AguaClara and Ohio State University Collaboration

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RIDE (Research, Invent, Design, Empower) is ACR’s first research-based committee. RIDE partners with research institutions around the world to create more efficient, cost-effective, and reliable water treatment technologies. For the past few months, RIDE volunteers have been hard at work creating a multi-semester plan to roll out new AguaClara Programs at research institutions. RIDE’s primary objective in Spring 2021 is to ensure the successful startup of research at Ohio State University (OSU). The AguaClara OSU Program is the first student-led AguaClara research conducted outside of Cornell University, making for the newest AguaClara Program in 15 years. 

In 2018, Dr. Michael Hagenberger, a professor and Associate Dean from OSU, and Dr. Monroe Weber-Shirk, retired lecturer from Cornell, connected to discuss joint research opportunities and the successes of the student-led AguaClara program. Dr. Hagenberger sent an OSU student, Mike Reese, to work with the AguaClara Cornell team in the summer of 2019 to learn about the team and take lessons back to OSU. Since 2019, Dr. Hagenberger, Mike Reese, and Patrick Sours, a Senior Lecturer from OSU, have worked with ACR to prepare for the launch of an AguaClara OSU program.

Students at OSU began their in-person classes on January 18th, 2021 which also marked the start of their AguaClara research. Leading up to the start of the semester, RIDE provided OSU with a list of research topics, each with a short description summarizing the main research objectives. This list allowed students to learn about AguaClara research objectives and pick topics inline with their interests and experience. From the options available, OSU students selected the Depth Filtration project and created a subteam tasked with studying how varying parameters of flow rate, sand size, and coagulant dosage may affect AguaClara’s stacked rapid sand filters’ performance. Four students at OSU will be a part of the AguaClara Program at OSU this semester.

After the research topic was picked, RIDE created a comprehensive purchasing list for OSU to ensure that all required materials are prepared. 

A schematic of a lab bench setup provided to the OSU team as reference. Research teams, with the support of RIDE, will design their own testing setups and research plans.

A schematic of a lab bench setup provided to the OSU team as reference. Research teams, with the support of RIDE, will design their own testing setups and research plans.

AguaClara Cornell’s 15 years of research experience has given RIDE expertise to identify supplies needed for various research projects. RIDE used this background to make a custom purchasing guide that OSU will use to select all of their lab equipment based on their research grant budget.

When the supplies arrive on campus, RIDE will begin the last phase of the AguaClara Program setup which involves assembling the lab bench along with its most critical components. To assist with the assembly, RIDE provides a detailed list of instructions to allow in-person students to easily designate responsibilities and maximize efficiency. After the lab is ready for research, a dedicated team of RIDE members will continuously support and advise students on their current research. Remote support comes in the form of emails, videos calls, and occasional in-person visits from RIDE members who live nearby.

Thank you to everyone who has worked to make this partnership a success! ACR is so excited to welcome the OSU team to the AguaClara family. We look forward to sharing research updates from Cornell and OSU soon.

If you are interested in getting involved as a RIDE volunteer or want to learn more about starting an AguaClara Research Program, please email Matthew Cimini at mcimini@aguaclarareach.org.


Author: Matthew Cimini

Humans of AguaClara: Pedro Barahona

Interview with Pedro in January 2019.

Interview with Pedro in January 2019.

As the health director in Las Vegas, Honduras, Pedro Barahona has seen how improvements in  water quality lead to positive changes in public health.

The town of Las Vegas, Honduras.

The town of Las Vegas, Honduras.

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AguaClara Cornell students interviewed Pedro in January 2019 and learned about the impact of the water treatment plant on community health. The original Spanish transcript of the interview is below, with an English translation following.


Español:

¿Quién es y cuál es su papel? ¿Cuántos años tiene? ¿Cuáles son sus responsabilidades?

Tengo 55 años y llevo trabajando 32 años en el sistema de salud. Soy el responsable de la parte de salud ambiental.

¿Qué se nota en relación con la diferencia entre la calidad del agua antes y después de la planta de AguaClara?

Desde que empezó a funcionar la planta, nosotros siempre hacíamos monitoreos en cuanto a la calidad de agua de aquí. Es nuestra obligación. Posteriormente de que empezara a funcionar la planta, continuamos haciendo esos monitores, por lo que hemos podido ver la diferencia entre consumir agua no apta para el consumo (porque así era esa agua) y la que consumimos ahora que ya funciona la planta. Los resultados se ven en la cantidad de gente que llega a consulta al centro de salud.

¿Qué entiende la gente sobre el agua?

Ahora pueden consumir el agua directamente de la llave.

¿Qué hacían antes?

Pues, consumir agua embotellada.

¿Y ha tenido casos en los que la gente solía beber agua contaminada?

Sí, es parte de la estadística que nosotros no manejamos.

¿Y puede notar la correlación entre beber agua mala y el tipo de síntomas?

Sí.

¿Y cómo fue la vida antes? ¿Qué cambios ha notado?

Ha habido un cambio en la población, cambios en su estilo de vida, en su organismo. Los resultado que ves, se deben a que la población en general está consumiendo agua más segura.

¿Puede contarme de un momento memorable específico?

Particularmente conozco gente que anteriormente padecía de dolores estomacales, parasitismo intestinal, y venía mucho al centro de salud. Ahora ya no llegan.

¿Cómo y por qué consiguió este trabajo?

Eso fue a través de una capacitación intensa de 3 años y luego una selección. Éramos casi 200 personas y de esas quedamos 50. De ahí, entré en este trabajo.

¿Y fue aquí?

No, no. Éramos personas de diferentes partes del país que fuimos a realizar un examen de admisión. Pasamos ese examen y de ahí conseguimos la capacitación.

¿Cuál es su relación con Las Vegas y por qué se cuídalo?

Vivo aquí porque aquí tengo mi sede de trabajo. Fui asignado a este centro de salud, pero no fue mi propia decisión. Nos distribuyeron así.

¿Podría describir su papel en términos de su trabajo en la comunidad?

Mi trabajo va encaminado hacia actividades relacionadas con la municipalidad. La empresa minera nos apoya a nosotros para desarrollar las actividades que tenemos encomendadas.

¿Cuál podría decir que es tu motivación?

Bueno, pues me gusta trabajar con la gente. Aquí soy bastante popular y la gente me quiere porque me he ganado la confianza de la gente.

¿Cuál es la mayor satisfacción de su trabajo?

Es poder servir a la gente.

¿De que está más orgulloso?

Ver los resultados en la gente que yo he ayudado.

¿Puede describir esos resultados? ¿Algún momento en particular?

Por ejemplo, un señor que vino con una serpiente al centro de salud. Aquí no se manejaba el antídoto necesario. Así que, yo lo traslade en mi vehículo a San Pedro Sula al hospital. 

¿Dónde ves margen de mejora?

En mi trabajo con respecto a la salud ambiental, porque no se cuenta con todas las herramientas necesarias. Por ejemplo, un vehículo, herramientas como por ejemplo los aparatos para realizar los análisis de agua y todo eso;  la incubadora, con la que se toma la muestra para análisis bacteriológicos.

¿Qué lo motiva a despertarse cada mañana?

El hecho de tener que trabajar y tomarme un cafecito.

Si pudiera pedir algunos comentarios del equipo de AguaClara, ¿qué cree que podría mejorarse?

El grupo AguaClara ha hecho una gran labor al ayudar a que esta planta esté funcionando mejor.

Si pudiera enviar un mensaje final para alguien leyendo esto, ¿qué sería?

Siempre tiene que haber esa proyección hacia las necesidades de aquí, de honduras; hacia la aplicación de este tipo de proyectos, porque los resultados se ven y los podemos palpar. Tenemos pruebas de casos en los que la salud de las personas ha mejorado debido al hecho de estar consumiendo agua segura.


English:

Who you are and what is your role? How old are you? What are your responsibilities?

I am 55 years old and I have been working in the health system for 32 years. I am responsible for the environmental health part.

What do you notice in relation with the difference between the water quality before and after the AguaClara plant?

Since the plant started operating, we have always monitored the water quality here. It is our responsibility. We continued to do this monitoring, so we have been able to see the difference between consuming water not suitable for consumption, and the water we consume nowadays. The results can be seen in the fewer number of people who come to the health center.

What do the people understand about the water quality?

Now they can consume the water directly from the tap.

What did they do before?

Well, they consumed bottled water.

And have you had cases in which people used to drink contaminated water?

Yes, although it is part of the statistics that we do not handle.

And can you notice the correlation between drinking bad water and the kind of symptoms?

Yes.

And how was life before? What changes have you noticed?

There have been changes in the population, changes in their lifestyle, in their bodies. The results you see are due to the fact that the general population is consuming safer water.

Can you tell me about a specific memorable moment?

Particularly I know people who previously suffered from stomach pains, intestinal parasitism, and came to the health center a lot. Now they do not come.

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How and why did you get this job?

I got this job through an intense 3-year training and then a selection process. There were almost 200 people from which 50 were chosen. I was among the 50.

And that was here?

No. We were people from different parts of the country who went to take an admission exam. We passed that exam and then we got the training.

So what is your relationship with Las Vegas and why do you care about it ?

I live here because I have my workplace here. I was assigned to this health center, but it was not my own decision. They distributed us like this.

Could you describe your role in terms of your work in the community?

My work is directed towards activities related to the municipality. The mining company supports us to develop the activities that we are entrusted with.

What could you say is your motivation?

Well, I like working with people. Here I am quite popular and people love me because I have gained people's trust.

What is the greatest satisfaction of your work?

It is being able to serve people.

What are you most proud of?

Seeing the outcomes of the people that I have helped.

Can you describe those outcomes? Any particular moments?

For example, a man who was bitten by a snake came to the health center. We did not have the correct antidote so I transported him in my vehicle to San Pedro Sula’s hospital.

Where do you see room for improvement?

I see room for improvement in my work related to environmental health because not all the necessary tools are available. For example, we don’t have a vehicle, tools such as devices for water analysis and all that; the incubator, with which the sample is taken for bacteriological analysis, etc.

What motivates you to get out of bed every morning?

My work and being able to drink a cup of coffee.

If you could ask for some feedback from the AguaClara team, what do you think could be improved?

The AguaClara group has done a great job helping to make this plant work better.

If you could send one final message for anyone reading this, what would be?

There must always be concern towards the needs here of Honduras. We need people who care and want the implementation of these types of projects, because the results are visible and we can feel them. We have so many cases where peoples’ health have improved due to the fact that they are drinking safe water.


  • Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot and plant photos), Melissa Louie (town photos)

  • Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Interviewed: January 2019

  • Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

  • Author: Melissa Louie

Humans of AguaClara: Wilfredo Serrano

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Wilfredo Serrano is a civil engineer who supervised the construction of the water treatment plant at Gracias Lempira from 2018 to 2019. A previous engineer with Agua Para el Pueblo, Wilfredo has been involved with AguaClara plants for over a decade, and has worked on a diverse set of water projects throughout Honduras.

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Students from AguaClara Cornell met and interviewed Wilfredo in January 2019, when the construction of the 120 liters per second (2.74 million gallons per day) Gracias plant was underway. Read the original Spanish interview below, or the translated English following, to hear about Wilfredo’s role.

Construction progress of the sedimentation tanks.

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Construction progress of the filter boxes.

The completed AguaClara treatment plant in Gracias Lempira, Honduras.

The completed AguaClara treatment plant in Gracias Lempira, Honduras.


Español

¿Quién es? ¿Cuáles son sus roles?

Soy ingeniero civil. Mi nombre es Wilfredo Serrano y soy el supervisor de la planta. Mi responsabilidad principal es la seguridad de las personas. Me tengo que asegurar de que no haya accidentes, evitarlos por lo menos. En segundo lugar, es la calidad de la obra. Que cada obra que se esté construyendo cumpla con los requisitos de calidad buscados, en el hormigón, en el acero, en los demás materiales... Yo tengo que estar revisando todo eso. Y en tercer lugar, lo relacionado con el ambiente. Tengo que asegurar que no se esté perjudicando el ambiente, tirando basuras etc y que no dejemos el lugar en el que trabajamos sucio. Son tres cosas básicas por las que yo tengo que estar aquí.

Yo me inicie cuando conocí a Monroe. Yo trabajaba con Agua para el Pueblo que es la institución que trabaja en esto. Conocí a Monroe hace muchos años (10 años mas o menos) y desde entonces, comenzamos a trabajar en las primeras plantas. Ya se había construido la primera. Yo la fui a ver. Después de eso, se tomaron algunas ideas y de ahí empezamos a trabajar sucesivamente. Termine mi contrato con Agua para el Pueblo y desde entonces me dedico  a supervisar esta planta.

¿Sigue trabajando para Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)?

No. Yo ahora me dedico a la supervisión de la municipalidad. La municipalidad de Gracias contrató a “Agua para el Pueblo” para que construyera la planta. La municipalidad también me contrató ami para que yo supervisara la planta. El financiamiento de esta planta es gracias a la  cooperación española, que es la que da los fondos a la municipalidad. Hay todo un equipo de gestión.

¿Podría describir cómo se siente en su papel en términos de la relación entre el agua y la comunidad?

