A Different Perspective

By Ralph Dessau

For several years, I have followed the debate in the press about the water shortages that are threatening Chiriqui, supposedly due to the capacity increase of the hydroelectric plants. I find it hard to understand these concerns, because Chiriqui actually has an overabundance of water. All rivers, including those which are diverted for the hydroelectric projects, exist exclusively to enable excess rainwater to flow to the oceans after heavy rainfalls. The rest of the rain stays right where it falls, in the soil.

The diversion of a river can have a serious impact on communities who receive their water directly from that river, but hydroelectric plants do not consume water. They only convert into electricity, with turbines and generators, the energy which is released when water drops from a higher to a lower level. A lot of petroleum products are consumed during the construction phase, but when the trucks and earth moving equipment have completed their jobs, they leave behind a new source of clean or green energy, and the same volume of excess water will again flow to the ocean. Keep in mind that in Panama, the developers must first agree not only to relocate all the inhabitants that may be affected, they must also relocate or restore all the fauna and flora in the affected area in order to get approval for a hydroelectric project.

So, instead of blaming the hydroelectric projects for the threatening water shortages, we must address the ignorance of the general public and acknowledge the difficulties of meeting the ever-growing demand for water.

Wherever there is soil or sand, there is water below the surface, even in the Sahara desert. Wells for thousands of years were one of our main sources for this priceless commodity. When I grew up, farms all over the world had to be totally independent, because governments had not yet taken responsibility for the supply of city water and there was no electricity. Farms got their water from their own wells, sometimes assisted by windmills. That possibility still exists today.

Unfortunately, most people have forgotten how to get water on their own. In some cases, the creation of a new well is only a matter of digging a modest hole in the ground and waiting for the water to emerge. A friend who recently bought a finca near the border with Costa Rica, only had to invest about $200 for the digging of a well (not including the pump, tubing and storage). That well produces about 450 gallons of water per day.

When the original settlers came to the New World, they built houses that collected rainwater from the roofs and stored it in cisterns made with bricks and mortar, and that same method is still valid. You can build a 3,000 gallon or 10 cubic meter cistern with concrete blocks and cement for about $300, and a 1 hp pump costs another $100. That amount of water would last for 30 days, if you keep consumption below 100 gallons/day. I realize that this is still a lot of money, but in many cases it would be more economical for the government to subsidize this type of construction, instead of having to extend their centralized water distribution systems.

In conclusion, I suggest that we must correct the misunderstandings with respect to rivers and hydroelectric power plants, and simultaneously work to alleviate the very real water shortages that exist in certain areas. We must refresh the memories of old-timers, who have forgotten what they used to know about creating and maintaining water wells and how to build water cisterns. The young should be taught in schools and colleges that rainwater is almost as pure as distilled water, that it is easy to collect, and that it can easily be further purified with inexpensive filters. For more information about rainwater collection and storage, I recommend these links:

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Rainwater-Collection-System

http://www.nsf.org/consumer/rainwater_collection/index.asp?program=GreenLiv

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/publications/reports/RainwaterHarvestingManual_3rdedition.pdf