Engineers Without Borders

General Meeting, June 4

May 28, 2007 at 6:25 pm | In Meeting Minutes | Comments Off

Join us for our next general meeting, where Michael Campana, a professor in OSU’s department of Geosciences and director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds, will give a talk entitled “Constructing Rural Village Water Systems in Central America: Experiential Learning 101”.

The meeting will be June 4 at 5:00 in KEC 1007. As always, we’ll provide the food.

Meeting Minutes

Members attending in person: See attendance list

1. Guest Speaker: Michael Campana, Professor in Geosciences and Director of Institute for Water & Watersheds
   Constructing Rural Village Water Systems in Central America: Experimental Learning 101
   • Runs a non-profit operating in panama, Honduras, and El Salvador
   • Water Projects in Developing Countries
     • WHO: 1 billion people have no access to water
     • UN Millennium Dev. Goals: by 2015 to reduce the number who don’t have access to clean water by 50% which translates into bringing 250,000 people sustainable safe water and 500,000 people sustainable sanitation each day.
     • Sustainability: A project that the people can maintain themselves and can be made to last 20-30 years with limited maintenance. Not free (or else it’s not valued), there must be ownership of some form.
   • Panama projects – Epera Indians (~10,000 people)
     • Drill and complete water wells and build and install hand pumps with instruction and multiple trips.
     • Worked with Lifewater International and invited by the Epera Indians
     • Three trips: survey, shopping, training (2 weeks)
     • Cost: $30,000
     • Team: hydrologist, geologist, 2 engineers
     • Village had electricity which powered pump to fill tank – taps at houses
     • Follow-up trips were cancelled because of Colombian civil war and communication lost
     • Therefore, not sustainable
   • Honduras
     • 2001-2005 Masters field course for U of NM
     • Happened to meet a local who organizes water projects and coordinated with him to conduct required field courses there.
     • Built gravity-fed systems
     • Cost: ~$12,000 + travel
     • Supplied 44 domestic connections with ~7 persons/house
     • Accomplishments: 5 systems, sanitation instruction, life-changing experience, empowered women/girls go to school (doing something other than collecting water), put Americans in good light, led to student thesis/project work
   • Conclusion
     • Engineers have great power to “do good”.
     • Highest Rate of Failure: church groups, peace corps, rotary, and EWB, but rotary and EWB have changed their perspective on sustainability since then
2. Project Announcements
   • Project team application deadline extended until Friday – please apply if you’re interested! The application is still online. Spread the word!
3. New website: www.ewb-osu.org
4. Regional Workshop needs volunteers
5. Banquet
   • Send names and addresses to Kelly for invitations. Invite any/all family friends.
6. Save the Rain Internship
   • East Africa, unpaid, 3-5 weeks in summer and over xmas.
   • Get more info from Doug.

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Minutes prepared by: Kendra Seniow June 4, 2007