Me siento orgulloso con lo que sucede en esta planta. El agua viene de allá, pasa directamente a unos tanques y después a la comunidad. El agua, especialmente en invierno, viene con bastante turbidez. Cuando el agua entra aquí , el agua se trata por lo que el agua que se recibe en las casas es de calidad. Además en la comunidad se van a realizar obras para que no haya fugas y haya una buena utilidad del agua. 

Faltaria la parte relacionada con la socialización del agua de la comunidad. Con socialización me refiero a hacer entender a la gente que ahora tienen una mejor calidad, por lo tanto ese agua tiene que ser única y exclusivamente para el uso doméstico. Ya no se debería poder utilizar el agua para vehículos, para regar la calle, para regar cultivos etc. Va a haber que hacer un trabajo de concienciación.

¿Qué le parece tener agua limpia?

Para mi es importante. Sobre todo en el plano profesional. Uno va creciendo su experiencia. Estar en estas plantas me da más estatus. Además, trabajar y ser parte de este proyecto para mi es importante porque se el beneficio que va a tener la comunidad de Gracias al construir la planta. 

¿Puede hablar un poco de su infancia? ¿Por qué estudió Ingeniería Civil?

Yo nací en un pueblo fronterizo con El Salvador. Después me fuí a San Pedro Zula a estudiar. Comencé a estudiar administración de empresas. Pero yo era muy bueno para las matemáticas, Alguien me dijo que porque estudiaba administración de empresas y no ingeniería civil. Entonces fui a la facultad de ingeniería aver de que se trataba la ingeniería y en ese momento, supe que este era mi campo. Dibujar, hacer planos. Me gusta mucho. Ahí es cuando me cambié de carrera. 

¿Puede contarnos un poco sobre la calidad del agua y cómo cambió a medida que crecía?

Nosotros nos abastecemos de pozos. No había un sistema de tuberías ni de agua potable. Yo de pequeño andaba mucho para traer agua en el hombro para casa. Había un pozo exclusivo de agua para beber y otro para lavar la ropa. Con el tiempo llegó la institución y construyó el primer proyecto de agua. Nosotros decíamos que era agua potable simple y sencillamente porque llegaba en un tubo. No sabíamos qué aunque viniera en un tubo podía ser no potable. Con el tiempo fuimos entendiendo que era necesario potabilizar el agua para tomarla y que sea consumida por la gente.

¿Tiene hijos?

Si, yo tengo 31 años de casado. Tengo 3 hijos, una hembra dos varones y un nieto.

¿Qué se motiva a levantarse de la cama cada mañana?

Trabajar. El trabajo y mi familia. Yo trabajo para mi familia, para poder darles lo que ellos necesitan en sus estudios, alimentación y todo eso.

¿Cuál es su motivación para mejorar?

Cada trabajo que hago, trato de indagar más sobre lo que estoy haciendo. Es como descubrir mas de lo que estoy haciendo. Para tener más experiencia y conocimiento. También investigo mucho gracias a el internet. Todo está ahí. Me intereso más en trabajos que son de diseño de oficina etc. Yo trabajé mucho en la montaña, caminando mucho. Ya no tengo tanta capacidad para ello. Puedo dar mas de mi diseñando, organizando proyectos para que los ingenieros jóvenes sean los que vayan a la montaña.

¿Puede describir cualquier momento del que esté particularmente orgulloso?

Mi trabajo ha sido muy interesante. Por ejemplo, todos los proyectos que yo he hecho han sido de beneficio para mucha gente. Yo he trabajado en el área rural, en el campo, en proyectos de agua, alcantarillado etc. Todo eso ha sido de gran beneficio para mi y para los demás. Puedo añadir además que cada proyecto que he hecho es una gran satisfacción. Siempre estoy pendiente de proyectos que hice hace 20 años. Me interesa saber si funcionan bien, si se cometió un error etc.

¿Qué parte de su trabajo le da más satisfacción?

Creo que la construcción de un proyecto. Su construcción, ejecución y finalización para poderlo entregar. Es el momento más satisfactorio como ingeniero. Hay que tener en cuenta todo el esfuerzo hecho y todas las personas involucradas. El momento más satisfactorio será cuando todo funcione correctamente y tengamos el agua completamente clara. 

¿Qué mensaje final le gustaría enviar a alguien leyendo o escuchando esto?

Estoy sumamente agradecido con Monroe, porque él vino a Honduras establecer este tipo de plantas. Las plantas que han existido anteriormente tenian una tecnologia muy grande, difícil de manejar y eran muy caras. Este tipo de plantas, son plantas que nosotros mismos las podemos construir. Los materiales son muy accesibles. Gracias a Monroe y a los estudiantes de la Universidad de Cornell, que se enfocaron en nuestro país para hacer este tipo de plantas. Aquí se ha tratado de potabilizar el agua de cualquier manera. El esfuerzo es muy grande y creo que pocos van a entender el costo que tiene este estudio. Si la Universidad de Cornell nos cobrara, no podríamos pagarlo. La llegada de vosotros como estudiantes aquí, no podemos pagarla. Todo ese beneficio que obtenemos por parte de ustedes es muy valioso. 

¿Cómo podemos mejorar en nuestro proyecto para ayudarle?

Creo que lo que hacéis es muy grande. Estamos muy satisfechos del trabajo que hacen y no se les puede pedir más. Hacen demasiado hasta con venir hasta aquí. Pero no, yo creo que esta todo bien. Muchas gracias. No puedo pediros más.

¿Cuál es su visión para el futuro de Honduras?

Honduras está pasando por una situación política y económica muy difícil. Desde hace unos años, todo ha cambiado. Esto a aumentado la violencia. Vosotros podéis ver como mucha gente está viajando a EEUU. Yo creo que la mejor manera de ayudar a mi país es cambiar yo mismo y cambiar a mis propios hijos. Creo que esta situación difícil nos va  ayudar a entender que tenemos que sacar fuerzas de las situaciones de debilidad. Que tenemos que pensar más a quien votamos y elegimos para nuestros presidente y diputados. Que sean personas que lleguen al gobierno y piensen en ayudarnos. Tenemos que evitar la corrupción. Tienen que pensar en ir al gobierno  ha ayudar a los demás. Tenemos que formar conciencia. Ya no nos interesa un partido u otro, si no que estamos interesado en una persona dispuesta a ayudarnos.


English

What is your name? What are your roles?

I'm a civil engineer. My name is Wilfredo Serrano and I am the supervisor of the plant. My main responsibility is the safety of people. I have to make sure that there are no accidents, or avoid them at least. Secondly, my other responsibility is the quality of the construction and labor. Each component being built has to meet the quality requirements, in concrete, steel, other materials, and I have to be reviewing all that. And thirdly, the other one is related to the environment. I have to ensure that the environment is not being damaged and that we do not leave the place where we work dirty. These are the three basic things that I have to be here for.

I started when I first met Monroe. I worked with Agua para el Pueblo which is the institution that works on this. I met Monroe many years ago (10 years or so) and since then, we started working on the first plants. The first one had already been built. I went to see it. After that, some ideas were taken and from there, we started working successively. I finished my contract with Agua para el Pueblo and since then I have been in charge of supervising this plant.

Are you still working for Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)?

No. I now dedicate myself to the supervision for the municipality. The municipality of Gracias hired Agua para el Pueblo to build the plant. The municipality also hired me to supervise the plant. The financing of this plant is thanks to the Spanish cooperation, which is what gives the funds to the municipality. There is a whole management team.

Could you describe how you feel in your role in terms of the relationship between the water and the community?

I feel proud of what happens on this plant. The water comes from there, passes directly to some tanks and then to the community. Water, especially in winter, comes quite turbid. When water enters here, water is treated so that the water received in the houses is water of quality. Also in the community they are going to carry out some work so that there are no leaks and there is a good use of water.

The part related to the socialization of community water would be missing. By socialization I mean making people understand that they now have a better quality water. Therefore, that water has to be exclusively for domestic use. Water should no longer be used for vehicles, to irrigate the street, to irrigate crops, etc. We have to make people aware of this.

How do you feel about having clean water?

For me it is important. Especially on the professional level. You grow your experience. Being in these plants gives me more status. In addition, working and being part of this project for me is important because I know the benefit that the community of Gracias will have when building these plants.

Can you talk a little bit about your childhood? Why did you study Civil Engineering?

I was born in a border town with El Salvador. Then I went to San Pedro Sula to study. I started studying business administration. But I was very good at math. Someone asked me why I was studying business administration and not civil engineering. Then I went to the engineering school to see what engineering was about and at that moment, I knew that this was my field. Draw, make plans. I like it very much. That's when I changed my studies.

Can you tell us a little bit about the water quality and how it changed as you grew up?

We took the water from wells. There wasn’t any pipe system for drinking water. When I was a child, I walked a lot to bring water on my shoulder at home. There was an exclusive well for drinking water, and another one for washing clothes. Over time the institution arrived and built the first water project. We said it was drinking water simply because it came in a tube. We didn't know that even if it came in a tube it could be non-potable. Over time we understood that it was necessary to drink water to drink it and be consumed by people.

Do you have kids?

Yes. I have been married 31 years. I have 3 children, one daughter and two sons. Also I have a grandchild.

What motivates you to get up from bed every morning?

To work. The work and my family. I work for my family, to be able to give them what they need in their studies, food and all that.

What is your motivation to improve?

In every job I do, I try to find out more about what I am doing. It's like discovering more about what I'm doing in order to have more experience and knowledge. I also research a lot thanks to the internet. Everything is there. I am more interested in jobs that are office design. I worked a lot on the mountain, walking so much. I no longer have that capacity for it. I can give more of myself designing and organizing projects so that young engineers are the ones who go to the mountain.

Can you describe a moment that you are particularly proud of?

My work has been very interesting. For example, all the projects that I have done have been of benefit to many people. I have worked in the rural area, in the countryside, in water projects, sewerage. All of that has been of great benefit to me and others. I can also add that each project I have done is a great satisfaction. I am always aware of projects I did 20 years ago. I am interested to know if they work well, if an error was made.

Which part of your job gives you most satisfaction?

I think the construction of a project. Its construction, execution and completion to deliver it is the most satisfying moment as an engineer. We must take into account all the effort made and all the people involved. The most satisfying moment will be when everything works correctly and we have completely clear water.

What final message would you like to send to anyone reading or listening to this?

I am extremely grateful to Monroe, because he came to Honduras to establish these types of plants. The plants that have existed previously had a very large technology, difficult to handle and were very expensive. These types of plants are plants that we can build ourselves. The materials are very accessible. Thanks to Monroe and the students of Cornell University, who focused on our country to make these types of plants. Here we have tried to purify water in any way. The effort is very large and I think few will understand the cost of this study. If Cornell University charged us, we couldn't pay it. The arrival of you as students here, we cannot afford it. All that benefit we get from you is very valuable.

How can we improve in our project to help you?

I think that what you do is very big. We are very satisfied with the work you do and we cannot ask for more. You do too much even coming here. But no, I think everything is fine. Thank you. I can not ask for more.

What is your vision for the future of Honduras?

Honduras is going through a very difficult political and economic situation. For a few years, everything has changed. This has increased violence. You can see how many people are traveling to the US. I believe that the best way to help my country is to change myself and change my own children. I think this difficult situation will help us understand that we have to draw strength from situations of weakness. That we have to think more about who we vote for and elect for our president and deputies. They have to be people who come to the government and think about helping us. We have to avoid corruption. They have to think about going to the government to help the others. We have to form awareness. We are no longer interested in one party or another, but we are interested in a person willing to help us.


  • Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot and plant photos), Nicole Wang (plant photo), Melissa Louie (plant photo)

  • Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Interviewed: January 2019

  • Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

  • Author: Melissa Louie

AIDE Minimum Viable Product Completion

After years of work by incredible students at AguaClara Cornell, the AIDE v2 MVP is finally ready! What is AIDE, and what is an MVP? The AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine is AguaClara’s automated water treatment plant design tool. The first version used Mathcad and AutoCAD, but the second uses Onshape, FeatureScript, and Python, as detailed in the first blog post. Since then, the Minimum Viable Product, a version with just enough features to be usable by the first customers, has been finished!

The MVP contains a number of features implemented via a 3-level design. Most important is the ability to configure the entire plant or individual components using hydraulic calculations which update the geometry appropriately. This enables a user to modify a 3D model of an AguaClara Plant by changing the flow rate and temperature input parameters. These parameters cascade through a series of calculations for each unit process, with results of one set of equations informing the inputs for another.

The first functional AguaClara plant model in AIDE v2, consisting of an entrance tank, flocculator, and sedimentor, responds to changes to design flow rate and temperature.

The MVP is for 0.6 to 6 Liters per second (Lps) (roughly equivalent to 10-100 gallons per minute (gpm)) plants and includes the entrance tank, flocculator, and sedimentor as that is the simplest configuration of multiple unit processes which AguaClara Reach plans to build. There is also the option to change more obscure design inputs, such as maximum velocity gradient through the flocculator, but that is not shown in the GIF above.

After the model is parameterized, it can be passed into the documentation engine, which replaces variables with their measurements from the model! To test this, you can paste this URL into the documentation engine, and select either English or Spanish, and ‘PDF’ from the dropdowns.

