Rural aqueducts or water supply systems
Acueductos rurales o sistemas de suministro de agua
Constanza Dorey García-Puentes
Master, Corporación Universitaria Minuto
de Dios- Colombia; Bogota Colombia,
cogarcia.puentes@gmail.com,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4684-9750
Carlos Andres Delgado-Bello
Graduate Corporación Universitaria
Minuto de Dios- Colombia; Bogota
Colombia,
halcar.ingenieria.sas@hotmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2246-3394
cogarcia.puentes@gmail.com
http://centrosuragraria.com/index.php/revista, Published by: Edwards Deming Institute,
Quito - Ecuador, October - December vol. 1. Num. 11 2021, This work is licensed under
a Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.es
Received May 11, 2021
Approved: July 01, 2021
Abstract
This article presents a reflexive analysis on the
concepts of rural aqueduct and a water supply system,
with the aim of identifying the differences between
the two concepts in Colombia, through documentary
research. The documentary review was carried out
validating its relevance, timeliness and completeness,
focusing on those documents related to concepts,
standards, technical and statistical aspects. The
importance of access to drinking water for the
population and the proper management of water
resources, as set out in Objective 6 of the ODS, is also
considered.
Among the significant results it is highlighted that
these two concepts are very different in terms of the
technical aspects for its design, since only one
contemplates a water purification system, and the
most used in Colombia in rural areas is oriented only
to the supply of water, which does not guarantee the
quality of the liquid and therefore cannot ensure that
it is suitable for human consumption.
Keywords: Quality of life, sustainable development,
rural population, rural environment, water quality
30
Resumen
Este articulo presenta un análisis reflexivo sobre los conceptos de acueducto rural y un sistema de
suministro de agua, con el objetivo de identificar las diferencias entre los dos conceptos en Colombia,
a través de una investigación documental. Se realizó la revisión documental validando su pertinencia,
actualidad y exhaustividad, centrando el interés en aquellos documentos relacionados con los conceptos,
la normatividad, aspectos técnicos y estadísticas. También se profundiza desde la importancia del
acceso al agua potable para la población y la gestión adecuada del recurso hídrico, como se plantea en
el objetivo 6 de los ODS.Entre los resultados significativos se resalta que estos dos conceptos son muy
diferentes en cuanto a los aspectos técnicos para su diseño, ya que solo uno contempla un sistema de
potabilización de agua, y el mas usado en Colombia en las zonas rurales esta orientado solo al suministro
de agua, lo cual no garantiza la calidad del líquido y por lo tanto no se puede asegurar que sea apta para
el consumo humano.
Palabras clave: Calidad de vida, desarrollo sostenible, población rural, medio rural, calidad del agua
Introduction
Water is a fundamental resource for life, that is why it is considered a fundamental right,
therefore, the population's access to this precious liquid is vital for the survival of humanity.
Unfortunately not all people in the world have access to water, according to the World Water
Assessment Programme -WWWAP of UNESCO (2019) more than 2 billion people live in
countries suffering from severe water scarcity, and approximately 4 billion people suffer from
severe water scarcity for at least one month a year, similarly UNICEF and WHO (2019),
mention that about 2.200 million people worldwide do not have safely managed drinking water
services and 144 million drink untreated surface water, Aldana & López, (2017) also reports
data in the rural sector showing that 8 out of 10 people living in these areas lacked access to
these services and for Colombia 37.2% of the rural population does not have aqueduct service
coverage (DANE, 2018 as cited Minvivienda, 2020). (Aldana & López, 2017) important to
clarify that in the rural area water is indispensable not only for personal and domestic use, but
also for agricultural production; water for these uses mainly comes from surface water sources.
Thus, it is essential to guarantee for the rural population the availability, accessibility,
affordability and quality of water, so that it does not constitute a threat to a person's health. In
Colombia, in rural areas, households in rural areas do not have adequate water supply or
treatment systems, they resort to alternatives such as connections directly from rivers, lakes or
deep wells (Delgado-García. et al, 2017, p. 64).From this panorama, it is essential to establish
adequate technical processes to ensure proper water resource management, protection of water
sources and quality of drinking water for domestic and personal use as established in Goal 6 of
the SDGs, for Loboguerrero et al., (2018) and López-Bravo et al., (2021) clean water and
sanitation it is important to identify the differences between rural aqueduct and water supply
system contests in Colombia, which will allow improvements in the levels of planning, capacity
García-Puentes, Delgado-Bello.
October - December vol. 1. Num. 10 2021
and financing at national and local levels, not only of the infrastructure project but also
influences the protection of the environment.
