High in the mountains of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, the village of Chiquiguital is taking a critical step toward sustainable access to clean drinking water. The Research Triangle Park (RTP) Engineers Without Borders (EWB) recently entered the implementation phase of the project, with Uzun + Case principal emeritus Larry McDowell leading the structural engineering efforts.
Larry recently completed his third trip to the area, a five hour drive north of Guatemala City. Home to roughly 250 residents, the Chiquiguital community currently relies on contaminated natural springs for drinking water, requiring families to boil water before consumption. The EWB project will capture the spring water in a new 40,000-liter lower storage tank, which will then be pumped to a second 40,000-liter tank situated approximately 90 meters above. The village has no electricity service, so EWB is also installing 24 solar panels to provide power for the electric pump. Water stored in the upper tank will be chlorinated to meet health standards and gravity-fed down the mountainside to individual household taps, allowing residents to simply open a faucet to access clean, potable water.
Chiquiguital, located in a remote mountainous region, is accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicles and lacks both electricity and cell phone service. These conditions presented unique logistical challenges that directly informed system design, material selection, and construction methods.
Larry McDowell’s repeated on-site involvement has been critical to adapting engineering assumptions to field conditions, environmental challenges, and locally available materials. Under his leadership, the EWB team designed custom upper and lower reinforced concrete storage tanks for multiple villages. The tanks are sized to support population growth and reduced spring flows during the dry season. Additionally, at the village of Chipozo located 50 kilometers away, a steel rainwater collection structure was added above the upper storage tank to capture water during the rainy season, when reduced solar generation limits pumping capacity between tanks. The rainwater collection structure was designed using locally available steel members, with Uzun + Case staff providing technical support and computer-based analysis to evaluate the high seismic demands common to the region.
The Chiquiguital residents are comprised largely of Mayan descent as the village was formed of refugees forced out during the Guatemalan civil wars of the 1970s and 1980s. The residents are quite industrious and have enthusiastically embraced the aid of EWB for this project. Typical of EWB projects, members of EWB volunteer technical expertise, time, and project materials. The local community provides additional labor. In remote Chiquiguital, the residents hauled and placed by hand the rocks, water and reinforcement required for the concrete tanks.
Furthermore, EWB aids in setting up the operations and maintenance programs for the community to administer, including the collection of small fees from the residents to maintain their water system. Once the system has successfully completed the monitoring and evaluation phases, all operations are turned over to the local community.
Like many EWB professionals, Larry donates not only his engineering expertise but also his personal time and travel expenses. All fundraising efforts associated with the project are dedicated solely to construction materials and essential equipment, ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most.
Through his continued commitment to Engineers Without Borders, Larry McDowell exemplifies the role engineers can play as global citizens who use technical skill, experience, and humility to deliver meaningful infrastructure in resource-limited environments.
To learn more about the RTP chapter of Engineers Without Borders and its work, view ewb-rtp.org.