LFOM.png

The last piece of AIDE is validation. Testing first occurs before the model is built to catch any preliminary errors in the FeatureScript hydraulic functions. Then, Python is used to validate the model output. For example, given an Linear Flow Orifice Meter (LFOM) the tool verifies that the maximum design flow rate is correct within a tolerance and checks that the flow is linear across each row.

A table of LFOM variables which were replaced by their values from the model.

A table of LFOM variables which were replaced by their values from the model.

The last piece of AIDE is validation. Testing first occurs before the model is built to catch any preliminary errors in the FeatureScript hydraulic functions. Then, Python is used to validate the model output. For example, given an Linear Flow Orifice Meter (LFOM) the tool verifies that the maximum design flow rate is correct within a tolerance and checks that the flow is linear across each row.

FeatureScript tests the kinematic viscosity function.

FeatureScript tests the kinematic viscosity function.

Maximum LFOM flow rate calculation.

Maximum LFOM flow rate calculation.

Graph of LFOM linearity.

Graph of LFOM linearity.

So what’s next after completing the MVP? The flow rate range will be extended to at least 60 Lps (1,000 gpm) and the model will incorporate other plant components, like the filter and chemical dose controller. But first, the MVP needs to be validated and any bugs fixed. If you’d like to help (no experience or technical skills required!), please fill out this form and we will reach out in January when we begin beta testing.


  • Blog Post Author: Fletcher Chapin

Humans of AguaClara: Marjorie Mayr

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Marjorie Mayr, an alumnus of both Zamorano University and Cornell University, spoke with AguaClara Cornell students in January 2019 about her current position as the president of waterboard “Junta Administradora de Agua y Saneamiento de la Comunidad de Tatumbla” in the municipality of Tatumbla, Francisco Morazan, Honduras. She spoke about her passion for the environment - in fact, before the establishment of the waterboard she actively participated in the Water Division of Tatumbla working towards clean water and sanitary conditions for everyone.

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The original English interview with Marjorie is shown below, with the Spanish translation following.


English

Who are you? What's your background?

My name is Marjorie Mayr and I have been living in this community (Tatumbla) for over 25 years. I studied agriculture at [Zamorano University]. I also studied towards a Master in Professional Studies at Cornell in Rural Development. Even though I have been living here [in Tatumbla], I wasn't involved in local water projects all these years because of my previous jobs.

When I came here 25 years ago, we didn't have the water problems we have today. These problems are happening because of the increasing population and environmental damages. I've seen throughout the years how our water supply has been declining and so about five years ago, I was invited to a meeting. I really didn't know what was going to happen and I ended up becoming  a member of the Water Division. So in a Water Division model the Mayor becomes the president who then chooses two of his council [members]. The other four members of the Water Division are chosen from the community as representatives of civil society. In November 2018, as civil society we decided that the model of the Water Division was not working efficiently because we continued having a Mayor and Council [Members] looking after their own interests and not the communities. We continued to see their political agenda and water was not their main concern. Recently we had general elections in Honduras and a new mayor was chosen. We decided to give him time to understand and get involved in the water issues as the new president of the Water Division. After nine months we concluded we were not going anywhere with the situation. So in November 2018, we reached out to the National Entity that regulates water boards and [said] we want[ed] to become an autonomous water board that could work without political interventions. When the elections for the water board were held, I was elected as the president. One other person and myself had been members of the Water Division and we served as a good transition for the new water board. Being president of a water board requires a lot of time which makes me wonder how sustainable water boards are in doing their job. It is a volunteer position. Obviously there are waterboards that [have] proven that it is possible. Definitely, it should be the local government providing us with clean water and sanitation. It should not be the responsibility of civil society, but I guess that in the developing world, things don't work so well, in terms of what local and national governments should do. That is one of the reasons these models emerge in order to do what needs to be done.

Can you tell me a little bit about your personal story, and how that motivates you to get involved in?

I have been living here for 25 years, and water was not an issue. I moved here with my family and we had sufficient water for what we needed. Then, we started seeing that the water situation was getting worse. Something had to be done and it wasn't happening. 

Could you describe how you noticed this?

One simple reason. Basically in Honduras we have two seasons, the wet and the dry. When it is raining, nobody [has] concerns about water, we have more water than we need. But then during the dry months, there is less water, and it has to be rationed. And every year the rationing was getting more and more severe.

Is that rationing done through policy/government?

It happens in many parts of Honduras and is decided by the entity that manages water services to specific communities or cities. It has to be done because there isn't enough water for everybody. And now, we also have to do it here in Tatumbla. We had to start because water sources are diminishing and there isn't enough water . I remember in 1995, when we moved here, there weren't water problems like now. In a short amount of time we are able to see all these changes. Unfortunately, we have serious environmental issues. The streams which are not extremely abundant, are now more exposed to the sun because of loss of  trees due to the pine bark beetle.  [Additionally] during the dry season it's very common to have forest fires. They shouldn't have to happen every year, but sadly most fires in Honduras are intentional. And after the fires it’s easier to cut the trees for firewood. Honduras is considered one of the three most vulnerable countries of the world  to climate change. Recently, I read this year we are going to be affected by another drought. 

What was your motivation to get into this?

I have always been passionate about the environment. I think it is the most important thing and we have to take care of it. It's the basis for life, it provides us with air, water. I think that is where quality of life begins. This was the perfect moment in my life where I had the time, knowledge and responsibility to do something about it. 

Have you seen any rejection because you are a woman? 

Not really. In fact, the other person who is transitioning from the Water Division into the water board is also another woman.

Is that typical?

I don't know. Maybe it is not so typical but I have never felt any issues for being a woman. In fact, in November when we had the election for the waterboard four women were elected out of a total of seven members.

Could you describe a moment that you would like to share?

We are very proud when we come to this water treatment plant and we see it is functioning well. Because, like I said before, I had a full time job, so I had to do a lot of personal sacrifices in order to achieve something I believed in. This gives me a lot of satisfaction.


Español

¿Quién es usted? ¿Cuál es su experiencia?

Mi nombre es Marjorie Mayr y he estado viviendo en esta comunidad de Tatumbla por más de 25 años. Estudié agricultura en la universidad que van a visitar mañana, Zamorano. También tengo una maestría en Desarrollo Rural de la Universidad de Cornell. Aunque he vivido todo este tiempo en esta comunidad no estaba involucrada en estos proyectos de agua todos estos años por mis trabajos.

Cuando vine aquí hace 25 años, no teníamos los problemas de hoy. Estos problemas están ocurriendo debido al aumento de la población y el deterioro  ambiental, así que he visto a lo largo de los años como nuestro suministro de agua ha disminuido y así que hace casi 5 años, fui invitada a una reunión. Realmente no sabía lo que iba a pasar y terminé formando parte de la División Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento. En el modelo de División el alcalde es el presidente que luego elige a dos de sus regidores los otros 4 miembros los conforman personas como yo de la sociedad civil. Por eso hemos estado intentando hacer algo por el agua durante los últimos dos años. En noviembre de 2018, como sociedad civil  decidimos que el modelo de División no funcionaba eficazmente porque seguíamos teniendo un alcalde y regidores que velan más por  sus propios intereses. (Seguimos viendo los intereses políticos) y que el agua no es su principal preocupación. Recientemente en Honduras tuvimos elecciones generales  y tenemos un nuevo alcalde y decidimos darle tiempo para que se involucrara e informara sobre la situación del agua. Pero después de nueve meses decidimos que no estábamos avanzando con esta situación. En noviembre de 2018, solicitamos  a la entidad nacional que regula las juntas de agua y les dijimos que queríamos pasar al modelo de junta de agua con autonomía y así poder  administrar sin injerencia política. Otra compañera de la División y yo  fuimos electas y pasamos a ser parte de la Junta de agua, algo muy bueno para poder darle inicio a la nueva junta de agua. Fui electa como presidenta y esto requiere mucho tiempo. Es un puesto totalmente voluntario. A veces me pregunto si las juntas de agua son capaces de hacer todo el trabajo que se requiere, obviamente hay juntas de agua que sí han demostrado que es posible. Definitivamente, debería ser el gobierno local el que nos proporcione el servicio de  agua limpia y saneamiento. No debería ser responsabilidad de la sociedad civil, pero supongo que en países  en desarrollo como Honduras donde las cosas no funcionan tan bien como debían tanto a nivel de los  gobiernos locales y nacional la sociedad civil debe involucrarse para resolver necesidades tan básicas como el acceso al agua.. Es así como surgen modelos como el de las juntas de agua con el fin de hacer lo que hay que hacer.

¿Me puede contar un poco sobre su historia personal, y cómo eso te motiva a participar?

He  vivido aquí durante 25 años, y el agua no era un problema. Me mudé aquí con mi familia y teníamos agua suficiente para todo lo que necesitábamos. Pero con los años  empezamos a ver que la situación del agua estaba empeorando.

¿Podría describir cómo se dio cuenta de esto?

Una explicación sencilla. Básicamente en Honduras tenemos dos estaciones, la época de lluvias y la seca. Cuando llueve, nadie tiene preocupaciones sobre el agua, tenemos más agua de la que necesitamos. Pero luego durante los meses secos, no hay agua, hay más racionamiento.Y el racionamiento cada vez era más fuerte. 

¿Se hace ese racionamiento a través de políticas/gobierno?

Cada prestador del servicio de agua en una comunidad o ciudad decide como racionara el suministro del agua. En Tatumbla hubo  que hacerlo porque no había suficiente agua para todos. Y ahora, también tenemos que seguir racionando. Tenemos que comenzar ahora porque ya las fuentes de agua se están secando. Recuerdo que en 1995, cuando nos mudamos aquí, los problemas del agua no se percibian. Ahora podemos ver todos estos cambios. Por desgracia, tenemos graves problemas, daños  medioambientales que se ven por todos lados. Los arroyos que no son extremadamente abundantes, ahora están expuestos al sol debido a la muerte de miles de árboles a causa del gorgojo descortezador del pino. Muchos árboles fueron cortados y cayeron sobre los arroyos afectando el paso del agua Además  de eso, durante la estación seca sufrimos por incendios forestales que no deberían ocurrir todos los años lo peor es que la gran mayoría de los incendios en Honduras son intencionales.  Con los árboles quemados es más fácil ir a cortarlos para  leña. Honduras es considerado como uno de los tres países del mundo  más vulnerable ante el cambio climático. Recientemente leí que  este año vamos a ser afectados por otra sequía. .

¿Cuál fue su motivación para entrar en esto? 

Siempre me ha apasionado proteger el medio ambiente. Creo que es lo más importante y tenemos que cuidarlo. Es la base de la vida, ya que nos proporciona aire, agua, etc. Allí  comienza a generarse la calidad de vida. Este era el momento perfecto en mi vida donde tenía el tiempo, el conocimiento y la responsabilidad para hacer algo  al respecto.

¿Has visto algún rechazo porque eres una mujer?  

No realmente. De hecho, la otra persona que pasó de de la División de Agua a la junta de agua es otra mujer también.

¿Es eso típico?

No lo sé. Tal vez no es tan típico, pero nunca he sentido un problema aquí por ser una mujer. De hecho, en noviembre, cuando tuvimos las elecciones de la junta de agua nos eligieron a  cuatro mujeres de un total de siete miembros

¿Podría describir un momento que le gustaría compartir?

Estamos muy orgullosos cuando visitamos esta planta de tratamiento de aguas residuales y vemos que está funcionando. Porque, como dije antes, tenía un trabajo a tiempo completo, así que tuve que hacer muchos sacrificios personales para lograr algo en lo que creo. Esto me da mucha satisfacción.


  • Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot)

  • Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Interviewed: January 2019

  • Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

  • Blog Post Author: Melissa Louie

Thank You, Tata Cornell Institute!

AguaClara Reach as it currently stands, was born out of AguaClara LLC. One of our first partners (as AC LLC) was the Tata Cornell Institute (TCI). TCI was aware of the success of AguaClara water treatment plants in Honduras and wanted to find ways to bring this state of the art technology to India.

In March of 2013, TCI and AguaClara jointly visited Jharkhand, India to meet with  potential partners and visit representative communities that needed water treatment. During that visit, the team was connected to Pradan, an NGO working nationally in India on a variety of rural development projects, including community-built water supply systems. Pradan showed interest in AguaClara technologies, and together we decided to pilot our then new EStars Filters (low flow stacked rapid sand filters) to treat water supplied from lowland sanitary well at two villages - Gufu and Ronhe. Ronhe would go on to win an award from the State for being an exemplary water treatment project.

Our work with Pradan showed that while the EStars Filters were successful, Hydrodosers (automated chemical dosing system used for disinfection) were often sufficient to treat water derived from the sanitary wells. The water was already meeting WHO drinking water standards for turbidity year-round, but needed disinfection to remove waterborne pathogens. Following this, we piloted two stand alone Hydrodosers in the villages of Jolhakarma and Durgunia. Around this time, Gram Vikas was partnering with Pradan on a statewide village sanitation program and was able to see our water disinfection technology in action. They were interested in piloting the systems in the state of Odisha. We initiated the pilot in the village of Lahanda, where, seeing its potential, Gram Vikas sought to implement a plan to build their own capacity to scale the systems to as many of their partner villages as possible.

