Chronology II - Tank Stands

I had left off at the point of discussing the attempt at draining the  stream that was running through the site of Tank No. 2 ( Genesis 2:6 "but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground"). Actually, I had just recognized the volume of water that was flowing into the site and was looking to find Scott to discuss it with him at the exact same moment that Scott had impaled himself on the screen mesh and was looking for me. Suffice it to say that Scott's injury trumped my discovery and demanded my immediate attention. What had happened was that a roll of wire mesh with very sharp but clean edges had suddenly unspooled and sprung open slashing into the fleshy part (anteromedial aspect) of his forearm and lodging itself upon four points (like the top of a chain link fence). The key here was quickly having two of the student hold the roll steady so that the sheet of mesh didn't tear back and forth in Scott's arm. The next was to use tin snips to cut the roll away and separate it from the smallest section stuck in Scott's arm. The rest is basic first aid and a few sutures.

Back to the rancho. Once we finished assembling the stands we attached an aluminum cement anchor to the bottom of each upright leg. This would penetrate into the concrete footing about 8" and secure the leg into the concrete while the bottom of the leg sat on the concrete.  This meant that we had to attach the anchor while the stand was on the floor of the rancho on it's back with the legs sticking up then carry it off the rancho to the site where the footing holes were being filled with concrete, flipped over, and positioned as noted above. The catch was how to support the stand in that delicate position while the concrete dried. Kyle (who designed much of this phase of the project) and Scott had considered suspending the stands from above with ropes or straps, but this didn't prove feasible due to a) the lack of any ropes or straps (local vines - no) and b) the immense weight of the stands due to the density of the nispero wood. Since I really don't know what the hell I am doing I wondered why we couldn't just hammer some sappling lengths into the mud like wooden pilings in the muck of the Hudson (a fitting legacy of my Uncle Barry, the dockbuilder) and cut them to the correct height and rest the tankstand directly on them. Scott and Kyle thought it was a pretty good solution (or, pretty much the only viable one) and agreed to give it a shot. It proved to work out quite well. My second engineering contribution in one day.  

  

 

In the final shot you see the finished product. Note the sapplings that are supporting the stands. After the concrete had dried they were simply pulled out for reuse on the other side. Also note the amount of manpower needed to lift, carry and rotate these beasts. This supports a fascinating theory that Scott shared with me: In our technological history, human or animal based slave labor has been replaced by fossil fuel. Think about this and realize that the process can go backwards (as it did here) but not easily. Lastly, note the mud. Lots of mud.

These stands, once the concrete has set, will be the platforms for the big blue 600 gallons tanks which will weigh over 5000 lbs when filled with water. Which brings us to the question of where all this water comes from. The notion here is to use rainwater as a source of potable water as it bypasses the issue of contaminated terrestrial sources such as groundwaters (lakes, ponds, streams) or wells. Collecting and storing rainwater is not a new idea, and many of the buildings on the island already have gutters, usually made of PVC, for said purpose. The PVC piping is split clamshell style to fit around the roof corrugations then connected to a downpipe leading to some form of catchbasin.

Here you see a woman dipping water from a 55 gallon drum under a downpipe which drains her roof. Our system improves on this by being closed, self contained and can be easily taken down for maintenance to keep the tank interiors clean.

Here you see the east view gutter system after it has been installed. Installation, done on a handmade ladder, was carried out primarily by Kyle with me spotting him due to my excellent "human ballasting skills" (read "weight"). Once clean water is collected, it is the holding vessel that becomes the next site for contamination. Even with good maintenance, standing water soon begins to grow bacteria and other microorganisms, which forms the rational for the other component of our program, the freestanding biosand filters. While Kyle, Scott and I were doing the tank construction, Tom, Mike, Amber, Anna and Jesse had the unglamorous task of screening and washing hundreds of pounds of sand and gravel to form the fillings to two of these units. In addition, Amber kept getting pulled back and forth to translate. My Spanish is pretty good, and was very useful for joking around with the local laborers (yes, I can be vulgar in multiple languages) but I relied upon Amber, a native Dominican, for crucial discussions so nothing would be missed. Also, Jesse and Anna had the additional duties of taking measurements on the school buildings and the school kitchen buildings, future potential projects. This left the bulk of the screening and washing to Tom and Mike. This truly was a mind-numbing and thankless, but essential task that these guys did without gripe. I want to thank you guys here again for doing it.

Spent yesterday seeing the canal, in particular the Miraflores locks. Got to watch two ships transit the locks completely which I will report on later. I also got a nice, fresh haircut. Packing out from the Hostal Amador in Panama City; not bad digs if you don't mind communal living. The first night we all shared the room and after my group left I got one new roomate yesterday, a young guy from Mexico here to study at the Maritime/Naval Institute. It's been an interesting and gradual transition from the absolute primitive, to the next level up (college dorm life?). But I am definitely ready for some resort time and private lodgings. Let's break it off here - I'll have time to write more from some of the airports I will be in en route to Placencia via San Salvador via Belize City. Later Taters