Llojlla Grande is a rural Aymara community located in the Altiplano highlands of Bolivia. Situated between two mountain ranges at an elevation of 12500 feet over sea level, the community receives very little rainfall throughout the year.
Lack of sufficient rainfall and drought conditions forced residents to get water from hand-dug wells, sometimes digging more than 10 meters below the surface to access the underground aquifer. Before a new water system was built, 200 people relied on 34 shallow wells that were contaminated with arsenic, manganese, and high levels of coliform bacteria and E. coli.
The team in Bolivia went to work and developed a system that improved water access and quality that includes a 60 meter deep well, submersible solar power pump plus its solar panels, an elevated storage tank with common tap stands and a central pipeline to which individual community members are able to connect.