EWB: The Northeastern Branch
Since 2005, the Northeastern Chapter of Engineers Without Borders has been working on several projects in Honduras. Though many EWB Chapters work on sanitation, renewable energy, etc, the main concern of the Northeastern Chapter is water. In Honduras, they have already completed two water projects in the villages of El Tecuan and Los Planes. In El Tecuan, the source of water was unreliable and didn’t have enough pressure to work properly. The EWB students replaced 1200 feet worth of pipe in order to improve the water pressure, therefore improving the reliability of the water. In Los Planes, the majority of people had to gather their water from streams below the village, and some had access to a distribution system which produced not nearly enough water as was needed for these agricultural people. It was also found that both water sources were contaminated. The people of Los Planes were in desperate need of a new system. As farmers, many of them could not water they’re crops, therefore they could not feed their families or pay bills. The Northeastern students created a new system in which each house has its own water tap, a vast improvement over the older system.
Currently the EWB Northeastern Chapter is working on three other water projects in Honduras and one water project in Bbanda, Uganda. In these villages, just as in Los Planes and El Tecuan, the water is either contaminated, hard to access, or both. The engineers have constructed plans for all four of these projects. They are continually working to improve the water situation for the residents in each of these four locations.
