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Office of Proposal Entry
C.S. Mott Foundation
Mott Foundation Building
503 S. Saginaw St., Suite 1200
Flint, MI 48502-1851
Dear Sirs:
This letter of inquiry is in regard to a project entitled "Hydrologic and environmental impact of the La Joya and La Cano irrigation projects in the Vitor valley, Arequipa, Peru." We are soliciting funding in support of a project to evaluate the hydrologic and environmental impacts produced by side slope failures on the downstream Vitor valley. The side slope failures are the direct result of irrigation in the overlying superarid flatlands of La Joya and La Cano. These projects have been supported by the Peruvian government, with assistance from multilateral banks, since the 1940s. In the past 30 years, several negative impacts have been felt, which were not envisioned at the start of the projects. The most significant impacts are the side slope failures which are currently occurring and which threaten the eventual degradation of the downstream Vitor river valley.
Our project will sew together the various components of the problem, including geology, geomorphology, hydrogeology, hydrology, geotechnical engineering, irrigation and drainage, as well as social, economic, and political aspects. The objective is to sensitize the local, regional, and central governments, and the local growers in La Joya and La Cano, to the fact that there is a problem, that it is gettting worse with time, and that corrective measures need to be taken to mitigate the problem before it is too late.
We estimate a $35,000 need for one year of effort. Please let us know if this project is a candidate for funding by the Foundation. Otherwise, please indicate how can it be modified to comply with your guidelines.
Sincerely yours,
Victor M. Ponce
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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