2023-07-31 16:37:56
In the community of La Inesita, in San Cristóbal, obtaining water was an odyssey. The small town lived between the capsizing of the pipes and the breakdown of the pumping station. The reality today is different, after the installation of a group of solar panels for pumping the precious liquid.
“From the Higher Body of Business Management (OSDE) Water and Sanitation, it was decided to change the energy matrix to guarantee the service. The idea started in several provinces of the country and to date more than 180 pieces of equipment have been installed”, declared Gisell Burgos Viacava, director of institutional communication of the OSDE.
The initial stage in the western part of the country includes the provinces of Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Artemisa and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, as well as others in the rest of the country.
“In the territory before the end of the year, the start-up of 41 teams is planned; eight are already in operation in San Cristóbal, Bahía Honda, Artemisa and Candelaria and work is underway in Mariel, Alquízar and Caimito”, explained Reinaldo Expósito Echeverría, director of Engineering of the Provincial Aqueduct and Sewerage Company (EAAP).
For the residents it has been a tremendous blessing, as stated by Anayansi Alonso, in charge of the pumping station that also supplies the neighborhood in transformation Inesita 2 and Callejón Colorado. “Being without water is difficult, especially when there are children or bedridden patients at home, so we are very happy to be part of the project and the community appreciates it.”
The station works with solar and electric energy, in this particular case the pumping hours were extended until ten at night.
“This hybrid system has 28 solar panels and supplies a population of 300 people. Pumping is done every other day and so far 80 percent of the water pumped has been using solar energy,” added Expósito Echeverría.
The rest of the neighbors maintain the same positive opinion. For Rosa Sotolongo it means not having to travel by bicycle to carry water, as she did until recently. Meanwhile, Yurisledys Martínez, mother of two children, adds that it is a blessing, “imagine that there were days when she did not have water to wash the children’s clothes or clean.”
When the first part of this project is completed, it is expected that some 835,000 kilowatts (kW) of electrical energy will cease to be consumed, which translates into savings of more than two million pesos, said the EAAP specialist.
“The investment, started just over two months ago, amounts to more than 5.5 million pesos and works with equipment below 10 kW of consumption, which serve communities with less than 1,000 inhabitants. In another stage, the installation of equipment for larger towns is foreseen”.
Each pump has a field of solar panels, and has a protection system against electrical discharges, sensors to detect overconsumption and low voltage; in addition to being able to determine when the well is empty, stopping its operation.
At the moment, the first steps of a project that involves working on energy saving and environmental protection are being taken. In practice, there are pending issues; And although some residents have managed to get the water to their homes, the replacement of the hydraulic installations where necessary so that in La Inesita they continue to breathe with happiness remains in the pipeline.
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