Our Volunteer Projects
Holistic, Cost-Effective Water and Sanitation Solution
Water reuse is an integral part of the solution for addressing water and sanitation issues in developing countries. Cost-effective, holistic water, and sanitation solutions using available technology could significantly improve living conditions in large communities that lack water supply and wastewater collection and treatment networks. For only US $0.10 per person per day, this approach could provide services including drinking water, toilet flushing, hand washing, showering, dishwashing, and clothes washing. All costs are based on utilizing modular prepackaged construction, which could be completely built, tested, and shipped to the project site.
Practicability of Holistic Community Water Centers In Sub-Saharan Africa
A team of University of Maryland, University College student researchers examined the current status of water, sanitation, and hygiene programs in Sub-Saharan African countries and how WATEK's concept of community water centers can benefit these countries to help meet the United Nations General Assembly's Sustainable Development Goal of providing universal access to water and sanitation by the year 2030.
Engineers Without Borders - Guatemala Water Project
Members of WATEK Staff have been involved with the Johns Hopkins University Chapter of Engineers Without Borders since 2010. For one project, WATEK Staff worked with over 40 undergraduate students, graduate students, and professional engineers to design a solar-powered pumping system to bring clean drinking water to a community of about 230 people in Chicorral, Guatemala. The project's goal is to increase the community’s autonomy, alleviate health problems related to drinking water, and improve the overall quality of life.
During the 2016 National Park Week in Seneca Falls, New York, the Women's Rights National Historical Park hosted Dr. Zoreh Movahed to speak about the horrible situation of women related to water and sanitation in developing countries. Women spend over 200,000,000 Hours Each Day (equivalent to building 28 Empire State Buildings Each Day) to collect water. In developing countries, providing holistic sustainable water and sanitation is the MOST POWERFUL ACTION towards addressing gender inequality, helping women towards ending poverty, and promoting education for girls. Water and sanitation solutions create and support public health; human dignity; productivity; job opportunities; economic stability and hope. In order to be effective, fragmented solutions need to be replaced with a cohesive combination of holistic cost-effective water and sanitation solutions.
Water, A Women's Issue?
WATEK Engineering Forms A Partnership with SuSanA Forum
WATEK in partnership with the University of Maryland University College graduate program in Environmental Management, is actively participating in a Forum sponsored by the "Sustainable Sanitation Alliance", for promotion of holistic water and sanitation for congested communities that lack indoor plumbing.
A team of University of Maryland, University College student researchers were tasked with collecting data and developing a report for use in proposing entry of technology into remote, rural villages in a developing country. The purpose was to have the team members find three, remote, highly-populated areas that need access to sanitized water and to provide information which supports successful implementation of the holistic technology. The objective is to educate a potential project sponsor in the specific socioeconomic, geographical, legal, and technical requirements of each village; to provide information on potential difficulties in implementation of the technology; and to assist in acquisition of funding and strategic partnerships for implementation of the technology.