Wetlands continue to reduce nitrates

Wetlands created 20 years ago between tile-drained agricultural fields and the Embarras River were recently revisited for a new two-year research project. Results show an overall 62 percent nitrate removal rate and little emission of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.(more)

Water 4.0

Water 4.0:  The Past, Present, and Future of the World’sMost Vital Resource is a new (2014) book by David Sedlak.   In it he details “(t)he little-known story of the systems that bring us our drinking water, how they were developed, the problems they are facing, and how they will be reinvented in the near future.”  Water 1.0 is what he calls the gravity-powered aqueducts engineered and built by the ancient Romans.  “…(T)he addition of filtration and chlorine disinfection on the front end of water distribution systems…” he refers to as Water 2.0.  “…(T)he installation of biological wastewater treatment on the sewer end…” is Water 3.0.  And, solutions to the challenges we now face will bring Water 3.x – Water 4.0 to our communities.  These solutions may be centralized, decentralized or some combination of both.  Sedlak does a good job of recounting the history and explaining the options we have as we move forward.  For anyone interested in an overview of the past, present and future of urban water, this book is well worth reading.

Oaxaca May update

It has been a much too busy week and a half here in Oaxaca. We arrived on Sunday night the 13th for what we hoped to be a full day of meetings with the head of the state water commission (CEA) and then a follow-up meeting with Sr Cajiga (the Finance Minister).  On the up-side ½ of the agenda happened.  We were not surprised as this is the way schedules and meetings go down here.  Typically, you have a meeting scheduled with someone or something perceived as more important comes up and the original meeting is canceled.  This happens all the time and you cannot take it personally (except that it shows you are lower on the priority list).

We came to Oaxaca specifically to meet with the head of CEA (Ruben), Adriana (from the finance minister’s office) and the Finance Minister Sr Cajiga. Our goal and purpose is to finalize and sign several contracts to help the state government analyze the health of many of their wastewater treatment systems and develop a framework and process for the Finance Minister’s office to follow when evaluating potential public works projects.  In the month prior to this trip we had been talking with Adriana who is the head of investment for the Finance Minister.  She helped us re-scope our proposals and arranged our meetings with the water commission and the finance minister.

Our flights were good and uneventful.  We left Seattle at about 7am on Sunday 13 May and arrived safe in Oaxaca by about 10:30pm.  Firdaus Jhabvala (Dr. J) had arrived about an hour earlier and was already checked into our regular hotel when we got there.  It was late but we stretched our legs with a walk to the Zocalo while strategizing about our next few days in Oaxaca.  Our first meeting was with Adriana at the INSO offices to formally meet her and prepare for the afternoon meeting with the state water commission.  Adriana informed us that we would NOT be meeting with Sr Cajiga because he was called out of town.  Thus, we knew the entire process would take much longer then she had planned.

Our first meeting with Sr Ruben (the head of the state water commission - CEA), went as we expected.  He was not receptive to our proposal, as it would take work away from him and potentially change the way he does business.  Dr J was GREAT as he called Ruben’s bluff and then Adriana jumped in and told him he needed to play by the Finance Minister’s ideas.  We left the meeting agreeing we would meet again on Wednesday to hopefully come to an agreement.  Adriana then treated us to a great lunch and we got a chance to socialize and talk some business.

We then got back to work modifying our proposal and budget to reflect the potential lack of support from CEA.  This included enlarging the scope of work and including time and budget to train and gather all the background data that CEA says does not exist!  We then met Adriana for breakfast on Wednesday morning.  We went to a great café that is a coffee co-op and helps coffee farmers improve their crop and value.  Adriana was very interested in the other work we are doing in Bravo Ahuja (rain harvesting) and our potential work with The Hunger Project.  After talking about these projects for awhile we got down to business.  I must first say we were the benefit of being more important. :)  Adriana initially said she had to leave by 9am to attend another meeting.  To our surprise she canceled it to stay with us.:)  We spoke about our new scope of work and the increased budget.  She was happy to hear our plan, and was not put off by the increase in the budget.  The rest of the day we cleaned up the proposals and we found a mistake in the budget spreadsheet we were working on close to midnight the night before!

