Civil engineering students to bring water to Nicaraguan community

Mason civil engineering students will work to bring clean, accesible water to a community in Nicaragua (photo courtesy of Engineers for International Development).

This summer, civil engineering students in Engineers for International Development will implement a project intended to bring accessible water to a small community in Nicaragua.

EfID plans to install a new well, a solar-powered water storage tank, and pipes to transport water to homes in the Grande Sabana community of Nicaragua. The community has two inefficient wells and no way to store water.

“[Water] is a big issue in Latin American countries, especially in Nicaragua,” said Kenex Sevilla, project leader and EfID president.. “There are a lot of communities that don’t have a supply of water and if they do it’s probably not clean or good quality.”

The EfID, a student organization under Mason’s Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, works with professional engineers on projects focused on creating water infrastructures and sanitation systems in other countries. In previous years EfID installed two water storage tanks in San Isidro, Peru, and improved water sanitation systems in a community in Honduras.

In 2012, after witnessing the EfID’s work on a pilot water filtration system in Maijuana, Peru, Sevilla was inspired to create a project to improve water access in Nicaragua.

“After I saw the projects I said, ‘why not extend to different countries?’” Sevilla said.

Sevilla, who grew up half an hour away from Grande Sabana, was aware of the water situation in the area.

“I was born in Nicaragua and I knew about this community,” Sevilla said. “Whenever they want water, they have to walk up to the well with buckets and containers and walk back home.”

Sevilla made Grande Sabana the focus of EfID’s next project and is the liaison between the students and the community.

“I talked to the community leaders and they were more than welcoming,” Sevilla said.

The mayor of Grande Sabana is attempting to secure funding for a well. If this is successful, EfID will only need to install the piping and pumps.

The group still needs $15,000 to purchase the materials needed.

“We might not have enough money to carry out the whole project,” Sevilla said, adding that if this were the case the group would complete part of the project and “have to come back another time.”

The group is also accepting volunteers. “We'd love to have more students get involved, and you don't have to be an engineer to join,” Sevilla said in an email.

“If you like to help others, travel, and meet new cultures, this is a great way to do all three,” Kenex added.

On Wednesday, April 10, EfID will have a fundraising event at the Green Turtle on Main Street. 

“There are people who lack clean water and supply all over the world and if people could donate they would be making a difference,” Sevilla said.