Beyond Borders

By Tracey Rhoades

In a world where technological breakthroughs are more common than not and groundbreaking discoveries quickly turn into yesterday’s news, going to a spigot to fill a glass with clean, fresh water has become as routine as tying a shoe. But for nearly two and one-half billion people in the world, obtaining life’s basic necessity poses a daunting, unsafe, and sometimes impossible task. Thanks to the efforts of the student-run organization Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at Rice University, that scenario is changing for third-world communities across the globe.

When Rice students Tamar Losleben, Alex Higbee, and Alex Gordon traveled to San José Villanueva, El Salvador, in January 2004, they were astounded by what they observed. Approximately 750 residents, or 150 families, shared a single water source, a natural spring, La Ceiba, located on the edge of town. The water, dispensed from two pipes at 20 liters per minute (the equivalent of roughly five gallons), was used by the entire community for drinking, laundry, open-air bathing, and domestic purposes. Because the area around the spring was so small, no more than two or three people could access water at one time. At times, women had to wait for hours just to fill a jug or get their turn to wash clothes on a rock opposite the water source. Baths were taken in the open, and while water was scarce during the day, thousands of gallons were lost throughout the night because there wasn’t a repository to collect the constant flow.

“The community was amazing. When we first arrived and every day after that, men, women, and children would be waiting for us at the site each morning.” —Ross Gordon

To make matters worse, the students discovered the water was contaminated. The lack of a sanitary system for human waste disposal and bacteria-ridden storage containers were just two factors contributing to the community’s problems. To find out just how polluted the water was, the students visited the local health clinic to obtain municipality records. Not surprisingly, the data revealed that San José Villanueva residents, especially children, were experiencing the worst water-related health problems in the area. Illnesses such as diarrhea, enteritis, and gastroenteritis affect as many as three-quarters of the village’s children under the age of 5. Amoebiasis, an intestinal illness caused by a single-celled microscopic parasite, plagued both males and females of all age groups at consistent and highly dangerous levels. In addition to water-born diseases, influenza, pneumonia, and upper respiratory infections were prevalent.

Following a weeklong assessment of the area, the Rice EWB team felt compelled to do what it and EWB chapters throughout the world do: partner with a developing community to improve its quality of life. “The goal of this project, as well as our organization, has always been to use our engineering expertise to assist developing communities in completing engineering projects that significantly improve quality of life,” says Gordon. And the needs of the San José Villanueva residents enabled the aspiring engineers to do just that.

EWB at Rice was established in 2003 by engineering students Abigail Watrous, Michael Higuera, and Tamar Losleben, all class of 2004. The three, who joined students from the Colorado University chapter of EWB in 2002 to help bring clean water to residents in Foutaka Zambougou, Mali, were so inspired by their experiences there that they were motivated to get other Rice students involved in similar projects. They enlisted the help of Robert Dawson, senior department administrator in civil and environmental engineering at Rice, elected officers, and laid the groundwork for the Rice chapter, which now has more than 70 active members, four international engineering projects in three countries, and a yearly budget of nearly $50,000.

Dawson, who continues to serve as the club’s sponsor, recalls, “When Tamar, Abigail, and Mike first came to me looking for support to create an EWB chapter at Rice, their enthusiasm was contagious, and the subsequent response from other students was equally impressive.” While Dawson oversees the group’s activities in terms of university regulatory compliance, the students are solely responsible for locating professionals outside of the Rice community to work as project advisors and to procure monetary contributions from individual, charitable, and corporate supporters. A nonprofit organization, EWB uses donations to cover travel expenses, which are significant, as well as to purchase materials, equipment, and incidentals.

One of nearly 80 university chapters, EWB at Rice is part of EWB–USA, the national organization, established in 2000. While the parent organization offers guidance and technical support, university chapters are self-sustaining, and students involved with the organization gain invaluable hands-on domestic and international experience in addition to acquiring outstanding managerial, organizational, and leadership skills.
The EWB chapter at Rice, officially affiliated with the civil and environmental engineering department, is maintained and managed by students. Professional mentors serve as advisors and faculty members assist with technical issues, but a board of 11 elected students, along with other EWB members, runs the sho­w. And the group has been anything but complacent.

