ARTICLE - CANGE - MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM

FIRST CHLORINATED MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM, IN THE CENTRAL PLATEAU
(Haiti Libre) -

Members of Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries traveled to Haiti for the dedication of a water system in an area that has been plagued by cholera since the 2010 earthquake that leveled the country’s capital.

The six Clemson University students, their faculty adviser and an industry adviser went to the village of Cange to help dedicate the new turbine-driven water pumping and filtration system.

During the past year, the group’s interns performed field engineering and construction oversight for the water system, which serves the greater Cange area and a population of nearly 10,000. It is the first chlorinated municipal water system in the Central Plateau of Haiti.

"This week is going to be a myriad of ceremonies, dedicating things from cisterns to the pump house and all the different technologies that are supplying water to Cange," said Jennifer Ogle, an associate professor in Clemson’s Glenn Department of Civil Engineering and the group’s main faculty adviser. She was accompanied by students Michael Ladue of Simpsonville, Nathan Schneider of Clemson, and Joshua Mitchell of Elgin. Graduate students Robert Wood of Atlanta and Jeff Plumblee of Central, who founded the group, also were there.

The project was made possible by funding for materials from the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina and funding for students from Clemson University programs, including Creative Inquiry, the Michelin Career Center, the Service Learning Alliance, Clemson’s Glenn Department of Civil Engineering and a few private donations.

Representatives of Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries, the Episcopal Diocese, Haiti’s Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health), the Church of Bon Saveur and the people of Cange gathered Monday to dedicate the newly commissioned system.

They toured the water facilities, which include 9 fountain/showers, 4 cisterns with a total capacity of 200,000 gallons and a pumping system that can deliver 144,000 gallons of water per day, up 1,100 feet through nearly 2 miles of four-inch galvanized pipe. The water is filtered, sterilized and chlorinated in an effort to improve public health in the midst of the cholera epidemic.

The event culminated at the water source in Bas Cange (lower Cange) where Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries and other organizations were recognized for their efforts. The residents of Cange commemorated the accomplishment with a plaque acknowledging the efforts of Clemson University to design and construct the system.

While the system is completed, Ogle said there still is work to do teaching Haitians how to maintain and operate the system. The Clemson group will continue to work in the region helping improve water quality, sanitation and waste management systems.

While in Haiti, Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries also participated in the dedication of the Centre de Formation Fritz Lafontant (CFFL) vocational school, where intern Michael Ladue teaches English to Haitian students. The group plans to offer technical courses at the school in the future.

Learn more about Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries:
Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries’ mission is to work with local communities in the Central Plateau of Haiti to develop sustainable solutions that improve quality of life through interdisciplinary student-led initiatives that embody our core values in partnership with Clemson University, non-profit organizations, and industry.