A water system was installed in Ermoclia by the Soviet government in 1973. Ermoclia is a mainly agricultural community with a small factory that makes electrical wire currently employing 15 people (anticipate expanding to 100 employees), 2 schools (928 students), 7 businesses, and a primary care medical clinic. There are 4323 citizens of Ermoclia who are very poor and have not received any significant improvements, including clean water from their central government during the past 16 years. The water system is inoperative due to old rusted water lines and towers. There is no running water in any building in Ermoclia. All homes, businesses and public buildings withdraw water in buckets from shallow hand dug wells. In 2006 an outbreak of Hepatitis A acquired through drinking water caused illnesses in 114 people, mostly children. All survived. Water in Moldova has elevated levels of heavy metals, chlorine, bacteria, suspended solids and coliforms (bacteria including feces of man and other warm-blooded animals). Since then attention has been paid to purifying water when it is brought into the home and disinfecting the wells twice yearly. A water committee or association has been established to oversee the management of a clean water system, set fees and oversee individual home installation procedures with meters, and to maintain the system. Ermoclia has been working on an improved water plan since 2003. Elder and Sister Jacobs our predecessors started work on this water project in July 2008. Elder Hinson and I made our 1st trip to Ermoclia with Elder and Sister Jacobs in December, the 1st week we were here in Moldova. We met with Lidia Jubea the NGO that is partnering with the Church and community on this water project. Lidia has been a mayor of a local village and helped bring running water to her village. We made our second visit to Ermoclia to meet with the city council, Mayor, Lidia, and the contractor that will do the work on the project. Our third trip to Ermoclia was to meet in an open city council meeting where the entire village was invited to hear how clean water will be coming to their village, and what the community responsibility will be. On February 19, 2009 we were able to sign the water contract with Lidia Jubea and the Church to bring clean water to Ermoclia. Elder Hinson and I were present along with Elder and Sister Telford, Argentin our interpreter, and our representative from Turcan and Turcan (our law office). We are excited to go forward with this clean water project and hope by the end of the year Ermoclia has clean water.
