Marcala Water Treatment Plant
Wiki Markup |
---|
h1.Marcala Water Treatment Plant {float:right|border=2px solid black|width=300px} [!Marcala photos^0015_08_678.jpginauguration.JPG|width=300px!|Marcala photos] {float} |
July
...
10,
...
2008
...
The
...
12,000
...
person
...
town
...
of
...
Marcala,
...
Honduras
...
took
...
possession
...
of
...
their
...
newly
...
...
...
...
...
from
...
...
...
...
...
on
...
July
...
5,
...
2008.
...
The
...
occasion,
...
covered
...
by
...
live
...
radio
...
and
...
television,
...
was
...
marked
...
by
...
a
...
community
...
celebration,
...
dedication
...
and
...
ribbon
...
cutting
...
ceremony.
...
The
...
plant
...
was
...
redesigned
...
by
...
IRWA
...
with
...
support
...
from
...
Cornell
...
University's
...
AguaClara
...
group
...
and
...
the
...
engineering
...
firm
...
DeWild,
...
Grant,
...
Reckert
...
&
...
Associates
...
of
...
Rock
...
Rapids,
...
Iowa.
...
The
...
plant,
...
formerly
...
a
...
failed
...
upflow
...
rock
...
filtration
...
plant,
...
was
...
redesigned
...
to
...
a
...
flocculation/sedimentation
...
plant
...
with
...
chlorine
...
disinfection.
...
IRWA
...
and
...
its
...
partners
...
were
...
able
...
to
...
use
...
the
...
existing
...
footprint
...
of
...
the
...
plant
...
creating
...
a
...
series
...
of
...
flocculation
...
and
...
sedimentation
...
basins
...
and
...
finished
...
water
...
storage.
...
Plate
...
settlers
...
were
...
employed
...
in
...
the
...
sedimentation
...
basins
...
to
...
improve
...
plant
...
performance.
...
Construction
...
was
...
accomplished
...
by
...
local
...
labor
...
with
...
oversight
...
by
...
IRWA
...
and
...
our
...
partner
...
organization
...
in
...
Honduras,
...
Agua
...
y
...
Desarrollo
...
Comunitario
...
(ADEC).
...
The
...
plant
...
was
...
designed
...
to
...
operate
...
without
...
power
...
as
...
electricity
...
is
...
not
...
available
...
at
...
the
...
site.
...
The
...
treatment
...
process
...
including
...
chemical
...
addition
...
is
...
accomplished
...
through
...
gravity
...
flow.
...
Nearly
...
all
...
of
...
the
...
materials
...
used
...
to
...
construct
...
the
...
plant
...
including
...
the
...
plate
...
settlers
...
were
...
procured
...
from
...
sources
...
in
...
Honduras.
...
Total
...
costs
...
for
...
the
...
plant
...
were
...
$64,000
...
which
...
were
...
shared
...
by
...
IRWA
...
($36,000)
...
and
...
the
...
town
...
of
...
Marcala
...
($28,000).
...
The
...
town
...
has
...
hired
...
two
...
full
...
time
...
operators
...
and
...
has
...
recently
...
been
...
notified
...
by
...
the
...
Honduran
...
national
...
government
...
of
...
a
...
grant
...
to
...
bring
...
electrical
...
power
...
to
...
the
...
site.
...
Water
...
quality
...
has
...
improved
...
tremendously
...
as
...
a
...
result
...
of
...
the
...
plant.
...
June
...
through
...
November
...
marks
...
the
...
rainy
...
season
...
in
...
Marcala
...
during
...
which
...
the
...
Chieflador
...
River,
...
source
...
for
...
the
...
plant,
...
becomes
...
very
...
muddy.
...
The
...
plant
...
is
...
operating
...
at
...
500
...
gallons
...
per
...
minute
...
and
...
has
...
been
...
treating
...
water
...
with
...
turbidity
...
levels
...
as
...
high
...
as
...
750
...
NTU.
...
The
...
community
...
is
...
extremely
...
happy
...
with
...
the
...
quality
...
of
...
the
...
water
...
and
...
there
...
is
...
a
...
real
...
sense
...
of
...
excitement
...
for
...
the
...
future.
...