I
traveled to Apatut in November, as a part of the first travel team, along with
Bob DiFlippo and Steve Kim. Having never been to the Philippines, or anywhere
else in Asia, I did quite a bit of "Googling" before the trip, and I
quickly learned how diverse this country is. It is comprised of over 7,000
islands with over170 different languages!
We flew into
Manila, which has many of the things you would find in any American city (yes,
they’ve got Starbucks.. even Krispy Kreme!). From there, we traveled to
the Ilocos Region, to the Barangay (village) Apatut. This is a beautiful and
rural area. Common sights include cows and goats grazing in the fields, with a
view of the mountains off into the distance. The Barangay is divided into 7
Sectors, each with a welcome sign to distinguish one sector from the next.
View from my window
As for food, I
definitely ate better in the Barangay than I do at home. The food is very fresh
and flavorful. I've been cravingadobo and pancit bihonsince we left! On the way
back to Manila, I was introduced to the infamousbalut. Although, I must admit, I was
not brave enough to try it; Edgardo seemed to enjoy it.
Balut
During our time in
Apatut, we oversaw the well development and met with various program
partners. We met with members of the engineering department at Saint Louis
College, in preparation for the Solar Disinfection program taking place the
next week. We talked to the Baloan Water District, to learn about how water
distribution systems are typically constructed in the Philippines. We also met
with members of the San Fernando Rotary.
Drilling Rig
Meeting at Saint Louis College
One of the tasks
carried out by travel team #1 was walking the proposed route of the water
pipeline, paying particular attention to the road and stream crossings. The
original drawings, in the 2010 design, show the pipeline going under all stream
and road crossings, without cutting through the road.
The stream
crossings have a much greater depth than I expected. If the pipe went
underneath, there would be significant elevation dips in the pipeline at every
stream crossing.
Edgardo at an intermittent stream crossing
Stream crossing
There were many
road crossings in the proposed route, more than previous maps show. Some areas
have cinder block walls right up against the road. There is also considerable
vegetation planted along the roads, banana trees and crops. The area on either
side of the road is used as a stormwater drainage area as well. We have to
consider the likelihood of soil washing out during severe storm events and
exposing the pipe to debris.
Crossing the road
itself will provide its own challenges. The road has a significant foundation,
of various depths. The drawings from the 2010 design show the pipeline being
drilled under the road, without having to cut through it. We will have to
reevaluate the previous design of the distribution system, taking into account what
we’ve learned during this past trip.
Barangay Road
I thoroughly
enjoyed my time working on the Water for Life Project in Apatut. I would like
to say thanks to everyone we met and worked with in the Philippines. Now that
we've confirmed that there is in fact water in the well (hooray!), I am eager
to work with EWB-Philly on the next steps of this project.
