Evaluation of Appropriate Groundwater Supply Technologies That Increase Access to Sufficient and Improved Water in Rural Coastal Communities in Panama

Development initiatives designed to improve access to groundwater often introduce technologies to be owned and operated by rural communities. This research compares the groundwater quality, technical performance, and social implications of new hand augered wells fitted with bailers or EMAS hand pumps versus existing unimproved hand dug wells. It uses the following methods: water quality analysis, visual and manual inspection, user interviews, and a sustainability assessment applicable to developing communities. The research takes place in a coastal indigenous region of Panama disproportionately affected by a lack of improved access to water and challenges to the viability of piped gravity fed water systems that typically serve other rural areas across the nation. Results suggested that bailers and EMAS pumps yielded a mixed level of performance based on water quality measurements in the shallow wells of the study environment. The technologies generally satisfied international water quality guidelines for conductivity, TDS, and turbidity (with 57% of samples under 5 NTU). Water obtained from wells fitted with EMAS hand pumps demonstrated markedly better bacteriological water quality with all samples indicating undetectable levels of E.coli, while 83% of samples from bailers fell into a range signifying intermediate to no associated health risk. Interview data demonstrated that hand augered wells significantly improved household water access in the study area based on user considerations by providing a reliable drinking water alternative with adequate quantities of water perceived to be clean. A sustainability assessment determined the EMAS hand pump and bailer technologies to be cost effective and socially and environmentally appropriate, featuring fewer materials and simplistic designs.