Get Involved

Panama Project Meetings

The Panama Project team meets weekly to work on the design, planning and education for their project in Sieykin, Panama.  This is a great way to get immediately involved in working on projects and discussing potential solutions and problems.  There is a place for everyone here from civil engineers to nurses.   The best way to get involved with the Panama Project meetings is to email a subgroup lead or project lead to inquire how you may fit in the process.  Then look over the resources online (see below) to educate yourself on the current progress of the project and show up and start contributing.

Thursdays at 7pm on the UT campus in ACES 2.402 (Map)

Subgroups

Throughout the academic year, the project group does research and meets weekly to brainstorm and discuss the logistics of the project. To be more efficient in our discussions, we have split up into the following subgroups:

Construction, Subgroup Lead: Kenny O’Neill (koneill@mail.utexas.edu)

The construction group is in charge of designing the water system. This includes designing the pipeline, spring boxes and storage tanks. This group has been further divided into the following subgroups:

Piping/Mapping – Using computer software to map the pipeline and to calculate flow-rates, pressures, etc.

Valve Design – Design air release valves using only locally-available materials.

Bridge – Design simple bridges to support the pipeline over ravines.

Source Protection (Spring box/Driven well) – Research and design spring water tapping systems and rudimentary filtration devices.

Tank Construction – Research and design potable water tanks and tank repair.

Concrete – Research methods of concrete construction.

Health Education, Subgroup Lead: Andrea Tee (andrea.tee@gmail.com)

The health education subgroup is developing health education materials for both adults and children of the community. This includes activities, songs, and skits to educate both the children and the adults about disease transmission, proper hygiene and hand washing. This group is also responsible for training the community to operate and maintain the system.

Fund-raising and Grant Writing, Subgroup Lead: Travis Hampton (thampton@mail.utexas.edu)

This group is working on various fund-raising activities such as applying for grants, contacting companies, Rotary clubs and other organizations and organizing events to raise money for the upcoming trips.

Health and Safety, Subgroup Lead: Patrick Dunlap (patrick.j.dunlap@gmail.com)

This group completes all health and safety paperwork required by EWB-USA before traveling.

Supply and Demand, Subgroup Lead: Hannah Romaine (h.romaine@hotmail.com)

The supply and demand group was responsible for approximating the community’s water usage and determining what would be an adequate supply of water to  meet the their needs. (This group is now retired.)

Water Treatment, Subgroup Lead: Adrienne O’Neill (adrienneus@gmail.com)

The water treatment group has done exhaustive research on the many types of water treatment available and has discussed to great length the pros and cons of each of the options. After ruling several out due to cost, material availability, and lack of electricity, the group has focused their efforts this past semester on sand filters and chlorination. (This group is now retired.)

For access to meeting minutes and other documents related to each subgroup, follow this link to our google site: http://sites.google.com/site/ewbauspanama/