To provide the rural population with adequate drinking water service Turbay et al., (2014) and
Guerrero-Velasco & Apráez-Ippolito (2021) indicate that the following aspects must be
considered: availability, (water source and quantity of water available), accessibility (delivery
to the population) and water treatment (safe water free of agents harmful to health) (WWAP -
UNESCO, 2019). Water supply systems in the rural area can be approached from two points
of view, a community supply system or by conventional water supply and treatment systems
(WWAP -UNESCO, 2019), being the most used the first of the systems; this system starts from
the community management of water and the hydrological basin where the population lives, it
is also related to the knowledge and cultural traditions of the community, the infrastructure in
this case is common property and the water is distributed equitably (Delgado-Garcia, et al).
According to Fernandez, et al (2013) in Colombia, rural communities in Colombia provide
water in an artisanal manner, using natural water sources or with incipient community aqueduct
infrastructures that collect water from surface or groundwater sources, and then conduct it to
the users' properties through a conventional hose or using other rudimentary methods.
Materials and methods
This informative documentary research consists of a reflective analysis of the concepts of rural
aqueduct and a water supply system, with the objective of identifying the differences between
the two concepts in Colombia.
A documentary review was conducted to validate its relevance, timeliness and completeness,
focusing on those documents related to concepts, regulations, technical aspects and statistics.
Likewise, taking into account the considerations established in Goal 6 of the SDGs "Clean
water and sanitation".
Three steps were developed:
• Sources were defined as UN Water, ODS in Colombia, United Nations Development
Program, Hancar Ingeniería S.A.S. and databases, taking into account the relevance and
timeliness of the documents.
• A record was kept of the sources consulted based on the APA 6 standard.
• Finally, the information obtained from the documentary sources was organized and
analyzed.
Result
From the documentary review and the business experience of Hancar Ingeniería S.A.S., it is
identified that in Colombia it is common to develop community supply systems in rural areas.
These water supply systems in rural areas are based on a water concession, which are regulated
by the regional autonomous corporations, who monitor, regulate and authorize the intervention
of water sources; for this it is essential to have a census of the beneficiary population, identify
32
the type of land use and the agricultural process in the region, this request can be made by a
natural or legal person, associations and community action boards. Likewise, the costs involved
in the development of the project must be established (design costs, paperwork, construction,
etc.) and the design parameters must be validated according to the context and the water source.
Due to the dispersion of houses in rural areas in Colombia, it is quite complex and costly for
the communities to have adequate technical designs of the system supported by an expert.
Another important aspect to consider is the quality of the water, but unfortunately this is little
considered in the design, since there is no evaluation or analysis of the pathogens, heavy metals,
among others that it may contain; therefore, the optimal conditions of the water and its
suitability for human consumption are not guaranteed, (2020) For this water supply system to
be optimal, community organization and empowerment of the territory is essential, because
this way they can access resources to improve the conditions of the system such as the
acquisition of the water treatment plant and routine maintenance.
The water supply systems in the rural area present a series of difficulties with the supply, among
which are emphasized: access to the intervention area (due to topographic complexities), water
use (separating the different water uses, human consumption and agricultural activities),
continuity due to poor infrastructure management and maintenance, easement ownership
(procedures, permits or ownership of the land), dispersion of dwellings (distance between the
catchment and the dwellings increases the cost of the infrastructure), infrastructure
sustainability (maintenance, contingency and improvement costs), cost of consumption
(establish tariffs according to consumption) and specific public policy for rural aqueducts.
These difficulties are also elements that must be addressed through research processes that
allow the rural population to have access to an optimal and safe drinking water service, thus
guaranteeing the universal right to water.
Conclusions
The difference between the concept of a rural aqueduct and a water supply system lies in the
fact that the former includes a treatment plant and the latter does not, the latter being more
commonly used in rural areas, in which community management and organization is
fundamental, based on the certainty that the infrastructure is common property and the water
is distributed equitably among the beneficiaries, in addition to being related to the community's
knowledge and cultural traditions.
The water supply system in the rural area consists mainly of a catchment (intake, desander)
and distribution, which is a very simple system, but complex to build due to the dispersion of
houses in the rural area, in addition to increasing the cost of the work. It can also be mentioned
that it fully complies with the first two aspects that must be considered in the design of a
drinking water supply system (availability, accessibility and water treatment).
The difference between the concept of a rural aqueduct and a water supply system lies in the
fact that the former includes a treatment plant and the latter does not, the latter being more
commonly used in rural areas, in which community management and organization is
García-Puentes, Delgado-Bello.
October - December vol. 1. Num. 10 2021
fundamental, based on the certainty that the infrastructure is common property and the water
is distributed equitably among the beneficiaries, in addition to being related to the community's
knowledge and cultural traditions.
The water supply system in the rural area consists mainly of a catchment (intake, desander)
and distribution, which is a very simple system, but complex to build due to the dispersion of
houses in the rural area, in addition to increasing the cost of the work. It can also be mentioned
that it fully complies with the first two aspects that must be considered in the design of a
drinking water supply system (availability, accessibility and water treatment).
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