We all gathered at 6pm at the CEA offices just outside of town to have our second meeting with Sr Ruben. This one went better than the first as we think he was told he has to go along with our plan as proposed by Sr Cajiga.  Still the meeting went for several hours until Sr Ruben agreed to our proposals.  We left with Adriana tasked with trying to find and secure a meeting with Sr Cajiga.  We knew this would take 3-5 days, but as it turns out it will be longer.

To help Adriana better understand exactly what we will provide, we took the CEA proposal and went line by line detailing the differences in our proposal and the CEA proposal.  The CEA proposal was basically a plan to raise and rebuild 99 treatment plants without understanding if they are repairable or the root cause of failure.  We have come to learn that CEA does not feel any responsibility for the failed plants and they are incentivized to build new ones vs fixing or developing a new process to ensure plants continue to work after they are built.  Adriana was very happy to receive these reports, as this will help her in talking with Sr Cajiga.

Dr J left to return to home to Houston on Thursday morning.  Adriana’s original idea about staying through midweek to finish up was much too optimistic.  Since our last meeting, we have been trying to put the proposals in their final form with the latest changes and in the format expected by CEA and the Finance offices.  We’re putting together our best guesses with the information that we have.  We are on hold with Adriana and Sr Cajiga waiting until he is available to meet with us.  Right now, we hope to meet with him on Tuesday 29 May, after we return from Mexico City (D.F.) from our meetings with The Hunger Project.

 Just because we have not yet met with Sr Cajiga does not mean we are sitting around partying!  We have been meeting with officials from Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla (SDBBE), the filter company (working to install the filter system at the school at SDBBE), a representative from the Pura Vita coffee organization, The Oaxaca Hub, and Juan Jose (INSO) to plan how to manage the upcoming work with Sr Cajiga’s office and CEA.

Around town the city is at the beginning of the annual teachers’ strike which blocks most of the streets surrounding and including the Zocalo.  Nelly tells is this can go on for 3- 15 weeks!  First, it is TOTALLY PEACEFUL and it is sort of a huge street party.  Because there are teachers from all over the state, there are a lot of different craft vendors selling their wares.  Next, there is lots of GREAT street food on almost every corner.  The bummer is that the already bad traffic is even worse!

Our tickets to return to Seattle are for Wednesday 30 May.  At this point Stan will return as scheduled and Rick will stay another week or two in the hope of finalizing the contracts and securing the advance so we can start working on these important projects.

Stay tuned for more exciting news ( as we have time to write about it) :)

Rick & Stan

The Thirsty planet PLU

Please join me Thursday evening and Friday for a conference at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma WA.

Maud Barlow is the Keynote speaker and will speak Thursday evening and the conference will go all day Friday. Rick Will speak about

“Oaxaca: Water and Sanitation: Challenges and Opportunities” at 9:15 Friday morning.

Meeting with the Oaxaca Finance Minister

Juan Jose (the director of INSO) met with the Finance Minister of Oaxaca on Monday night to discuss our proposal to help the State with some of its water and sanitation challenges. We have been working on this proposal for many months now and working hard to secure a discussion with Mr Cagija after we were hosted by him in earlier last Fall.

Our proposal is a four part plan to help the Minister better understand the water and sanitation situation in Oaxaca and proved him with sustainable solutions. Our proposal covers:

• Develop a strategy for water and sanitation for the central valley
• Review the existing wastewater treatment plants and determine if they can be brought up to federal standards.
• Provide the Minister with a framework (technical, economic, environmental, sustainability) to evaluate new water and sanitation projects.
• Plan the implementation of pilot projects to demonstrate the technology innovations outlined in our strategy.

Like many things in Mexico they move much slower than here in the US. Thus, we are cautiously optimistic that we can secure this contact within the next few months.

Oaxaca - October 2011 Trip Report

Oaxaca - October 2011 Trip Report

Oaxaca - October 2011 Trip Report
Rick and Stan were in Oaxaca from October 10th through October 22nd to further Water for Humans' mission. It was a well spent two weeks that included the following highlights: began negotiating a contract with the state of Oaxaca to provide advice on water and sanitation issues, met Dr. Jhabvala for the first time, followed up with the water filter project at the Valentin Gomez Farias Elementary School in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla, checked up on the status of the rainwater harvesting project in the Bravo Ahuja neighborhood of Oaxaca City and attended the 31st Water Forum of Oaxaca. The following covers these highlights in more detail.