The completed Hydrodoser tower in Lahanda, India. 

The completed Hydrodoser tower in Lahanda, India. 

That initial pilot led to our most recent work with Gram Vikas and the Hydrodoser installations in Patimul and Majhi Ukhura, which were inaugurated earlier this year (previous blog posts). With the continued support of TCI, we have been able to focus not only on these installations, providing clean water to 360 people, but also on capacity building and training with Gram Vikas.

Commemoration plaque at the Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser.

Commemoration plaque at the Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser.

AguaClara Reach would like to extend a big thank you to the Tata Cornell Institute for supporting us early on and in our continued growth in India. Without TCI we would not have been able to position ourselves for long-term growth in Orissa or to establish in-country capacity to pilot numerous new and innovative AguaClara technologies for a variety of communities with diverse needs.

We also cannot forget those who made our early work possible: Pradan and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust for supporting the first pilots in India in the state of Jharkhand. Additionally, we thank Tata Steel for funding the first Orissa pilot. We thank the Ithaca Rotary Club for supporting our continued efforts to build capacity in-country, and Gram Vikas for partnering with us in our long-term vision for increasing access to safe drinking water on tap globally. 

We’d also like to thank several employees who were integral to our pilot work in Jharkhand: Dhaval Mehta, Sarah Long, Richa Gwalani, Guneet Sandu who helped on the ground in Jharkhand, Harrison Gill who worked from the US on the EStars design for the Jharkhand villages, and Chuck Brown and Sarah Weidel who helped at the US office home base during the Jharkhand pilots. We also want to recognize our past and current employees who have continued to scale the successes from Jharkhand to new frontiers - May Sharif, Subhani Katugampala, Emily Spiek, and Fletcher Chapin.

ACR Employee Fletcher Chapin with an inauguration banner at the Patimul Hydrodoser.

ACR Employee Fletcher Chapin with an inauguration banner at the Patimul Hydrodoser.

We also thank Shiulu Vanaja, a TCI scholar, for her study showing that women used the time saved in collecting drinking water in AguaClara villages was put towards other pro-health and income generating activities. Thank you all!

Leadership Update

Dear AguaClara Reach Volunteers & Supporters,

I have had the pleasure of serving as the President of the AguaClara Board of Directors for the last 16 months. Together with my fellow Board members, employees, and volunteers we have made solid progress for ACR. I would like to extend my most sincere gratitude to everyone who has been involved in this work.

My primary goal during this time has been to establish a strong foundation and easy to use building blocks for our organization. We have worked hard to create a structure, environment, and culture that best utilizes the skills and interests of our many volunteers. This has been crucial in allowing ACR to effectively make use of the non-monetary, time donations ACR volunteers have been so generous to offer - estimated at roughly 6,500 donated hours in the last year alone!

We have also been extremely fortunate to continue our project work - both in India with partners Gram Vikas and Tata Cornell Institute (read more here) and in our AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine development (read more here). This work would not have been possible without our dedicated employee, Fletcher Chapin, and past employees who continue to support our efforts, Emily Spiek, Subhani Katugampala, and May Sharif.

As I step down from the Presidency in anticipation of my upcoming maternity leave, I also want to thank our incoming and continuing Officers. New Officers were appointed through a special election, upon my resignation as President.  Zoe Maisel has been an excellent Secretary and is well prepared to tackle the challenges of serving as President. Subhani Katugampala, previously an ACR employee and a current Board Director will be stepping up into Secretary role. And we are extremely fortunate to have Blixy Taetzch continuing to serve as Treasurer. I will continue and look forward to serving as a Board Director and am so excited to see these three serving as ACR Officers, as they continue to lead ACR into the future.


Thank you,

Alissa Diminich

Humans of AguaClara: Samuel Alfredo Yanez

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Samuel Alfredo Yanez is a water treatment plant operator in Las Vegas, Honduras. Samuel is originally from Puerto Montes and came to Las Vegas when he was 15 years old.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

Samuel working with Luis to record plant operating data.

Samuel working with Luis to record plant operating data.

Samuel showing Agua Para el Pueblo and AguaClara Cornell students the Las Vegas filters.

Samuel showing Agua Para el Pueblo and AguaClara Cornell students the Las Vegas filters.

Sunlight highlighting the AguaClara sedimentation tank at Las Vegas.

Sunlight highlighting the AguaClara sedimentation tank at Las Vegas.

During the AguaClara Cornell trip to Honduras in January 2019, students spoke with Samuel about his background, position, and thoughts on how water treatment has changed his town. The original Spanish interview is shown below, with the English translation following.


Español

¿De donde es? ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí? ¿Qué estudió?

Lo primero de todo, yo soy de Puerto Montes, pero hace unos años que vivo aquí. Tengo 26 años y no he terminado la carrera de ingeniería industrial. La abandone por la mitad más o menos.

¿Así que creció en Puerto Montes?

Si desde los 5 años hasta aproximadamente los 15.

¿Cuándo vino aquí?

Cuando tenía 15 años.

¿Así que estuvo aquí antes de la construcción de la planta de Agua Clara?

Sí. Esta zona es bastante popular para los que andan en bicicleta y por eso venía mucho con mis amigos. En ese entonces todavía había agua en la Quebrada. En invierno se suele llenar, aunque ahora se mantiene bastante seca. En aquel entonces cuando vine, se mantenía muy llena siempre. 

¿Podría decirme un poco sobre cómo era la vida antes de la planta de AguaClara?

Ahora vivo en el barrio San Juan, que está bastante alejado de aquí, así que no recibe agua del centro de Las Vegas. Recibe agua de otro lugar.  Pero antes de eso, yo vivía aquí en el centro. Durante las tormentas, todo el mundo cerraba el grifo y no usaba agua porque todo el mundo sabía que el agua era puro lodo. En el caso de mi familia, teníamos tres filtros de agua, pero era lamentable porque después de la tormenta, aunque no usaramos el agua, había que abrir y sacar toda la suciedad acumulada de la tubería. Además, era necesario limpiar los filtros cada mes debido a la gran cantidad de suciedad y de acumulacion de lodo. Desde que la planta comenzó a trabajar, todo el mundo empezó a comentar acerca del agua, incluso las personas que no reciben agua de la planta.

¿Qué pasa con cómo el agua afectó a las personas antes de tener la planta?

No se podía cocinar. Para bañarse era necesario tener un suministro de agua de la época de no lluvias. Si no, era bañarse para nada. A veces, uno abría el grifo y se quedaba pensando si iba a salir más sucio al salir de la ducha que al entrar. Eso era lo que más se comentaba, así que por estas razones, todo el mundo usaba agua embotellada para beber. 

¿Qué hay de la gente que no podía pagar el agua embotellada?

Bueno, de aquí vienen los problemas de salud. Los que no podían permitírselo tenían que beber el agua del grifo a pesar de saber que estaba contaminada.

¿Cómo ve su papel en AguaClara?

De manera personal, dejando el trabajo de lado, para mi es uno de los papeles de los que me siento más orgulloso, porque he podido ver personalmente un cambio tanto en el sector de salud como en general en la población. Los operadores se quedan aquí y yo soy el que sale a la comunidad y pregunta que como se encuentra la gente. Me siento muy orgulloso del trabajo que hago. Realmente es una sensación bastante agradable porque todas las personas que reciben agua de la planta, cuando llego ha hablar con ellos me reciben como si fuera parte de la familia.

¿Cómo ve su papel en el futuro?

Solo espero en el momento en el que la planta pueda suministrar agua a todas las vegas y que todo el mundo pueda experimentar lo mismo. Por diferentes papeles que desempeñé antes de trabajar en la planta, todo el mundo me conoce. Esto es un pueblo muy pequeño, y ahí un dicho popular que dice pueblo chico, infierno grande. Eso significa que todo lo que el mundo hace va a ser sabido. Entonces ahora cuando hay mucha gente que pregunta cuando la planta va a suministrar agua a este sector. Yo me he tomado el gusto de informarle a todos. Es por ello que lo que yo siento es como si fuera yo la planta y mi futuro fuera poder suministrarle agua a toda la población.

¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de tu trabajo?

Todo. Pero especialmente la satisfacción de ver que cuando hay una tormenta y hay mucha turbidez en el agua, el agua entra sucia por un lado de la planta y por el otro sale completamente clara. Además de saber que nosotros aportamos y formamos parte de todo ese proceso. Nos sentimos parte de algo muy grande. Para todos nosotros eso es lo más especial de este trabajo.

¿Qué se motiva?

Creo que la motivación más grande es saber que de alguna manera, mi generación y las generaciones que siguen, van a depender de esta agua. Es importante para mi que tanto mis hijos, como mis nietos y la gente que hoy recibe el agua de la planta tenga la mejor calidad. Desde que empecé, me enamore de este proyecto y siempre me he visto impulsado por la idea de que al igual que ustedes, necesitamos agua limpia de la que sepamo que no va a afectar negativamente ni a mis hijos ni a mi familia. Esa es la motivación más grande. 

Básicamente creo que es lo que a todos en la planta nos mueve. We are constantly trying to improve the plant, even sometimes without the permission of AguaClara people. Experimentamos porque deseamos que esto se convierta en más de lo que vemos.

¿Cuál es la parte más difícil de su trabajo?

Con respecto a mi puesto de trabajo, creo que lo peor es tener que tratar con más gente. Es complicado guiar a personas con diferente caracteres y lograr que todo el mundo trabaje como un solo equipo. Agregando a esto, todo el mundo tiene una manera diferente de pensar, entonces hacer que todos se centren en una sola idea no suele ser fácil. Pero gracias a dios, hemos logrado que el equipo trabaje hasta ahora perfectamente.

¿De qué está más orgulloso?

Me siento orgulloso de demasiadas cosas, pero de la que más, de los resultados finales. Es el proyecto más importante de esta comunidad aunque mucha gente no lo crea.

¿Puede describir esos momentos que se hacen sentir orgulloso?

Nosotros hemos tenido algunos problemas para que la planta trabaje al 100. El momento en el que vemos todo funcionar como si fuera un reloj (cuando el agua entra y la dosis es correcta, los sedimentadores trabajan bien etc.) es el momento del que nos podemos sentir más orgullosos. 


English

Where are you from? How long have you been here? What did you study?

First of all, I am from Puerto Montes, but I have lived here for a few years. I am 26 years old and I have not yet finished my degree in industrial engineering.

So you grew up in Puerto Montes?

Yes, from 5 years to approximately 15.

When did you come here?

When I was 15.

So you were here before the construction of the Agua Clara plant?

Yes. This area is quite popular for those who ride bikes and that's why I came with my friends a lot. At that time, there was still water in the stream. In winter it is usually full, although now it is quite dry. At that time, it was always very full.

Could you tell me a little bit about what life was like before Agua Clara?

Now I live in the San Juan neighborhood, which is quite far from here, so I don't get water from downtown Las Vegas. We receive water from another place. But before that, I lived here in the center. During the storms, everyone turned off the tap and did not use water because everyone knew that the water was pure mud. My family had three water filters, but it was not enough because after every storm, even if we didn't use the water, we had to open and remove all the accumulated dirt from the pipe. In addition, it was necessary to clean the filters every month due to the large amount of dirt and mud accumulation. 

How did water quality affect people’s lives before the plant was built?

It was impossible to cook. To have a shower, it was necessary to have a water supply from the non-rainy periods. If not, it was a waste of time. Sometimes, one turned on the tap and kept wondering if one was going to get dirtier when leaving the shower than when entering. That was what was discussed most, so for these reasons, everyone used bottled water to drink.

And what about people that couldn’t afford bottled water?

Well, here comes the health problems. Those who could not afford it had to drink tap water despite knowing it was contaminated.

How do you see your role in AguaClara? 

Personally, it is one of the roles I feel most proud of because I have been able to personally see a change both in the health sector and among the population in general. I am the one who goes out to the community and asks how people are. I feel very proud of the work I do. It is really a pretty pleasant feeling because all the people who receive water from the plant, when I arrive to talk to them, they receive me as if I were part of their family.

How do you see your role in the future?

I am only waiting for the moment when the plant can supply water to all Las Vegas and that everyone can experience the same. From different roles I played before working at the plant, everyone knows me. This is a very small town, and there is a popular expression that says “small town, big hell”. That means that everything one does is going to be known. So now when there are people who ask me when the plant is going to supply water to their sector I take the pleasure of informing everyone. That is why I feel as if I were the plant, and my future was to be able to supply water to the entire population.

What do you love most about your work?

All. But especially the satisfaction of seeing that when there is a storm, and there is a lot of turbidity in the water, the water enters dirty on one side of the plant and on the other side it is completely clear. In addition to knowing that, we contribute and are part of that whole process. We feel like a part of something very big. For all of us that is the most special part of this work.

What motivates you?

I think the biggest motivation is to know that in some way, my generation and the generations that follow will depend on this water. It is important to me that both my children, and my grandchildren and the people who receive the water from the plant today, have the best quality. Since I started, I fell in love with this project and I have always been driven by the idea that, like you, we need clean water that will not negatively affect my children or my family. That is the biggest motivation.

