Team ecuador
Meet the Community
Santa Teresita is a rural community of approximately 140 people in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador’s Bolívar Province. Spanish is the primary language, while some older residents also speak Kichwa, reflecting the community’s Indigenous roots. Agriculture and livestock are central to daily life, and residents have a strong tradition of working together on community projects.
Santa Teresita, Ecuador (June 2025)
About Our Project
Our team partners with Santa Teresita to improve access to reliable, year-round water. Aging pipelines, leaks, and uneven distribution leave most households without a consistent supply. Alongside the community and our local NGO partner, Proyecto Dulcepamba, we are redesigning and rebuilding the water system to meet the community’s needs.
Project Timeline
January 2025 - Project Adoption
Cal Poly’s Ecuador team adopted the Santa Teresita water project in January 2025. Building on assessments completed by a previous EWB-USA chapter, we began working with the community and Proyecto Dulcepamba to understand the existing system and plan our first assessment trip.
Summer 2025 - Assessment Trip
The team traveled to Santa Teresita to assess the water system and meet with community members. We walked the pipelines, measured spring flows, tested for leaks, and conducted household surveys to understand residents’ water needs. These findings helped guide our design priorities. We also signed a Community Partnership Agreement with the water board and Proyecto Dulcepamba, establishing shared responsibilities for the project.
Fall 2025 - Alternatives Analysis Phase
The team took the fall quarter of 2025 to complete the Alternative Analysis phase. Members compared several ways to improve the community’s water system: treating water through chlorination or mechanical filtration; increasing water supply through a third spring capture or rooftop rainwater collection; and using water more efficiently through pipeline replacements or potable water storage. The result of this comparison was to focus on efficient water use by replacing critical sections of the pipeline.
Summer 2026 - Implementation Phase 1 Trip
Team Ecuador returned to Santa Teresita for the first phase of construction. Working alongside community members and Proyecto Dulcepamba, they were able to replace more than 1,000 meters of deteriorated pipeline connecting both springs to their respective storage tanks. Additionally, two pressure break boxes were installed on the lower supply line to reduce excessive water pressure. This work completed the first phase of a larger effort to restore the community’s water system.
Current Project Status (Fall 2026) - Planning the Next Phase
Currently, Team Ecuador is preparing for a second phase of implementation, with a trip planned for summer 2027. The focus is on the pipelines that carry water from the storage tanks to households, where distribution problems remain. Members are evaluating pipeline condition, routing, and elevation changes to identify the most urgent improvements with our community partners. The next phase will build on the work completed in 2026 while also monitoring the performance of those improvements.
