Merging Knowledge for Water Supply with Alternative Energies for Stilt House Communities of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta

Abstract

The stilt house communities within Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM), Nueva Venecia and Buenavista, have historically lacked access to water under safe conditions. To address this need, a pilot study was implemented, employing two methods to obtain drinking water through non-conventional and sustainable energies: solar distillation and a conventional treatment plant supplied by solar energy. This study involved the local communities and their traditional knowledge at all stages: planning, design, implementation, operation, maintenance, and monitoring. The solar distillers produced a total 9652 L of water, with average yields of 2.8 L m2 day−1 and 1.2 L m2 day−1 in the villages of Nueva Venecia and Buenavista, respectively. Likewise, the treatment plants reached a total water production of 790,000 L. Both methods produced water following the quality standards for human consumption. This demonstrates the applicability of both methods in using alternative energy to obtain drinking water while considering the environmental and social conditions of the study area, thereby strengthening community self-management to improve access to water.