Basically, I think that is what encourages all of us plant operators. We are constantly trying to improve the plant, even sometimes without the permission of AguaClara people. We experiment because we want this to become more than we see.

What is the hardest part of your job?

Regarding my job, I think the worst thing is having to deal with a lot of people. It is difficult to guide people with different characters and get everyone to work as a single team. In addition to this, everyone has a different way of thinking, so getting everyone to focus on one idea is usually not easy. But thank God, we have made the team work perfectly so far.

What are you most proud of?

I am proud of too many things, but the most important thing for me is the final results. It is the most important project of this community although many people do not believe it.

Can you describe those moments in which you feel most proud?

We have had some problems for the plant to work at 100%. The moment in which we see everything work as if it were a clock (when the water enters and the dose is correct, the settlers work well, etc.) is the moment we feel most proud.


  • Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Public (plant photo)

  • Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Interviewed: January 2019

  • Blog Post Authors: Melissa Louie and Kelly Ly

A Year in Summary

2020 has been a tough year for all of us. Despite the challenges, AguaClara Reach has accomplished a lot this year, from expanding our partnerships to progressing the AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine (AIDE). We could not have done this work without the support of our generous donors, and in order to continue our work into 2021 and beyond, we rely on the generosity of people like you who recognize the value of safe drinking water for all. We’re excited to announce the start of our End of Year Campaign, and we’d like to invite you to join us!  


Read below to learn about some of the projects that our supporters have helped fund in 2020, as well as the future projects that the End of Year Campaign will support in 2021:

What has ACR been working on this year?

AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine (AIDE)

In Summer 2020, a team of AguaClara Cornell (ACC) students and AguaClara Reach members worked on developing Version 2 of AIDE. The new version utilizes free software and open source computer languages (Onshape, FeatureScript, and Python), in lieu of paid software (MatchCAD, AutoCAD), to create a low-cost platform, which will enable users to to rapidly design customized AguaClara water treatment plants based on minimal design parameters and will allow us to bring AguaClara technology to even more communities around the world. 

Hydrodoser Projects in India 

On January 10, our ACR India Program Project Manager, Fletcher Chapin, arrived in Bhubaneswar, India to continue our work with Gram Vikas (GV) to deliver safe drinking water to  the Indian communities of Patimul and Majhi Ukhura. Fletcher assisted in managing the construction and startup of two Hydrodoser systems. His work involved training the GV engineers on construction, operation, and system design. GV also conducted site selection surveys for identifying potential locations for new Hydrodoser installations. 

Research, Invent, Design, Empower (RIDE) 

AguaClara Reach has a new committee! The RIDE committee, led by Matt Cimini, will be focusing on developing the framework for expanding the AguaClara research program to additional universities, schools, and institutions. ACR Volunteer Patrick Sours is leading the AguaClara research program at Ohio State University (OSU). This year, OSU students began work on an AguaClara plant design for their capstone design coursework. 

What does ACR hope to accomplish in 2021?

AIDE Version 2

The AIDE team will continue developing Version 2 of AIDE. The short-term goals include completing the CAD model for the chemical dosing system and writing design code for the filter system. The AIDE team will also work on optimizing existing models and improving the efficiency of the design engine. 

Small-scale Treatment Plant (1-5 liters per second) Designs

ACR has received requests through Agua Para el Pueblo (APP, Honduras) and Gram Vikas (GV, India) for designs of small-scale treatment plants with a capacity ranging from 1 to 5 liters per second. Developing new designs for these small-scale treatment plants will enable us to reach smaller communities who need access to safe and affordable drinking water on tap. 

New Partner Development

ACR is working on introducing AguaClara Technology to new communities and locations around the world by developing its network of local partnerships. ACR is currently pursuing new opportunities in Colombia and Indigenous communities in the US. These partnerships expand ACR’s capacity to provide services to critically underserved communities. 

Research and Innovation

ACR will continue to collaborate with and support AguaClara Cornell’s research program as it navigates recent changes to the organization. Under the new Technology Committee, led by Monroe Weber-Shirk, ACR Volunteers will provide technical support and guidance to ACC research teams. ACR will also support the development and innovation of AC technology in research and educational institutions around the world. 

How can you help?

This work takes capital, as does AguaClara Reach’s training and support in future projects. With the generous donations from supporters like you, AguaClara Reach will be able to meet all of these milestones and opportunities to reach even more people with safe and affordable drinking water on tap. Here are some ways you can help: 

  • Contribute to our End of Year Campaign!

  • Reach out to your company for corporate donations.

  • Spread the word to your network about ACR’s work. 

Thank you to all our incredible supporters, partners, and volunteers! All our work is made possible through your support and passion for safe water. We’re looking forward to a productive and innovative 2021, and we can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in the coming year! If you would like additional information about AguaClara Reach or our fundraising effort, please contact us at info@aguaclarareach.org.


Blog Post Authors: Cheer Tsang, Linping Xu, Subhani Katugampala, and John Finn

AIDE 3-Level Design Process and Structure

New Process and Structure for Automating AguaClara Plant Designs

The AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine (AIDE) project team has made great progress this year on AIDE v2 as discussed in two previous blog posts: AIDE Introduction and AIDE Progress Update. The previous blog posts focused on what the AIDE team is working on and their progress towards a minimum viable product (MVP). This post is focused on how the AIDE tool works to efficiently process and structure designs.

In early iterations of AIDE v2, there were distinct separations between the AIDE subteams where one team worked on hydraulic calculations and the other team worked on drawing the plant model. The process of passing information along from one team to another was a difficult challenge to overcome; 3-level design, a new organization to AIDE that uses hydraulic design and build features coupled with design part studios, has made strides in solving this issue. The 3-levels of the design are:

  1. Hydraulic Design Feature (HDF)

  2. Design Part Studio (DPS)

  3. Build Feature (BF)

This solution takes full advantage of Onshape, a cloud-based computer-aided design (CAD) software. Onshape allows users to work in Part or Feature Studios. A Part Studio is useful in developing components and modeling geometry. A Feature Studio contains FeatureScript, a programming language designed by Onshape that allows the design of custom features. For example, the hydraulic calculations which were used to design plant components have traditionally been done in Mathcad or Python, but are now done in FeatureScript within an HDF.

Example functions in the Linear Flow Orifice Meter (LFOM) HDF

Example functions in the Linear Flow Orifice Meter (LFOM) HDF

A DPS directly references the variables and outputs from the HDF and combines it with geometric constraints to set the dimensions of the model. Finally, a BF is the entry point for the user. Here, parameters such as flow rate and temperature in addition to expert inputs like head loss are defined.

Demonstration of the LFOM Build Feature

Demonstration of the LFOM Build Feature

Expert inputs are design constraints and fabrication choices intended to be entered by experienced users. Each has a default value, but anything within an acceptable range can be input. One example of an expert input is the thickness of walls within different components. This variable could be any number without impacting plant performance but relies on the judgement of a structural engineer and is a function of whether the plant is built of concrete or stainless steel. Other examples include treatment process targets such as flocculator collision potential and plate settler capture velocity. The ability to easily change these inputs in a dialog box and then see the resulting plant design will enable AIDE to become a powerful educational tool. Expert inputs are passed between levels of the design using SuperDerive and the overrides string, which is a JSON representation of the expert inputs.

This new integrated design approach has helped to speed up the process of creating unit processes and the team is working hard to meet our goal of a full design for plants in the range of 1-5 L/s by the end of the year.


Blog Post Authors: Fletcher Chapin, Nicole Wang, Tigran Mehrabyan

Humans of AguaClara: Luis Reyes

luis reyes.png

Luis Reyes is one of the water treatment plant operators in Las Vegas, Honduras, who works with Frances Calix from our previous Humans of AguaClara post. A native of Las Vegas, Luis is an industrial engineer and graduated from the University of San Pedro Sula. Prior to his current position, Luis worked as a production supervisor for a mining company.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

Plaque of the AguaClara water treatment plant building in Las Vegas, Honduras.

Plaque of the AguaClara water treatment plant building in Las Vegas, Honduras.

During the AguaClara Cornell trip to Honduras in January 2019, students spoke with Luis about his background, position, and thoughts on how water treatment has changed his town. The original Spanish interview is shown below, with the English translation following.


Español

¿Cómo se llama? ¿De dónde es?

Mi nombre es Luis Reyes y soy nativo de esta comunidad. Soy ingeniero industrial graduado en la universidad de San Pedro Sula. Fue en este lugar donde fui al instituto y saqué mi graduado.

¿Y después de la escuela secundaria?

Fui a estudiar a San Pedro Sula.

¿Después de sacar su licencia, trabajó como ingeniero industrial?

Si, trabaje para una empresa minera de supervisor de producción y después vine aquí.

¿Y por qué vino aquí?

Por el ambiente en la mina, muy duro con tanta contaminación.

¿Cómo ha sido su experiencia con el agua?

Muy buena experiencia. Es satisfactorio saber que en las manos de uno mismo está la salud de toda una comunidad.

Era muy diferente [en mi juventud]. El agua entraba a las casas sucia y no había tratamiento potable. La recibimos tal cual venía de la montaña.

¿Cómo recibió su agua antes de que la planta fue construida?

Antes recibíamos agua sucia, contaminada, con bacterias. Había bastantes enfermedades gastrointestinales, diarrea, etc.

¿Tiene alguna historia específica?

En un poblado de aquí cerca había bastantes casos de enfermedades gastrointestinales.

¿Todavía hay esos problemas?

No, eso era años atrás, ahora esta planta ofrece agua potable.

¿Trabajar con agua fue la razón por la que viniste a trabajar aquí?

Si, esa es una razón. La otra es por la cuestión que comentamos antes de la situación en la mina.

¿Qué piensa la gente sobre el tratamiento del agua? ¿Comprenden lo que significa este proceso?

Casi no, no tiene plena conciencia. Hay gente que no lo valora.

Antes de hacer la planta hervía el agua o ¿qué hacía?

Antes si, se hervía el agua para matar las bacterias. Aquí ahora la desinfectamos.

¿Cómo fue la transición del agua sucia al agua limpia? [En el sentido de cómo la comunidad reaccionó a esto.]

La gente que tiene consciencia de esta situación, está muy contenta. Creen que fue muy buena decisión por parte de la alcaldesa. Aunque hay gente del otro partido (porque está todo muy politizado) que dice que no ha sido una buena idea.

¿Cómo vivía antes de que se construyera la planta?

Antes de la planta se vivía en condiciones infrahumanas. No había agua limpia, ni siquiera para  lavar los platos de los niños. Todo se hacía con agua sucia.

¿Y las propiedades del agua? (sabor, etc.)

Tenía un sabor muy fuerte y estaba bastante sucia. Parecía chocolate caliente.

¿Cómo se siente por ser parte de la comunidad del agua?

Me siento muy satisfecho. Ningún alcalde anterior se había preocupado como la actual alcaldesa de la situación del agua. Todos se enfocanban en carreteras etc. Estoy de acuerdo en que eso también es importante, pero sobre todo es importante el agua. Es esencial para la vida.

¿Cuáles son las responsabilidades de un operador en la planta?

Uno cuando vienen aquí a la planta, se tienen que mentalizar que uno se responsabiliza y que tiene que hacer las cosas bien hechas, a la hora de suministrar los químicos que no se pase de dosis etc.

¿Qué te motiva todos los días?

Tengo un niño. Además, la salud de toda la comunidad reside dentro de los cuatro operadores.


English

What is your name? Where are you from?

My name is Luis Reyes and I am a native of this community. I am an industrial engineer and I graduated from the University of San Pedro Sula. I went to high school and got my degree here. 

What about after your highschool?

I went to study in San Pedro de Sula.

Did you work as an industrial engineer?

Yes, I worked as a production supervisor for a mining company and then I came here.

And why did you come here?

Because of the atmosphere in the mine, [work was] very hard with so much pollution.

How has your experience been with the water?

Very good experience. It is satisfying to know that the health of an entire community is in the hands of oneself.

It was very different [when I was a child]. The water entered the houses dirty and there was no drinking treatment. We received it as it came from the mountain.

How did you get your water?

We received the water dirty, contaminated, and with bacteria. There were quite a few gastrointestinal diseases, diarrhea.

Can you think of any specific stories?

In a town near here there were many cases of gastrointestinal diseases.

Are there still those problems?

No, that was years ago. Now this plant offers drinking water.

Working with water was the reason you came to work here?

Yes, that is one reason. The other is because of the issue we discussed before about the situation [pollution] in the mine.

What do people think about treating water? Do they understand what this process means?

Hardly. They don't have full awareness. There are people who do not value it.

Before having the plant, did you boil the water or what did you do?

Yes, the water was boiled to kill the bacteria. Now, the water is disinfected here.

How was the transition from dirty water to clean water? [In the sense of how the community reacted to this.]

People who are aware of this situation are very happy. They think it was a very good decision from the mayor. Beside this, there are people from the other political party that say it was not a good idea.

How did you live before the plant was constructed?

Before the plant, everyone lived in subhuman conditions. There was no clean water, not even to wash the children's dishes. Everything was done with dirty water.

