Project Overview
This demosite focuses on the sustainable management of the Manglaralto river basin. It uses a technical-artisanal dam for aquifer recharge and green filters for wastewater treatment to improve water security in a semi-arid coastal region. | The project utilizes the intermittent Manglaralto River, employing an artisanal dam ("tape") to slow flow, enhance infiltration into the riverbed, and recharge the underlying coastal aquifer. | The site addresses saline intrusion into the coastal aquifer. Interventions like the recharge dam help maintain freshwater levels, protecting adjacent coastal ecosystems from contamination and supporting local biodiversity.
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning
- Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
- Fresh water: Ecosystems play a vital role in the global hydrological cycle, as they regulate the flow and purification of water. Vegetation and forests influence the quantity of water available locally.
Regulating
- Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
- Waste-water treatment: Ecosystems such as wetlands filter both human and animal waste and act as a natural buffer to the surrounding environment. Through the biological activity of microorganisms in the soil, most waste is broken down. Thereby pathogens (disease causing microbes) are eliminated, and the level of nutrients and pollution is reduced.
Habitat / Supporting
- Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
- Habitats for species: Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive: food; water; and shelter. Each ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’ lifecycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals and insects all depend upon different ecosystems during their movements.
Cultural
- Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
Major Issues
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No issues provided.
EH Engineering Solutions
Water retention and infiltration systems: The technical-artisanal
Water retention and infiltration systems: The technical-artisanal dam was built using local materials, such as gravel and sand, with a concrete cover designed to retain water during the rainy season and improve infiltration and aquifer recharge.
The green filter uses plants (in this
The green filter uses plants (in this case, Guadua angustifolia) to remove nutrients and contaminants from wastewater. This process is a clear example of phytoremediation, a form of phytotechnology where plants absorb, accumulate, and degrade pollutants in water, soil, or air. The ability of Guadua angustifolia to assimilate nutrients and has an average removal of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) of 87.11%, while the removal of coliforms is 87.23%, at a depth of 90 cm. demonstrates.
The dam's design with a 4:1 (gentle)
The dam's design with a 4:1 (gentle) slope disperses the energy of the water, allowing the reduction of erosion, favouring the infiltration of water in the coastal aquifer and the existence of a transition zone for the development of habitats rich in biodiversity.
Project Activities
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The main activities include monthly monitoring of groundwater quantity and quality, maintenance of the recharge dam, and community capacity-building workshops.
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Pilot projects for green filters treat wastewater, while reforestation with guadua cane stabilizes riverbanks. Future activities involve periodic biodiversity monitoring and educational programs with local schools and universities to promote sustainable water management.
Expected Outcomes
The main expected outcomes are ensuring a sustainable year-round freshwater supply for local communities, improving water quality, increasing biodiversity, enhancing resilience to climate change and saline intrusion, and fostering strong community participation in environmental management and education.