In the span of three years, EWB at Rice has triumphed. In addition to receiving the 2004 Sustainable Legacy Award from EWB–USA for its work in Mexico, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, the group served as the host for the 2006 EWB–USA International Conference this past April. More than 350 students and professionals traveled to Houston and Rice for a three-day conference featuring prominent engineering and business professionals, including the former director of the United States Peace Corps and executive director of EWB–USA.

To date, more than 200 Rice EWB student–volunteers have worked on several projects in four countries. Projects have involved improving water quality and availability, building bridges over local rivers, and constructing solar electric systems to light a community without electricity.

Since its inception, EWB’s main priority has been to train students to be comfortable with and experienced at working on projects in foreign countries and to instill members with a sense of social and environmental responsibility that they will carry with them throughout their careers. “I am very proud of the EWB program at Rice,” affirms Sallie Keller-McNulty, dean of Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering. “We are one of the most active chapters in the country and frequently pointed out as a chapter others should emulate.”

Because projects often take two to three years from conception to completion, it’s common for EWB team members to graduate and move on. Fortunately, Rice’s EWB chapter has had success in continuing with ongoing projects while transitioning new, eager students into the fold. Project teams involve 10 to 20 students, working year-round, and EWB participants maintain a full academic load, traveling to respective countries during school breaks. Projects are generally broken into three distinct phases.

Phase one is an exploratory trip in which students trek to the area, interview residents, assess the need, and decide if the project is scale-appropriate for the chapter. Following submission of a formal application to EWB–USA is phase two: a return trip to gather statistics, data, and any information pertinent to the region that will be necessary to formulate an initial project outline. On completing phase two, students return to Rice and begin work on the final design. During this time, students seek out training from members of the Rice community as well as outside experts to learn the skills necessary to implement and execute a project. The final phase is to put the months, and sometimes years, of planning into action. Follow-up trips to incorporate additional improvements are common.

While each phase is important in any project, the second step in the El Salvador project proved to be perhaps the most crucial and time consuming. Following five months of preliminary design, several team members returned to El Salvador in May 2004. “We didn’t build anything,” says Ross Gordon, Alex’s twin brother and a team member, “but gathered more data and worked with the community to establish a government that could support and maintain the new water system when it was complete.”

Sometimes all it takes is creativity, hard work, and perseverance to make an impossible situation possible.

Although EWB chapters throughout the country provide assistance to third-world communities like San José Villanueva, an important aspect of what these groups do is to be certain that the villages can maintain the facilities once the students depart. To assure that the residents of San José Villanueva would be able to sustain their system, the students facilitated an election to select a water board president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer—a process that took several months. The board president, Don Emilio, pulled dual duties, also serving as the project’s maestro de obra, or construction foreman. And to further involve residents, the team requested that villagers build a composting latrine near the site of the spring to promote a more sanitary disposal of waste and reduce the possibility of further water contamination.

When the students returned to campus, they began formulating a workable plan for the community’s water problems. The first order of business was addressing the primary area of concern—the lack of an adequate water storage system. While a 20-year-old underground tank still existed, it was no longer operational or suitable for the needs of the community. At a team meeting, members drew a rudimentary sketch of a storage tank on a napkin. From that initial drawing, a more formal design for the structure evolved.

Studying the spring’s yearly flow rate and the amount of water consumed, the team determined that a gravity-driven water distribution system supported by a 40,000-liter tank would meet the community’s needs. The threat of earthquakes mitigated where the new tank could be built, and based on suggestions by community leaders, it was decided that washing stations needed to be built on the exterior. Due to the high cost of wood and an inability to mix large concrete batches, a decision was made to build the majority of the structure using cinderblocks. Everyone involved made significant contributions to the overall plan, but team members majoring in structural engineering played an integral part in determining foundation depths, wall thickness, and rebar placement.

Throughout the process, the students always remained conscious of design changes, construction difficulties, and material variations. “We planned ahead as much as we could,” remembers R. Gordon, “and we formulated lists of what we would need to complete the structure.” Prior to construction, the team ordered materials, which were sent to the water board president’s house for safekeeping until the team arrived.

