The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Foundation’s (SMEF) Miners Give Back (MGB) program will continue its collaboration with Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) to support the second phase of a sustainable water system project in Las Mojarras, Guatemala, with its 2016 MGB grant.
According to SMEF, under the direction of SME student members from the EWB-USA Southern Illinois University-Carbondale chapter, the Guatemalan water project will provide clean, usable water for the residents of Las Mojarras. Currently, 80 percent of the community is not able to receive direct access to the existing gravity-flow water system, SMEF adds.
The groups have been working in collaboration with local community leaders, and the project has expanded from the initial assessment phase to design and implement a water system capable of supplying the entire community and the surrounding hillsides. The project will ensure a safe, cost effective and sustainable water supply by identifying suitable locations for water storage tanks; maintaining communications with community leaders; collecting, testing and assessing water samples; and identifying local suppliers of building materials and labor.
“Our collaboration with Engineers Without Borders USA demonstrates the mining industry’s commitment to apply solid engineering solutions to local community problems,” says SME Executive Director David Kanagy. “Improving the quality of life for the citizens of Las Mojarras for generations to come is an accomplishment that everyone involved can be extremely proud of achieving.”
SME is a professional society with more than 15,000 members representing all professions serving the mining, minerals and underground construction industries in more than 100 countries.
