School” on Sunday mornings for 18 weeks. They sing, they dance, they make crafts, they hear a Bible story, and they play for about an hour every week. The kids love it, and I really think it has been great for them. They always look forward to it and show up at the house about 2 hours before it starts. In addition, Stacey has continued a program for young women left by a “Salt and Light” team from Mississippi for the past 7 weeks. The program focuses on teaching Biblical principles that apply to social situations (self-worth, gossip, modesty, respect, abstinence, etc.) that seem to plague so many developing nations. These young women are really a group in crisis, with so many families starting with single 14,15,16 year old girls. Please be in prayer for these girls, the culture here is not an advocate for their success. 

Pastor Erik and I have also begun a group for the muchachos (young men) of the community on Wednesday nights. We got them together about a month ago and asked them if they knew what the Bible said about things in life. They said, “Um, no.” So, they picked seven topics ranging from soccer, to baptism, to dating about which they wanted to hear the Bibles opinion. In addition, we eat food and drink drinks, talk about life and have generated a list of community improvement projects we want to undertake. The goal is to take this (also at-risk) group of young guys and help them understand that they don’t have to be the community’s liability and that instead they can be the best thing going.  We’re starting by building a couple of bus stops here in town, so we’re off to a great start. They’re also learning choreography on Saturday nights to give them an alternative to the alcoholism that plagues their age-group. They’re a group with a ton of potential  as well.

An electricity project for the community is also picking up steam. It could make things around here really exciting and really interesting, very soon.

Well, we miss you all and hope you’re doing well. Feel free to shoot a line to  update things in your world. We’d love to know what’s happening with you. Take care.

Grace and peace.

Apex-C4 Visit

July 7-14 we had yet another visit to our little town.  Our home church Apex (from Dayton, Ohio) as well as a few members from an Apex church plant, C4, formed a group and traveled to Honduras.  They spent the week living with us in Las Lomitas.  What a blessing to see six of our old house church family members who we haven't seen in a year!

They ended up eating a fair bit of flies, but had a great week regardless. The idea behind this trip was to not just do another "save the locals" short-term trip, but to aim for something long-lasting and appropriate. Since the team had never been to Las Lomitas before, we decided to make it a a "get-to-know-you" trip. Instead of coming in and informing the locals of all their shortcomings and building a house for some "poor" family, we spent the week sharing things from our lives and learning in turn from our neighbors. As a result, there were Hondurans throwing frisbees, and Americans slinging tortillas, Hondurans singing English and Americans butchering Spanish, Hondurans learning clean water practices and Americans face deep in the local swimming hole, Hondurans eating peanut butter and Americans eating fried plantains (by the pound).

For us, it really was a neat week. To be honest, we were a little hesitant about having the group around, being afraid that we would overwhelm the relationships we've started and maybe move back a little. However, what happened was the blessing of a very unique team with a very open attitude with how to love people. From my perspective, it was a group that understood that the love of Christ is not a love that drowns out the voice of local people with the clanging of nails, but instead comes with an agenda free of plans, looking at the needs and desires of local people with the goal of loving them through those needs without involving personal motivations or gratification.

Personally, it was exciting for me to see this group of stinky white people being willing to live in our community for the week as opposed to going to a hotel or other more comfortable place to sleep. We weren't the only ones who appreciated it either. As it turns out, people really enjoy being loved and feeling valued (shocking). From some of the younger guys, I saw more genuine smiles hiking through chest high grass, teaching gringos how to swing a machete, or while destroying the group in soccer than I've seen in any construction trip.

All this to say, let us never forget that any effort we make to improve the lives of our fellow humans inevitably affects ours. Any energy spent focused on a project and not the persons affected has great potential to harm them. Never should we depersonalize or itemize people, the moment we do, they cease to be people and end up as goals or numbers in our "List of Personal Accomplishments Because of How Great I Am."

So, thanks Apex/C4 team for being willing to love in that way. These people mean a lot to us and we truly appreciate your respect and love for them.

Special Notice to Las Lomitas Lovers: Friends, family, if you've recently visited Las Lomitas and would like to share a little bit of your experience in this exciting publication, we'd love to post your story here on the blog. It's already fairly difficult to blog with regularity, and an outside perspective would be neat to put on here. Much thanks!

Anita

This past week we were privileged to have Anna Pyles in our home for a week!  She is a great friend of both of us for 7 years now and served as our Maid of Honor in our wedding.  You want to talk about LOVE, she showed it to us this week.  We told her a year ago we would rather her support us by coming for a visit than to support us financially, and she did it.  She loved us enough to listen to us and do what was best for US, not what she wanted or was easiest for her.  As she says, it was not in her character to travel thousands of miles to come stay in a place that is dirty, germ infested with no electricity.  She may have come not knowing why a visit was more support than money, but we know she is leaving with an understanding.  Imagine not being able to truly and completely share the biggest part of your life with one of your closest friends.  Now we can with Anna!  Sometimes a visit can be more harm than good, but that was not true with Anna. She came as a learner and a lover.  An encourager, not a judge.To ask questions, not be an expert. A help, not a hindrance.A listener, not a talker.

Hiking the mountains!

Celebrating 4th of July.

On one of our hikes we were surprised to see this toucan!

This is a great example of what we talk about in community development.  A lot of times the international aid wants to come in and do the fastest or easiest thing to “make the community better” and they never stop long enough to consider if it really is “better” for the community.  If we want true, lasting, sustainable development it needs to be holistic (spiritual, material, intellectual, and social) and what is best for the people group at their specific place in their development process.  Almost 100% of the time this takes time, a lot of time.  It takes patience and getting to know a people group, culture, resources, talents, strengths, and weaknesses.  This means waiting long enough for leaders to rise up from the community to take on these development projects instead of just doing it for them.  It means asking them to be invested and waiting until they are able to do that.  We all know that we take care of something better when we are invested in it.  Investment can be emotionally, mentally, financially, planning process, manual labor, and so much more.