And what about the properties of the water (flavor, etc.) ?

It had a very strong flavor and was quite dirty. It looked like hot chocolate.

How do you see yourself/feel about being part of the water community?

I feel very satisfied. Any previous mayor had worried about the water situation like  the current mayor has, but all of them focused on roads. I agree this is also important, but above all, water is the most important. It is essential for life.

What are an operator’s responsibilities at the plant?

When someone comes here, they have to be made aware that everyone must be responsible and that they have to do things well, when it comes to supplying chemicals.

What motivates you every day?

I have a child. Apart from that, the health of the entire community resides within the four of us [the four operators of the plant].


  • Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Felix Yang (plaque photo)

  • Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Interviewed: January 2019

  • Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

  • Blog Post Authors: Melissa Louie and Kelly Ly

Committee Overview

For the last year and a half, AguaClara Reach (ACR) has revised and refined our committee structure. The committee structure allows ACR to better engage our volunteers, employees, Board Members, and AguaClara researchers to accomplish our goals and fulfill our mission. As a volunteer-led organization, committees allow ACR to manage people and tasks efficiently to encourage collaboration, cooperation, and creativity.

ACR currently has nine committees, each with its own area of work to coordinate and track. Committee chairs support current and potential volunteers by connecting them to tasks and providing them with resources and guidance as they progress the work. The committees are introduced below to give insight into how ACR operates.

Group 5.jpg

Any individual interested in joining the ACR Volunteers can learn more about what we do by reviewing the committee descriptions and finding areas of interest. ACR Volunteer Managers are available to discuss potential volunteer interests and strengths to find existing or new ways to participate. Volunteer Managers can be reached at volunteer@aguaclarareach.org.


Internal Operations

To operate as a non-profit and fulfill administrative needs, ACR has several committees focused on our internal operations: Finance & Personnel, Governance, Strategic Planning, and Volunteer Management.

Governance

Committee Chair: Alissa Diminich (ACR Board President)

The Governance Committee is responsible for managing the legal and administrative function of ACR. Currently, the group is working to update the ACR bylaws so they can better serve the purpose and intended operation of our organization. This includes determining the responsibilities of certain positions and establishing policies that allow us to function in a consistent and efficient manner. This committee also works on legal documents and establishes rules to help preserve the integrity of ACR.

Finance & Personnel

Committee Chair: Blixy Taetzsch (ACR Board Treasurer)

The Finance and Personnel Committee is responsible for managing ACR’s employees and finances. Activities include budgeting, financial statements, contracts, purchasing, banking and investments, hiring and personnel policies, insurance, tax, and legal matters. This committee provides guidance to other ACR committees as needed.

Strategic Planning

Committee Chair: Alissa Diminich (ACR Board President)

The Strategic Planning Committee is responsible for identifying the strategic plan of the organization. ACR typically revisits our strategy annually at the Strategic Planning Board Retreat, which is planned by this committee. This Retreat is critical to setting the annual goals for ACR, to revisit what we have achieved in the prior year and to prioritize our work moving forward to best demonstrate our values and mission. Developing a high level strategy allows ACR to evaluate which specific options align most directly with our mission, and allow us to prioritize efforts of volunteers and employees over the course of the following year.

Volunteer Management

Committee Chairs: Serena Takada (ACR Board Member) and Lois Lee (ACR Committee Chair)

The Volunteer Management Committee empowers ACR volunteers by connecting them to projects and tasks within ACR. The Volunteer Managers work to make sure that volunteers enjoy a fulfilling volunteer experience. Typical activities include onboarding new members and hosting social events to keep the widespread network of volunteers closely knit.


External Operations

ACR’s external committees focus on how ACR fulfills its mission and goals working with partners to share AguaClara Technology and complete projects.

Technology

Committee Chair: Monroe Weber-Shirk (ACR Board Member)

The Technology Committee is composed of AguaClara Technology experts. They are tasked with research publication through the AguaClara Textbook, creating and maintaining the next generation design tool (AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine: AIDE), providing technical support to global implementation partners, internal design review, and reviewing plant performance data through the Plant Operator Smartphone Tracker (POST). 

Projects

Committee Chair: Open for Application! If you are interested, please email zmaisel@aguaclarareach.org.

The Projects Committee works directly with ACR employees and implementation partners to provide training and designs of AguaClara technology. The committee is involved in all stages of project work, from initial development and feasibility reviews, through design, construction, and training. The committee also works on developing relationships with new project partners. 

Research, Invent, Design, Empower (RIDE)

Committee Chair: Matthew Cimini (ACR Committee Chair)

The RIDE Committee exists to ensure the professionalism, accuracy, and accessibility of all official AguaClara research. By documenting and storing past research, helping organizations conduct current research, and determining the priority and content of future research, RIDE hopes to be involved with all aspects of the technology and knowledge development process.

Communications & Engagement

Committee Chair: Open for Application! If you are interested, please email zmaisel@aguaclarareach.org.

The Communications and Engagement Committee focuses on communicating AguaClara Reach’s story and mission with the public. This includes outreach to companies and alumni to provide updates on advancements within ACR. Currently, the committee is focusing on updating the website and building our social media presence. The committee is also developing a press package as a ready-to-use resource to share with companies and donors upon request for support.

Fundraising

Committee Chair: Subhani Katugampala (ACR Board Member)

The Fundraising Committee coordinates funding campaigns and donor outreach. This committee also develops grants and funding applications to help AguaClara Reach provide hydraulic designs for implementation partners, provide ongoing technical support through operation and maintenance, and continue research.

Humans of AguaClara: Frances Calix

frances calix.png

Frances Calix works as an AguaClara plant operator in Las Vegas, Honduras. A native to Las Vegas, he remembers how unpredictable and often unsafe the drinking water was during his childhood, before the AguaClara water treatment plant was built in 2017. This 70 Liter per second (1.6 MGD) treatment plant was built by Agua Para el Pueblo, which partners with AguaClara for projects in Central America.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

Location of the Las Vegas AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

The AguaClara water treatment plant building in Las Vegas.

The AguaClara water treatment plant building in Las Vegas.

Students from the AguaClara Cornell team interviewed Frances about his experiences living in Las Vegas and working in water treatment during an educational trip to Honduras in January 2019. Below is a transcript of the original interview with Frances in Spanish, followed by an English translation.


Español

¿Cuántos años tiene? ¿Cuál es su fondo?

Mi edad son 42 años, soy nativo de aquí, de este lugar, fui perito en argentina, y ahora me dedico a esta otra área, que es la planta de AguaClara.

¿Crecía aqui?

Este municipio se llama Las Vegas, Santa Barbara. Nací aquí y crecí aquí.

¿Podría contarme un poco cómo era la vida en relación con el agua que usaba aquí cuando era niño?

Crecí consumiendo el agua contaminada. En temporadas de verano era normal pero en temporadas de lluvia bajaba llena de suciedad.

¿Cómo sabía que estaba contaminado?

Producía enfermedades consumirla: diarreas, vómitos… Además, sabíamos que estaba sucia por su apariencia.

¿Ustedes preparaban el agua de alguna manera antes de consumirla?

No en profundidad. Teníamos algo de información asi que algunas veces, solo se hervía, otras veces pensábamos que el agua bajaba mejor, más clara. La bebíamos por la mañana porque era cuando el agua bajaba más clara. Por alguna razón, por la tarde el agua bajaba más sucia.

¿Cómo se convirtió en parte de la industria del agua, y más específicamente en la planta de tratamiento Agua Clara?

Me gusto la idea de tener agua de mejor calidad, para nuestros amigos, familia y vecinos. Aparte de eso, era una buena oportunidad para tener trabajo.

¿Cómo describiría su papel en esta comunidad del agua?

Considero que haciendo lo mejor aquí, contribuyo a ayudar a mis vecinos, familiares… Intento estar aquí trabajando y hacer las cosas lo mejor posible. Trabajando aquí me doy cuenta de que las cosas que estoy haciendo tienen eco real. 

¿Puede describir los cambios [después de que se construyó la planta de tratamiento de agua]?

Primero, la salud de las personas de alguna manera ha mejorado. Antes asistían a clínicas y hospitales de manera masiva en temporada de lluvias.

¿Y en el día a día? (Mejor calidad del agua en su propia vida en términos de saneamiento, ducha, consumo...)

Eh bueno, al saber de que el agua es de calidad la consumimos con confianza, y ahora los vegetales y la fruta las lavamos con esta agua que sabemos que es mejor. También de alguna manera hemos notado que los gastos se han reducido porque antes se obstruían más las tuberías. A veces ni se podía lavar la ropa porque era ensuciarla más. Podemos bañarnos cuando y las veces que queramos con agua limpia. Podemos tomar el agua directamente del grifo sabiendo que no nos va a causar problemas de salud.

Volviendo a tu papel, ¿qué se motiva a mejorar?

Me motiva saber que poco a poco hay más gente que conoce información acerca de las plantas de agua clara. Además, me motiva saber que de alguna manera, la gente está apostando por tener agua de calidad en este pueblo. La gente se ha involucrado en el proyecto y es satisfactorio ir a servir a otras personas para que puedan consumir agua de calidad.

¿De que está más orgulloso?

Somos los primeros en trabajar en esta planta y darle al pueblo lo que siempre soñó es bueno.

¿Cuál es su sueño para la planta?

Sueño con que la planta trabaje a un 100%. Hemos tenido muchos avances. Siento que nos la entregaron para que la desarrolláramos, y la hemos ido desarrollando bastante. Ahora siento que lo único que le queda son pequeños detalles. Al principio nos encontrábamos con problemas que hoy no se ven, pero que al principio sí. Había algas raras que aparecían y hacíamos pruebas que daban algunos resultados buenos y otros malos. Descartamos todo lo malo y con eso conseguimos el progreso.

¿Qué le gustaría conseguir?

Lo que quiero lograr es que el agua que nosotros enviamos a los alrededores sea de la mejor calidad, y que ya no haya fallos. De repente si nos descuidamos, podemos contaminar todas las redes de distribución. Espero que esto no suceda y que a partir de ahora todo sea más fácil.

¿Cuál es su esperanza para el futuro?

Espero que se logre el objetivo al 100%. Hemos visto como el proceso se ha acelerado. A través de las observaciones y los resultados que hemos obtenido nos damos cuenta de que si lo vamos a lograr. Solo estamos mejorando algunos detalles para que quede completamente listo. Los problemas que ocurren ahora no son de la misma escala que los que ocurrían antes.

Y ahora, a una escala más global, ¿podría describir lo que desea para el futuro?

Deseo que la idea de estos proyectos se expanda por todos los lados, sobre todo en lugares donde se sabe que se está consumiendo agua contaminada. Vemos cómo las personas sufren e incluso nacen enfermedades en la piel. Si se logran expandir estas iniciativas, como las de las de Agua Clara, esto va a mejorar bastante. Lo más importante es la salud de las personas.

Si puede hacer un comentario final para la gente de todo el mundo viendo esto, ¿qué sería?

Este tipo de proyectos requieren de gran coste y pienso que si hubiera personas que pudieran ayudar a que este proyecto funcionara, podría ayudar a muchas personas. 


English

How old are you? What is your background?

I am 42 years old, I am a native of this municipality in Honduras. I was a [technician] in Argentina, and now I am dedicated to this other area, which is the AguaClara water plant.

Did you grow up here?

This municipality is called Las Vegas, Santa Barbara. I was born here and grew up here too.

Could you tell me a little bit about how life was in relation with the water you used here when you were a kid?

I grew up consuming contaminated water. In summer seasons it was normal but in rainy seasons it was full of dirt.

How did you know it was contaminated?

It caused diseases when we consumed it: diarrhea, vomiting...In addition, we knew it was dirty because of its appearance.

Did you prepare the water in any way before consuming it?

Not in depth. We had some information, so sometimes we just boiled, other times we thought the water was better, clearer. We drank it in the mornings because it was when the water went down clearer. For some reason, in the afternoon the water went down dirtier.

How did you become part of the water industry, and more specifically in AguaClara treatment plant?

I liked the idea of having better quality water for our friends, family and neighbors. Apart from that, it was a good opportunity to have a job.

How would you describe your role in this water community?

I believe that by doing my best here, I contribute to helping my neighbors, family ... I try to be here working and do my best. Working here I realize that the things I am doing have real [impact].

Can you describe the changes [after the water treatment plant was built]?

First, people's health has somehow improved. They used to attend clinics and hospitals massively in the rainy season.

What about in the day to day? (Better water quality in your own life in terms of sanitation, shower, consumption...)

Knowing that the water is of quality, we consume it with more confidence. Now we wash the vegetables and fruit with this water that we know is better. We have also somehow noticed that the expenses have been reduced because before, the pipes were more clogged than now. Sometimes you couldn't even wash your clothes because it was dirtying them more. We can shower whenever we want with clean water. We can drink the water directly from the tap, knowing that it will not cause us health problems.

Getting back to your role, what motivates you to improve?

It motivates me to know that, little by little, there are more people who know information about AguaClara water plants. In addition, it motivates me to know that somehow, people are betting on having quality water in this town. People have been involved in this project and it is satisfying to go to serve other people so they can consume quality water. 