State of Oaxaca Contract
Water for Humans participated in a number of meetings with the Secretary of Finance of Oaxaca. In attendance were Secretary of Finance Gerardo Cajiga, Water for Humans, Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO), Natural Systems International (NSI), Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca (UABJO), CONAGUA (federal water commission), CEA (state water commission) and ADOSAPACO (municipal water department). We met with this group for two full days. The first day we discussed the state of water in the central valley and how rainwater harvesting could help. The second day focused on wastewater treatment and irrigation. From these meetings, we came up with a four part proposal to be completed over the next six months to advise the secretary on water and sanitation issues. Within six months (if approved), WFH, NSI and INSO will deliver to the secretary:

• A vision and strategy for water and sanitation for the State of Oaxaca
• A diagnosis (with CEA) of the failed wastewater treatment plants in the State
• Guidelines for evaluating future water and sanitation projects in the state for funding
• Recommended Technology Transfer projects to demonstrate solutions

In addition, Mr. Cajiga briefly spoke with us about making INSO & WFH his "think tank" on water and sanitation issues. We were hoping to have a signed agreement prior to leaving Oaxaca, however, that did not happen. We are now finalizing the four-part proposal with detailed statements of work for each deliverable and hope to have a signed agreement soon.

Per the direction of Mr Cajiga, we spent one day touring several wastewater treatment plants in the central valley. First was a meeting with the municipality head of Etla. Upon our arrival at Etla, the mayor would not receive us, so we went to the old treatment system at the dumpsite to see if they were still trying to rehab it. Shortly after we arrived, the municipality head and his staff joined us. We think this was only because they had received a call from Mr. Cajiga's office. They were very open and listened to our potential plan. We stressed that we have many options available to us to build our pilot plant and one of the selection criteria will be how well the citizens and politics are that govern the site. As you may know, Etla and Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla do not see eye to eye on many issues. We stated very clearly that we would be watching to see if this relationship improves, such that the needs of SDBBE are met by the municipality. We trust our counterparts in SDBBE to give us a truthful assessment to help us make any decisions about moving forward with a treatment plant in SDBBE. Next, we went to Tlacolula to visit their plant. As you may know, Tressie and a group from Engineers without Borders proposed a natural system addition to this plant three to four years ago, but dropped the project due to political issues. We had hoped to tour one more site, but we did not have enough time (as we got lost trying to find the entrance to the Tlacolula plant).

Dr. Firdaus Jhabvala (Natural Systems International)
After talking to and emailing Dr.Jhabvala (with NSI) for over eighteen months, we finally met him in person. The summer of 2010, we hired him to travel to Oaxaca to visit INSO and the wastewater treatment system at Santa Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla (SDBBE). We have been working closely with him since then. He joined us for our first week in Oaxaca and attended the state government meetings with us. Dr. J (as we affectionately refer to him) lived in Oaxaca many years ago, soon after completing his Ph.D. in economics, and taught at a local university. Two of his former students participated in the meetings. He has been instrumental in the contract negotiations and will also be instrumental in fulfilling our six month proposed contract obligations.

Water Forum
We also attended INSO's 31st Water Forum on Friday, October 14th. Finance Minister Cajiga opened the Forum and launched INSO's plan: A Common Plan for the Common Good. Juan Jose Consejo, the Executive Director of INSO, gave the keynote address in which he explained the details of the plan. It looks at the technical, social and environmental components of all potential water and sanitation projects to determine which ones to pursue. This program is a yearlong effort in which the government has funded 20% of the program cost. The project will align with our proposed strategy and give us enhanced input to the plan. One of the presentations was by Inez Barroso on the Bravo Ahuja Rain Harvesting Project. Maria Soledad Diaz Gonzalez, the former head of Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla, also attended. We spoke to her after the forum to get her opinion of what was going on with Villa de Etla with regards to the wastewater treatment plant. That will help us decide how well Etla is doing on the social (and political) front when we decide whether or not to put the initial constructed wetland (technology transfer demonstration project) there.

Water Filter
On Monday, October 17th, we attended the Antequera Rotary Club meeting to bring them up to date on the water filter project at the Valentin Gomez Farias Elementary School in SDBBE. The club was very excited about our work in Oaxaca in general and about the water filter project in particular. They said that we could bring receipts for work on the project to them and they would reimburse us. It is good to know that we can go over our $500 grant (from the Bremerton Rotary Club), if we need to, and still complete the project. They also offered to help find the right water testing company, if needed.