Is this not what Christ did?  “He loved us so much that he came.”  He loved us so much that he did what was best for us.He didn’t give us a “quick fix” but a sustainable/for all of eternity fix.  We’re not writing this so that all of you get a guilt trip to “come” – no!  Yes, some of us do need to take that step of faith and “go.”  Personally we believe everyone should try it once.  We’re talking about Anna listening to what we asked her to do, knowing it was best for us, and doing it.  Sometimes that might mean don’t come, stop, wait, etc.  God could have sat up in his comfortable heaven and said, “I’ll just write a check and that will fix the world.”  But He did something else, something MUCH harder but was what the world needed and what was best for us.  He came, lived, and died for us.   He did it at the right time, he didn’t RUSH it.  He could have come right after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and avoided all the wandering of the Old Testament, but He didn’t.  He studied us, guided us, and came at the opportune time because he wanted what was best for US, not best for Him or the quick, easy, feel good way out of it.

This is what we try to do each day in Las Lomitas.  We can’t pretend to do what is best for them without lots of time getting to know them, studying them, living with them, listening to them, supporting them, sharing life, getting involved, praying, and above all asking God for wisdom.  Is this not what God did throughout the Old Testament?  So if you’d like an update on us, that’s what we’re doing.

Update... Late edition.

I’d like to start this post with my favorite opening sentence. “It’s been a while since we’ve posted…” While true, I know that none of you have been sitting on pins-and-needles, nervously awaiting the next post.

Since the last update, we’ve visited Guatemala for a visa run, Ma and Pa Eldridge have visited the house for 10 days, and the rotavirus has visited everyone’s guts for longer than desired; 2 out of 3 isn’t too bad. 

Happy family (Kaleb has his game face on.)

We had a great visit with mom and dad. The majority of the time, we just took it easy in Las Lomitas and passed day to day life with them. They were able to meet neighbors, cook (and eat) local foods, wash laundry by hand, go trudging through the woods, make roadside repairs to the car, walk through coffee plantations with “Juan Valdez,” and even swing a machete a little. We also took some time to check out Caliche, Canchias, Lake Yojoa, and the ocean at Tela with them too. This was our first visit from family down here, and it was much, much appreciated. We know it took a lot of time out of their life, but it was great. We hope it was as encouraging for them as it was for us.

 

However, just as they were leaving, Honduras gave them a precious parting gift, the rotavirus. Dad received it on Father’s Day, but, being the wonderful father he is, decided to share it with mom on plane ride home so that they could both enjoy it together. Stacey and I shortly found ourselves painting the porcelain throne, but are on the mends now. 

We also had to scoot out of the country again to renew our visas and found ourselves in the very, very pleasant colonial Guatemalan town of Antigua. The 11 hours on a bus is a bit long, but very much worth it. Antigua sits about a mile high in the Guatemalan mountains within the shadow of three very impressive volcanoes. The cobblestone streets of the city have about a dozen beautiful cathedrals, a huge selection of really nice, authentic accommodation, and awesome places to check out the local food. Sorry Belize, but Guatemala wins round one. 

From here, we’ll continue moving forward with the vegetable garden and living fence at the house, as well as integrating into the community. Stacey has also begun facilitating a "chat" time with the young women of the community focusing on a Biblical view of abstinence and other typical problems facing these ladies. Please be praying for that on Wednesdays at 3PM.

We already feel very accepted and a lot of momentum within the community to move forward, but, we’re still taking our time and being sure that whatever we do, we don’t rush. The last thing we want to do is be in the community for a few months and let that be sufficient. We want to know these people as much as possible, to be sure that we’re moving forward as they want to, not as we do. The longer we're here, the more potential we feel. Amazing things are already happening, and we can't wait to see what's to come.

Damos Gracias a Dios por: sanarnos de los infeciones feos del cuerpo. (We give thanks to God for healing us from the yucky infections in our bodies.)

Check.

As impossible as it seems, the house is officially done. Between all of the other craziness inside and outside of Las Lomitas, the 500 sq ft. concrete palace is finished (for now :).

As you can see, the car has also changed. We'll talk about that later.

The end product is a 25' x 20' house designed for good ventilation, decent light (without electricity), self-sustaining water (rainwater catchment), and 40 years of wastewater management. It has two bedrooms, a sala (kitchen/dining room/living room), a porch, a shed, and a bathroom. Running water is provided by a rainwater catchment cistern pumped (by hand) up to a plastic tank which is fed to the house by gravity. The floors and walls are concrete, with an aluminum roof.

Bathroom.

Mud room.

Guest Room.

Our room.

Sala.

On paper, 500 sq ft. sounds really small, and we were designing the house to be fairly small. However, in practice here, 500 sq ft are actually fairly big. It's not the biggest house in the community by any means, but it's very comfortable, and designed for hosting visitors and future family growth (nothing in the oven right now, settle down mom).

All-in-all, it's been an awesome learning process and has already seen so many things pass, late-night talks, learning masonry, toucans dying in the shed, bucket showers, amazing cooking, 8 kinds of bananas, butchered armadillo, butchered Spanish, and bloodied fingers (stupid machetes, nothing serious, again, settle down mom).

Damos gracias a Dios por: el bendicion de nuestra primera casa en nuestra propia tierra. (We give thanks to God for the blessing of our first house on our own land.)