What are you the proudest of about your work?

We are the first [operators] to work on this plant and give the people what they always dreamed of is good.

What is your dream for the plant?

I dream of the plant working 100% [of the time]. We have had many advances. I feel they gave it to us in order to develop it, and we have been developing it a lot. Now I feel that the only thing left is small details. At the beginning, we were facing a lot of problems that are not visible today. For example, there was rare algae that appeared, so we were doing tests that gave some good and some bad results. We put away everything bad and with the positive results we get the progress.

What would you like to achieve?

What I want to achieve is that the water that we send to the surroundings is of the best quality, and that there are no longer faults. If we are careless, we can contaminate all distribution networks. I hope this does not happen and that from now on, everything will be easier.

What is your hope for the future?

I hope the goal is 100% achieved. We have seen how the process has accelerated. Through the observations and the results that we have obtained, we realize that we are going to achieve it. We are only improving some details so that it is completely ready. The problems that occur now are not of the same scale as those that occurred before.

And now in a more global scale, could you describe what you want for the future?

I want the idea of these projects to expand on all sides, especially in places where it is known that contaminated water is being consumed. We see how people suffer. If these initiatives are expanded, such as those of Agua Clara, this will improve a lot. The most important thing is people's health.

If you can make a final comment for people around the world seeing this, what would it be?

These types of projects require a lot of [investment] and I think that if there were people who could help make this project work, it could help many people.


  • Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Nicole Wang (plant photo)

  • Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Interviewed: January 2019

  • Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

  • Blog Post Authors: Melissa Louie and Kelly Ly

Humans of AguaClara: Darwin Vallejo

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Darwin Alexi Vallejo is the operator for the Cuatro Comunidades (Honduras) AguaClara water treatment plant, which runs 24 hours a day and provides water to four different villages in the surrounding area: Los Barrios, Rio Frio, Aldea Bonita, and La Jagua. The Cuatro Comunidades plant was a project constructed by AguaClara's partner in Honduras, Agua Para el Pueblo (APP). At the time of the interview, he had also been serving on the community water’s Board of Directors for around ten years in different roles, including president and treasurer. The Board executes the projects that are needed to provide all families with drinking water.

Location of the Cuatro Comunidades AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

Location of the Cuatro Comunidades AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras.

The sedimentation tanks in the Cuatro Comunidades AguaClara water treatment plant.

The sedimentation tanks in the Cuatro Comunidades AguaClara water treatment plant.

During the annual AguaClara Cornell trip to Honduras in January 2019, team members interviewed Darwin about his experience as an operator. Below is a transcript of Darwin's interview in Spanish, the original interview language. An English translation of the interview follows.


Español

¿Cómo se llama? ¿Cuántos años tiene? 

Mi nombre es Darwin Vallejo. La zona donde estamos se compone de cuatro aldeas: Los Barrios, Riofrío, Aldea Bonita y la Jagua. Cada aldea tiene 2 miembros en la junta directiva.

Con respecto a mi papel en la junta de agua, ahora estoy desempeñando el papel de fiscal. Represento a una de las aldeas, la que se llama La Jagua. Además, también trabajó en la planta de tratamiento de agua. Este domingo que viene, va a haber nuevos cambios en la junta directiva y aun no sé en qué puesto voy quedar. Llevo diez años dentro de la junta de agua pero he estado en diferentes puestos. Siempre voy a ser operador pero con respecto a ser directivo nose nunca en qué puesto voy a quedar. La junta directiva es votada por la asamblea general, en la cual participan todos los abonados al servicio de agua (380 personas de las 4 aldeas)

Como se involucró?

Participé en una asamblea y me propusieron un puesto, el cual acepté.

¿Por qué conseguiste este papel?

Yo no soy de aquí, de la comunidad. Soy hondureño pero de la parte sur. Quise involucrarme para servir a la comunidad y he aprendido mucho como directivo y coordinador. También en lo que es el proyecto he sido vocal, presidente, fiscal, fontanero, tesorero… Son puestos muy diferentes.

En la comunidad hay 380 abonados, de los cuales 36 tienen micromedidores. Los micromedidores hacen su función cuando una persona o una fábrica que usa agua, hace mucho gasto de agua. En este caso, se le instala un micromedidor.

¿Se les cobra por ese gasto?

Si, dependiendo de la cantidad de agua que gasten conforme al micromedidor que tienen instalado. Se dan 3500 galones y si alguien pasa el límite permitido de los 3500 galones al mes, se les cobra a 4 centavos el galón. Por ejemplo hay iglesias y fábricas que pagan de 400 a 600 galones extra.

¿Puede describir su papel?

Revisar los ciclos de ingresos en el banco y contabilizar los cobros a la tesorera. Revisar las facturas de compra etc.

¿Puede describir su relación con el proyecto?

La junta de agua es una asamblea en la que nadie quiere participar porque no hay sueldo. Cuando el presidente propone a alguien para formar parte, todo el mundo pone excusas, porque al no haber sueldo nadie quiere. Cuando me lo propusieron a mí me pareció buena idea y esto solo duraba dos años.

Hice los primeros 2 años y luego la asamblea me volvió a proponer. Volví a aceptar porque me gustaba y ya sabia como funcionaba todo el proceso. Por eso me he quedado aquí.

¿Tiene hijos?

Si, cuatro.

¿Cuántos años tienen?

16, 14, 7 and 1.

¿Cómo le parecen de su trabajo?

Les parece bien. Ellos estudian y entienden el proceso del agua. Mi hijo dice que cuando se haga mayor va a trabajar en esto también porque le gusta.

¿Cómo ve su generación?

Las escuelas hacen excursiones a este sitio. Cuando nos visitan, los alumnos están encantados con lo interesante y lo bonito que es el proyecto de AguaClara.

¿De qué tipo de proyectos está a cargo el Consejo de Administración?

Siempre están a cargo mejorar el proyecto. Si ven que no está llegando agua a una de las comunidades, deben construir otro tanque; hacer que el agua llegue con más presión etc. Además también se encargan de mejorar la economía etc.

Si llega una familia nueva, se encargan de ofrecerle el servicio. No queremos que la gente tenga problemas de salud por no ofrecerles este agua.

¿Qué te motiva a seguir adelante?

Me gusta el trabajo que hago en la planta, y quiero llevar a mi familia el pan de cada día. 

¿Cómo se relaciona este proyecto con quién es?

Recorrí un camino muy largo para llegar hasta aquí. Como ya dije, yo no vivía aquí, vivía en la zona sur. Luego estuve involucrado en una pelea en la que me apuñalaron. Entre en prisión porque le asesine. Cuando salí, vine aquí porque aquí era donde vivía mi familia. No tenía trabajo pero este proyecto me ofreció la oportunidad de entrar a trabajar aquí y por eso me quede. Fue difícil porque estuve preso casi 3 años. Por los antecedentes no tenía mucho trabajos donde escoger porque no me querían en ninguna parte. 

Llevo en la junta unos 10 años pero en la planta solo llevo 3. Bajo su punto de vista, trabajo bien y por eso me quede. La gente me apoya, por lo que se me hace difícil retirarme si la gente está confiando en mi.

¿Cómo fue la transición de ser parte del Consejo de Administración a ser parte de la planta?

Estaba en la junta directiva y el trabajo allí no estaba muy bien pagado. Aquí solo había un operador y querían otro para que la planta trabajará 24 horas.

¿De que está más orgulloso?

De todo el proyecto en general. Hemos visto cómo la lucha de 10 años ha merecido la pena. Hemos visto cómo todo ha mejorado y estoy orgulloso de ser parte de esto.

¿Puede explicar un momento o una historia importantes?

Me siento orgulloso de cuando en las asambleas hacen una pregunta, porque soy capaz de contestar. Como operador uno se siente orgulloso de saber contestar y decir como funcionan cada cosa.

¿Cree en su papel?

Si. Cada vez que llega el invierno y el agua baja sucia, yo trato de hacer lo mejor y que el agua quede lo más limpia posible. Porque tengo familia, y se que estan esperando agua clara. En invierno a veces no tenemos tiempo ni de dormir y tenemos que trabajar 24 porque el agua llega muy sucia. Pero aun así, tratamos de dar a la gente el agua limpia que se merece. 

El servicio está las 24 horas en las casas. Por eso nosotros tenemos que trabajar 24 horas, para que ellos puedan tener las 24 horas el servicio funcionando. 

¿Podrías ofrecer algo que podamos hacer mejor? / ¿Qué recursos necesitan?

Nosotros queremos un filtro para que el agua salga todavía más limpia. Como no tenemos el filtro, algunas partículas muy pequeñas se siguen colando. Aparte del filtro queremos, siempre estamos dispuestos a mejorar y a veces no tenemos el dinero suficiente.

¿Cuándo están haciendo cálculos de dinero qué tipo de sistemas usan?

Tenemos un libro para registrar todas las actividades económicas. Nada más que eso.

Si lo desea, puede enviar un mensaje final a alguien que lea o escuche esto.

AguaClara ha venido a ayudar a muchas comunidades, muchas familias, muchos niños. Por ello hay que apoyar al proyecto de AguaClara.


English

Who are you / what is your name? How old are you?

My name is Darwin Vallejo. The area where we are consists of four villages: Los Barrios, Riofrío, Aldea Bonita and la Jagua. Each village has two members on the Board of Directors.

Regarding my role in the Water Board, I am now playing the role of prosecutor. I represent one of the villages, which is called La Jagua. In addition, I am a worker of the water treatment plant. This coming Sunday, there will be new changes in the Board of Directors and I still don't know what position I will be in. I've been in the Water Board for ten years but I've been in different positions. I will always be an operator but with respect to being a manager, I will never know what position I will remain. The Board of Directors is voted by the general assembly, in which all subscribers to the water service (380 people from the four villages) participate in.

How did you get involved?

I participated in an assembly and they offered me a position, which I accepted.

Why did you get this role?

I am not from here, from the community. I am from Honduras but from the southern part. I wanted to get involved to serve the community and I have learned a lot as a manager and coordinator. Also inside this project, I have been vocal, president, prosecutor, plumber, treasurer…They are very different positions.

In the community there are 380 subscribers, of which 36 have micrometers. Micrometers measure when a person or a factory makes use of a lot of water. In this case, a micrometer is installed.

Are they charged for that expense?

Yes, depending on the amount of water spent according to the micrometer they have installed. 3500 gallons are given without paying anything, and if someone passes that allowed limit per month, they are charged 4 [Lempira] cents each gallon. For example, there are churches and factories that pay for 400 to 600 gallons extra.

Could you describe your role?

Review the income cycles in the bank and account for the collections to the treasurer. Review purchase invoices, etc.

Could you describe your relationship with the project?

The Water Board is an assembly in which nobody wants to participate because there is no salary. When the president proposes someone to join, everyone makes excuses, because when there is no salary, nobody wants to. When they proposed to me, I liked the idea and this only lasted two years.

I did the first two years, and then the assembly proposed to me again. I accepted again because I liked it and I already knew how the whole process worked. That's why I stayed here.

Do you have children?

Yes, four.

How old are they?

16, 14, 7 and 1.

What are their thoughts about what you are doing?

They are ok with it. They study and understand the water process. My son says that when he grows up he will work on this too, because he likes it.

How do you see their generation?

Schools make excursions to this site. When they visit us, students are delighted with how interesting and beautiful the AguaClara project is.

What kind of projects are The Board of Directors in charge of?

They are always in charge of improving the project. If they see that no water is coming to one of the communities, they must build another tank; make water arrive with more pressure etc. In addition they are also responsible for improving the economy, etc.

If a new family arrives, they are responsible for offering the service. We do not want people to have health problems by not offering them this water.

What motivates you to keep going?

I like the work I do on the floor, and I want to bring the daily bread for my family.

How does this project relate to who you are?

I went through a long way to get here. As I said, I did not live here, I lived in the southern zone. Then I was involved in a fight in which I was stabbed. I ended up entering prison because I killed him. When I left, I came here because this was where my family lived. I had no job but this project offered me the opportunity to go to work here and that's why I stayed. It was difficult because I was in prison for almost three years. Because of the background, I didn't have many jobs to choose from because they didn't want me anywhere.

I've been on the board for about 10 years, but on the plant I've only been three. Under their point of view, I work well and that's why I stayed. People support me, so it is difficult for me to retire if people are trusting me.

How was the transition from being part of the Board of Directors to being part of the Plant?

I was on the Board of Directors and the work there was not very well paid. Here there was only one operator and they wanted another for the plant to work 24 hours.

What are you most proud of?

Of the whole project in general. We have seen how the 10-year struggle has been worth it. We have seen how everything has improved and I am proud to be part of this.

Can you describe one important moment/story?

I feel proud when they ask a question in the assemblies, because I am able to answer. As an operator, one is proud to know what the answer is and say how everything works.

Do you believe in your role?

Yes. Every time winter comes and the water goes down dirty, I try to do my best and make the water as clean as possible. Because I have a family, and I know they are waiting for clear water. In winter, sometimes we don't have time to sleep and we have to work 24 because the water is very dirty. But even so, we try to give people the clean water they deserve.

