Puerto Rico Initiative
In 2018, Gravity Water partnered with Hillspring Church to provide a permanent and resilient source of safe water access to the Atalaya Community in Rincón, Puerto Rico.
COMMUNITY PROVIDED SAFE DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS |
COMMUNITY MEMBERS PROVIDED ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER TO DATE |
LITERS PER DAY OF ENERGY-FREE SAFE DRINKING WATER |
$8 provides a child with access to a permanent source of safe drinking water.
Overview
In September of 2017, Puerto Rico was hit by two back-to-back “Category-5” hurricanes, being Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. These hurricanes created island-wide devastation, with new estimates reporting nearly 5,000 deaths across the country. Though these Category-5 hurricanes caused significant damage to infrastructure, the greatest damage was done to Puerto Rico’s electricity grid and water supply, which resulted in communities not having access to electricity or on-site water for weeks to months.
The water problems that Puerto Rico faced in regards to the hurricanes were two-fold. First, Puerto Rico’s current water supply is based on a “centralized” system, which pumps water from a treatment plant through piping to each community and household; since the country lost electricity for multiple weeks to months, the centralized water system was no longer active, since the water system depends on electricity to pump the water to individual taps and faucets. This led to multiple communities and households resorting to using trash cans to catch rainwater just to have the ability to flush their toilets and wash their dishes.
The second problem Puerto Rico faced in regards to water supply following the hurricanes was significant flooding, which brought pollutants from sewer mains, landfills, and agricultural areas into centralized water sources. This means that the water people had access to was dangerously contaminated with bacteria and other pollutants, making it unsafe for human use.
In 2018, Gravity Water launched it’s program in Puerto Rico, providing 175+ households in the Atalaya Community with access to safe water on-site, completely energy free.
In 2018, the Gravity Water team completed its first Gravity Water project on the island of Puerto Rico. This system focused on providing the community members of Atalaya, Puerto Rico with access to on-site safe water, including 3,200 gallons of fresh rainwater storage and 800 gallons of EPA-rated on-demand safe drinking water.
The water problems that Puerto Rico faced in regards to the hurricanes were two-fold. First, Puerto Rico’s current water supply is based on a “centralized” system, which pumps water from a treatment plant through piping to each community and household; since the country lost electricity for multiple weeks to months, the centralized water system was no longer active, since the water system depends on electricity to pump the water to individual taps and faucets. This led to multiple communities and households resorting to using trash cans to catch rainwater just to have the ability to flush their toilets and wash their dishes.
The second problem Puerto Rico faced in regards to water supply following the hurricanes was significant flooding, which brought pollutants from sewer mains, landfills, and agricultural areas into centralized water sources. This means that the water people had access to was dangerously contaminated with bacteria and other pollutants, making it unsafe for human use.
In 2018, Gravity Water launched it’s program in Puerto Rico, providing 175+ households in the Atalaya Community with access to safe water on-site, completely energy free.
In 2018, the Gravity Water team completed its first Gravity Water project on the island of Puerto Rico. This system focused on providing the community members of Atalaya, Puerto Rico with access to on-site safe water, including 3,200 gallons of fresh rainwater storage and 800 gallons of EPA-rated on-demand safe drinking water.
Puerto Rico Program Development
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Gravity Water is currently in Phase I of the Organization's five-stage development strategy for Puerto Rico. With Puerto Rico receiving a large amount for rainfall each year, and with rainwater harvesting being a common cultural practice for communities throughout the country, Gravity Water has a great opportunity to help provide resilient water systems to communities to ensure safe water access during times of natural disasters. Gravity Water is currently working with Puerto Rico on a community request basis or in collaboration with partners who are inspired to increase water resilience for Puerto Rico throughout the future.
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Where We Operate
Currently, Gravity Water has one project in the Rincón region along the western coast of Puerto Rico. Gravity Water sees great potential in working with communities throughout Puerto Rico to increase access to resilient water systems throughout the future.
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Note: Zoom in and click on points for meta data. Location points are non-precise to respect partner privacy.
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