The Magic of AguaClara

Alauca residents visiting their water treatment plant

Dan Smith used the phrase, "the magic of AguaClara" in a conversation about design alternatives and the need to keep plant operation simple and easy.I've been reflecting on the essential magic of AguaClara. It is easy to sense that magic when talking with community members or members of the water board. Antonio Andara, president of the water board in Alauca (7th AguaClara plant), eloquently expressed his passion for making the world a better place:

"If we continue to deforest our land, then our children will be forced to farm the desert. We have time to overcome the errors that our grandfathers made. They have passed the bill on to us, and it's our turn to pay it. Now, thanks to God, man has given us this technology, this plant. I feel very proud that I've given something good to my children. They will have clean water, treated water."

-  Antonio Andara

Cornell alumni refer to AguaClara's magic, too:

 "...[AguaClara] was a fantastic example of how developmental work should be done. I have tried to get involved with other programs ... , and they really don't measure up both in terms of what the students are providing the communities and in what the students are learning." 

- Cornell AguaClara alumni

The magic of AguaClara is seen in the successful operation of the AguaClara facilities in stark contrast with the failures in both high tech conventional plants and low tech multiple stage filtration plants. What is the magic of smart tech, of simplicity on the other side of complexity? What is the underlying magic of our design philosophy? I propose that the AguaClara magic begins with

• empathy for people who live without access to safe drinking water
• a respect for people's desire and capacity to create a better world for their children. 
• belief in the the wisdom of a group and the power of collaboration 
• humility in understanding that it is a short walk to the edge of knowledge and that our partners (plant operators, communities, Agua Para el Pueblo) bring a complementary wealth of knowledge

AguaClara is a people centered Research, Invent, Design, and Empower (RIDE) cycle. It is this respectful cycle of learning that is so magical.

I welcome your comments on the magic of AguaClara!

Knowledge: It is a short walk to the edge

Last Sunday was Cornell graduation and one of my students, Yiwen Ng, handed me a note with her artwork of one of my favorite sayings. My students all know that "It's a short walk to the edge of knowledge."

I had never noticed before that the "edge" is right inside knowledge. It really is a short walk to the edge and perhaps the first step towards wisdom is recognizing how close we are to the edge.

The success of the AguaClara program has been in our ability to recognize the edge and then conduct experiments and test new ideas both in the laboratory and at full scale. We discovered that much of conventional wisdom about water treatment technologies is scaffolding built beyond the edge. We stepped back off of that shaky scaffolding and back on to the solid edifice of knowledge and began extending knowledge brick by brick.

In the past 7 years we have added bricks in chemical dosing, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration. With Agua Para el Pueblo we've also added bricks of knowledge in governance and construction of water treatment plants. As we look ahead to the next 7 years, may we add many more solid bricks!

AguaClara plant at Alauca turns chocolate into pure water

We knew that the water supply in Alauca was terribly contaminated. We now have the evidence. This is why CARE international knew that simply providing access to water wasn't enough. Can you imagine managing a household and attempting to keep your children healthy with the water on the left?

Water on the left was raw water coming into the AguaClara facility. Water on the right is the safe water produced by the plant.

I've been reflecting that the experts in the development world are often unaware of water quality and the incredible impact that poor water quality has on health and on a community's outlook. Of course, hand washing and sanitation are important. AND safe drinking water is essential. Safe, clear drinking water brings pride to women and to the entire community.

Support AguaClara and help us develop the technologies and the capability to spread sustainable AguaClara plants to more communities!

AguaClara plant at Atima, Santa Barbara is producing clean water!

The Atima plant is AguaClara's 8th plant and the 7th Honduran town to have clean water from Cornell AguaClara technologies. Antonio Elvir announced the successful results of the inaugural run yesterday.
"Con mucha alegria y satisfacion les informo que la planta en Atima esta funcionanando muy bien, las primeras pruebas fueron exitosas. Desde ayer (Thursday, May 25) a la 1: esta en funcion y la NTU es constante entre 40 y 60 ya que no ha llovido y saliendo menos de 3. Me imagino que las mejoras al diseño estan funcionando."

Atima plant under construction, April 20, 2012. This 15 L/s plant begin operation on May 25, 2012. The flocculator channels are in the foreground and the 5 sedimentation tanks are in the middle of the photo.

"With much happiness and satisfaction I report that the Atima plant is performing very well and the first tests were a success. Since yesterday (Thursday, may 25) at 1 pm the plant is online. The raw water turbidity is between 40 and 60 NTU because it hasn't been raining. The effluent turbidity is less than 3 NTU. It seems to me that the improvements to the design are functioning." - Antonio Elvir

30,000 people now receive safe clean drinking water from AguaClara plants!