The service is 24 hours in the houses. That is why we have to work 24 hours, so that they can have the service running 24 hours.

Could you offer any idea of something we could do better? / What resources do you need?

We want a filter so that the water comes out even cleaner. As we do not have the filter, some very small particles continue to pass through. Apart from the filter we want, we are always willing to improve and sometimes we don't have enough money.

When you make money calculations what kind of systems do you use?

We have a book for the registrar of all economic activities. Nothing more than that.

If you want, you can send a final message to someone reading or listening to this.

AguaClara has come to help many communities, many families, many children. Therefore, we must support the AguaClara project.


  • Photographer: Yitzy Rosenberg (headshot), Anishka Singh (plant photo)

  • Interviewer: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Transcriptions and Translations: Yitzy Rosenberg, Pablo Alonso, Rachel Larrivee, Kevin Sarmiento

  • Interviewed: January 2019

  • Plant Implementation Partner: Agua Para el Pueblo (APP)

  • Blog Post Authors: Melissa Louie and Kelly Ly

AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine (AIDE) Progress Update

The AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine (AIDE) project team has made great progress this summer on AIDE v2. As discussed in the AIDE Introduction, the team is developing software to rapidly design custom AguaClara water treatment plants over a wide range of flow rates for AguaClara Reach’s (ACR’s) global implementation partners. The project team working this summer focused on three primary components of the AIDE tool - FeatureScript programming of the hydraulic design, Onshape drawings of the plant components, and Python automation which creates plant specifications and documentation. 

The FeatureScript team finished writing the supporting fluid functions required for hydraulic calculations. Now, they are working on developing hydraulic design features which perform the necessary calculations for specific plant processes. Several components, including the flocculator and sedimentation tank, are complete. The team is now tackling one of the most complex components, the filter. This design is complex due to the two operating states of the process (filter and backwash), flow distribution challenges associated with the stacked rapid sand filter, and detailed design of the backwash siphon. 

The Onshape team completed development of the models for the flocculator, sedimentation tanks, and filter, and is currently finishing the chemical dosing components for 12-60 Liters per second (Lps) AguaClara plants (roughly equivalent to 200-1,000 gallons per minute (gpm)). A new entrance tank designed to reduce splashing and to aid in grit removal was also created based on operational feedback from Agua Para el Pueblo (APP) field staff. 

An Onshape model of the flocculator.

An Onshape model of the flocculator.

A picture of a flocculator from an AguaClara plant in Honduras

A picture of a flocculator from an AguaClara plant in Honduras

The number of flocculator channels increases with the treatment capacity of the plant.

The number of flocculator channels increases with the treatment capacity of the plant.

More models will need to be created for smaller (1-5 Lps, 20-80 gpm) and larger (greater than 60 Lps, 1,000 gpm) flow rates. The Onshape team has already developed a new sedimentation tank design for smaller AguaClara plants, as shown below.

Sedimentation tank designs created in Onshape with the capacity to treat 60 Lps (1,000 gpm) on the left and 1 Lps (20 gpm) on the right.

Sedimentation tank designs created in Onshape with the capacity to treat 60 Lps (1,000 gpm) on the left and 1 Lps (20 gpm) on the right.

Details of the sedimentation tank design created in Onshape for 1-5 Lps (20-80 gpm) plants.

Details of the sedimentation tank design created in Onshape for 1-5 Lps (20-80 gpm) plants.

Using Sphinx, an auto-documentation tool, the Python team translated the AguaClara plant specifications from Spanish (the original language in which the specifications were written) to English. This will make it more efficient for ACR (a US-based nonprofit with primarily English-speaking members) to maintain and update the plant specifications moving forward. Ultimately, the documentation engine will allow AIDE users to seamlessly switch from English to different languages based on user preference. A lightweight Django app is used to accept a preferred target language from the user and an Onshape URL specific to the plant model, and output a PDF version of the specifications for the user. To enable this, a Documenter feature was developed in Onshape which specifies values of variables used in the reStructuredText templates which Sphinx uses to build this documentation.

An excerpt from the Sedimentation Chapter of the plant specifications. Variables shown in red will be replaced by unique values determined through FeatureScript and Onshape, then provided to the AIDE user.

An excerpt from the Sedimentation Chapter of the plant specifications. Variables shown in red will be replaced by unique values determined through FeatureScript and Onshape, then provided to the AIDE user.

Upcoming work for the team includes end-to-end integration so that users can access the full suite of AguaClara technology. Integration work will begin with smaller pieces, such as incorporating the documentation website into the AIDE model as an Onshape widget. When AIDE is complete, ACR’s website will host a form that collects user-inputs and constraints then directs them to the appropriate Onshape model. 

ACR implementation partners, including APP in Honduras and Gram Vikas in India, have recently expressed interest in designs for small-scale plants. In response to these requests, ACR is prioritizing the completion of smaller plant designs within the AIDE tool, while the final version of the tool will include a broader range of flow rates in the AguaClara technology suite.

Stay tuned for progress updates as work continues this fall!


Blog Post Authors: Nicole Wang and Fletcher Chapin

Update on AguaClara Cornell Program

Dear AguaClara Reach Supporters,

As many of you may know, earlier this summer, Cornell University published a press release regarding staffing and program changes indicating that they intended to retire the AguaClara Cornell Program effective at the beginning of the 2020 fall semester. AguaClara Reach released a statement when this occurred.

Since the announcement, the students of AguaClara Cornell have been working closely with administrators within the College of Engineering to allow the AguaClara Cornell program to continue. Through their work, it was determined that AguaClara Cornell will continue operations as a project team at Cornell University under the College of Engineering, rather than within the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Dr. Monroe Weber-Shirk has joined the AguaClara Reach Board of Directors and will continue to mentor the AguaClara Cornell project team. The new AguaClara Cornell advisor for the 2020-2021 academic year is Professor Ruth Richardson.

We are excited to learn that students will maintain the legacy and ongoing positive impact of the AguaClara Cornell Program, and ACR is looking forward to working with Cornell students and other research organizations as we grow. If anyone is interested in joining our efforts at AguaClara Reach, feel free to contact me or our Volunteer Manager, Serena Takada.

Thanks,

Alissa Diminich

ACR Board President

An Introduction to the AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine (AIDE)

This summer, a team of AguaClara Cornell students and AguaClara Reach members are working on Version 2 (v2) of the AguaClara Infrastructure Design Engine (AIDE). AIDE v2 software will generate a complex plant design and corresponding documentation, given minimal input parameters.

AIDE team photos.jpg

AguaClara Cornell students and AguaClara Reach members are working remotely this summer. The team uses video conferencing to work together.

Version 1 of the Design Engine was initially developed in 2008 and was dependent on proprietary software (Mathcad and AutoCAD). AIDE v2 uses open source, free software, allowing users to access AguaClara plant designs directly in their browser. It will accomplish this via Onshape, a cloud-based computer-aided design software, and its built-in programming language, FeatureScript. Documentation and specifications for the plant design will be available through an Onshape widget, which will connect to a Python-based website.

mathcad snip.png
filter snip.png

AIDE Version 1: A snippet of design code in Mathcad (left) and a screenshot of a filter design in AutoCAD (right).

The primary goal for this summer is to complete a minimum viable product (MVP) of AIDE v2. The MVP for this summer entails generating the full geometry of a Linear Flow Orifice Meter (LFOM), flocculator, sedimentation tank, and filter based on the user’s input of plant flow rate and several other hydraulic inputs, physical constraints, and user preferences. This requires a coordinated effort between the three AIDE subteams: Onshape, FeatureScript, and Python. The Onshape team has already completed a large portion of the plant’s primary treatment process components and will now be focusing on plant-wide integration and optimizing component geometry. The FeatureScript subteam will be writing design logic which incorporates hydraulic calculations into a plant hierarchy; this will allow for both component-by-component and  full-plant design. The Python subteam will be working on automating the creation of plant documentation which downloads the values of the Onshape model’s parameters, updates the documentation with those values, and translates between languages. 

python snip.png
FS snip.png
onshape filter sno).png

AIDE Version 2: A snippet of design code in Python (left), a snippet of design code in FeatureScript (right), and a screenshot of a filter design in Onshape (bottom).

The development of AIDE v2 will allow AguaClara Reach to better serve our Implementation Partners by rapidly designing custom AguaClara treatment systems, and as a result, increasing global access to safe water on tap. Continue to check our blog for updates throughout the summer!


Blog Post Authors: Nicole Wang and Fletcher Chapin

Statement on AguaClara Cornell Program

Dear AguaClara Reach Supporters,

As many of you may know, earlier today Cornell University published a press release regarding staffing and program changes. As a part of these changes, Cornell University, College of Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has decided to retire the AguaClara Cornell Program effective at the beginning of the 2020 fall semester.

Over the last 15 years, Dr. Monroe Weber-Shirk and his students in the AguaClara Cornell Program have developed innovative, open-source water treatment technology. This technology was integral to the creation of AguaClara Reach, and we will continue our mission to bring this open-source technology to communities around the world that can most benefit from it.

This news does not affect any of our current project work, and I feel certain we will be able to maintain the legacy and ongoing positive impact of the AguaClara Cornell Program. If anyone is interested in joining our efforts at AguaClara Reach, feel free to contact me or our Volunteer Manager, Serena Takada.

Thanks,

Alissa Diminich

ACR Board President

AguaClara Reach Stands with Black Lives Matter

Across the United States, people are coming together to protest the country’s deep-seated systemic racism, institutional oppression, and racist police brutality. While the protests and community actions have been triggered by the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Manuel Ellis, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade, unrest has been present from the initial colonization of America, through slavery, and Jim Crow era policies. We are a nation that has been built on white supremacy and violence. As the United States tries to reconcile with this history, many are continuing and joining in the fight for equality and justice during this defining moment. 

AguaClara Reach is dedicated to the equality of all people. Our mission focuses on providing safe drinking water to those in need so we can ensure that every person has the opportunity to live a healthy and happy life. While our efforts are focused internationally and in communities where access to safe drinking water is most limited, we cannot focus solely outward when people are experiencing such gross injustice within our own country. 

We fully support the national demand to defund police departments across the country and reinvest in education, climate justice, and healthcare for all. 

As an organization, we are fully committed to supporting black and brown communities and amplifying their voices. A member of our Board will serve as the task lead for developing the ACR Diversity and Inclusion Plan - to create an actionable plan for AguaClara Reach to cultivate an environment in which diversity in thought, background, and culture is celebrated and found on equal footing.

As Board Members and employees, we will each be taking steps recommended by Black Lives Matter, and we ask all of our volunteers and supporters to do the same. Together we can remove the structures upholding white supremacy in our society.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

On the Road with AguaClara Reach: Hydrodoser Inauguration

After the Hydrodoser installations were completed in Patimul and Majhi Ukhura, the Gram Vikas (GV) and AguaClara Reach (ACR) team prepared for system inaugurations on February 14th. 

In Patimul, the entire community gathered to welcome the Hydrodoser team back with a celebration filled with song and dance. The inauguration ceremony was led by Dr. Joe Madiath, Gram Vikas’ Chairman. After the ribbon-cutting, Fletcher Chapin (ACR employee) gave Chairman Madiath a walkthrough of the Hydrodoser system.

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Chairman Madiath during the Patimul ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Chairman Madiath during the Patimul ribbon-cutting ceremony.

After the system walkthrough, community members enjoyed fresh coconuts and children gave bouquets of freshly-picked flowers to each GV staff member. Chairman Madiath and Fletcher gave speeches in Oriya and English, respectively. They thanked Apriya Maharana and Debashish Mohapatra (GV employees) for their work and the community members for their kind welcome and enthusiasm for the project. Chairman Madiath reflected that the villagers are “born masons, born architects... born everything,” highlighting the expertise that the community members showed in the fabrication and installation of the Hydrodoser system.  

Everyone expressed excitement for the system completion and hope for its continued maintenance and success into the future. After the speeches, women of the community led a song in Sora, the local dialect. Fletcher thanked the community and said his goodbyes,  bittersweet that their time together had come to an end.

Community members singing during the community celebration in Patimul.

Community members singing during the community celebration in Patimul.

Following the inauguration in Patimul, the team returned to the community of Majhi Ukhura for their Hydrodoser inauguration. There, they were welcomed again with a procession filled with songs and dances, which continued from the road all the way to the Hydrodoser at the top of the hill.

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Community members during the Majhi Ukhura inauguration.

Community members during the Majhi Ukhura inauguration.

Chairman Madiath led the ribbon-cutting and Laxminarayan Panda, the GV cluster manager, gave a speech to the community as people sipped on coconut water. Fletcher shook hands with all of the children while saying his goodbyes to everyone he worked with. Before leaving, he made sure to fill his water bottle with safe water, thanks to the chlorination process of the Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser.

Commemoration plaque at Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser.

Commemoration plaque at Majhi Ukhura Hydrodoser.

Together, the Patimul and Majhi Ukhura Hydrodosers serve 360 people with chlorinated water. With the proper care and maintenance, these Hydrodosers will continue serving these communities for years to come.

Our work in India is made possible by our incredible partners at Gram Vikas and the Tata Cornell Institute. Thank you so much for your support.