As plans began to materialize, consultation with residents was essential, which at times became difficult. To help streamline this process, the students relied on help from Mike and Susie Jenkins, former Peace Corps volunteers who have lived in El Salvador for several years and worked with San José Villanueva residents on a series of life-improving projects. “The Jenkins had a great relationship with the residents,” says R. Gordon, “and were very helpful in rallying the community around the project.”

During the school year, EWB organizes training and educational opportunities for its members. So when it became apparent that a concrete structure was going to serve as the water system’s backbone, the students realized they needed a tutorial. “We found an area mason who spent an afternoon teaching us how to lay cinderblocks,” explains R. Gordon, who admits that, while the tutoring session was helpful, the best training they received was on the job site itself.

In January 2005, a year after initially visiting with the community, seven Rice EWB members and their mentor returned to El Salvador to implement their design. Over the next 17 days, the students worked alongside residents to construct a new, state-of-the-art water storage system. “The community was amazing,” recalls R. Gordon. “When we first arrived and every day after that, men, women, and children would be waiting for us at the site each morning.” Together the group moved materials, dug the foundation, cut and tied rebar, mixed and poured concrete, and laid rows and rows of cinderblocks. In the end, the zealous team constructed a 40,000-liter storage tank, seven washing stations, three water taps, and a private bathing area. The system functioned as planned, and San José Villanueva residents wasted no time in putting it to use. “When we finished,” R. Gordon recalls, “the area was immediately crowded with happy women washing clothes, laughing, and having a great time.”

With a large portion of the project complete, the team set its sights on a follow-up trip to incorporate water purification systems and solar powered lighting around the tank to make the area more secure and accessible at night. After exhaustive research and discussion with community members, the team decided that the best solution to improve water quality was to equip each resident with an in-home, point-of-use water filtration system. Partnering with the health clinic to help with distribution, EWB members purchased 200 filters from Potters for Peace, an independent, nonprofit, international network of potters. The system, which consisted of a plastic storage container and a colloidal silver-lined ceramic filter, cost $15 per unit. To overcome families’ up-front costs in purchasing a unit, the team subsidized $9 of the expense, leaving families with the responsibility of paying $6 per filter. The filters, which have a two-year lifespan, produce enough disinfected water for an entire family, and R. Gordon believes that providing residents with clean, affordable water was the team’s best accomplishment.

Team members completed two subsequent trips, making their final return to El Salvador in January 2006. During these trips, they educated families on how to use the water purification units, installed solar-paneled lights, and reaffirmed that the storage tank was functioning successfully. The total cost of the entire project was $25,000, $17,000 of which was used to cover travel expenses. But cost aside, the hard work and dedication of the team members positively impacted the health and quality of life for nearly 1,000 people.

To recognize the El Salvador team, the local government held a dedication ceremony, officially thanking the team members for all of their help. Everyone received a certificate of gratitude, and a plaque was presented to the group. But as R. Gordon explains, “the most rewarding part for me was the respect we gained for each other while working on the project and the true friendship that was created with the residents of San José Villanueva.”
While most of the team members have graduated, the organization’s new president, senior Deepa Panchang, and chapter members are fully engrossed in several projects, including a water and energy project and the construction of a health center for a community in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua; an ongoing bridge project in Jinotepe, Nicaragua; a water purification project in Mexico; and a new El Salvador project.

Recently, the chapter was awarded the Appropriate Technology Award for 2006 from EWB–USA and received a large grant from the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation. The support of Groundwater Services, Inc., TCB-AECOM, and Walter P. Moore, all prominent engieering firms headquartered in Houston, has been integral to the rapid growth of EWB. These three companies have agreed to fund a large percentage of EWB’s budget for the next three years, making it possible for EWB teams to continue to plan ahead and, as R. Gordon puts it, “dream big.”

Additionally, EWB and the civil and environmental engineering department at Rice are working to further integrate the organization into the curriculum by creating a series of one-credit courses to introduce new members, as well as students university wide, to innovative technologies, intercultural communication skills, and the tools to successfully take a project from inception to completion. “The EWB program provides a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn the value and challenges of finding sustainable solutions to societal problems,” Keller-McNulty says. “Students are able to put their engineering skills to work, learn about civic responsibility, and simply have a lot of fun.”

Whether or not team members are south of the border or learning a new trick of the trade stateside, rest assured that members of EWB at Rice are out there strategizing what, where, and when their next challenge will be.