We visited the school on Thursday, the 20th. There, we met the school principal and the parental committee that is overseeing the school's transition to filtered municipal drinking water. At the school, we discovered that the lavatory water that will be filtered to drinking water quality includes surface water during the rainy season. The water goes from municipal water pipes to an underground cistern. From there it is pumped to a water tank on the roof of the lavatory and then to the lavatory faucets. During the rainy season, rainwater from the surface finds its way into the cistern, introducing unknown contaminants into the system. Because of this the installation will be more complex than originally planned. We will have to install a separate storage tank (200 liters) and booster pump to provide the needed water pressure. We are now pricing out a solution that filters piped water only to drinking water quality.

We have been in contact with Industrial Mass in Mexico City to purchase the water filter. We are getting advice from them, as well as our Board Member, James Fox.

Rainwater Harvesting
On Wednesday, October 19th, we met with Mrs. Inez Avelina Barroso and the residential committee at Bravo Ahuja to visit the rainwater harvesting project that we are financially supporting. Mrs. Barroso is the community activist who initiated this project. Joining Nelly, Stan and Rick was Alejandra, who is heading up this project from INSO. These ladies have taken on this project so that their homes can have water year round. They have been trying to conserve and harvest rainwater using makeshift techniques and have managed to have water now when their neighbors do not. Working with INSO, they have big plans to build a 20,000 liter underground cistern (for each home) to provide them with lots of water between rainy seasons. They hope to have enough water to provide their neighbors with some water when they run out.

Thank you!
Your support keeps Water for Humans moving forward.

PS: You can stay in touch with the Water for Humans team by following us on Facebook - almost 360 people already "like" WFH!

Oaxaca - as of October 14th

This our update on the meetings with Mr Cajiga as of 14 Oct. 2011

Secretary of Finance Cajiga

The last three days have been a flurry of activity. After our arrival on Monday night, we have been in what seems like constant meetings with the Oaxaca State Government. Tuesday afternoon was our first meeting with the Finance Minister (Mr. Cajiga) and some of his team. After a short very late lunch (4pm) we were back in the INSO office working on our presentation for the next day and worked on several documents we needed to have ready to print off to hand out to the participants. The documents provided everyone with a description of who WFH is and what we do, along with several letters from the community leaders we are working with. Wednesday morning came early since we needed to finish the documents and get
them printed before the driver came to get us at about 9am. Nelly has been extremely helpful in making sure all the translated documents are correct and she has helped us write several new documents in preparation of these meetings. On Wednesday we were in meetings with the Minister and his staff for most of the day! The meetings are taking place in a new large office campus about 40 minutes outside the city. This complex was built to house all the government offices. On the upside for the public it is a one stop get everything done in one place type layout. On the down side it is way out of town. Luckily for us we have a driver with a minivan (7 passengers) that takes us everywhere we need to go.

R-L: Juan Jose, Dr. Jhabvala, Josefina, Carlos

Like most of the meetings they started 45 minutes late, but when the minister arrived we jumped into action. We discussed the state of wastewater treatment plants throughout the Central Valley, and after some heated discussions the group agreed to form a team of government agencies and INSO & WFH to review the viability of the existing treatment plants. Erik Marnitez (UABJO) was able to attend the meeting and added some very good background on a number of plants that he and his students analyzed for their water quality parameters and overall health. Dr. Jhabvala (Dr. J) also made some significant contributions to the meeting. After explaining how constructed wetlands can be part of the solution, there was a dissenting view expressed about the ability of wetlands to clean up wastewater at all and that activated sludge plants

clean 90% of wastewater. This gave the ‘good’ Dr. an opportunity to further explain how properly designed and implemented constructed wetlands all over the world, including Mexico, clean well over 90% of waste and how activated sludge plants clean water up to 90% but leave massive amounts of contaminated sludge that then needs to be dealt with and normally just piles up. This turned out to be a good education for the dissenter as well as everyone else in the room.

The minister fully understood that his internal team does not have the wherewithal to fully analyze the state of the current plants fairly. Thus, WFH with the help of Dr J (and hopefully Tressie Word) will oversee the work of the minister’s staff to provide an objective analysis of the situation. Nelly provided us with highlights of the conversation. She took great notes (in Spanish) which we were able to understand. The verbal conversation goes by way too fast. This situation reminds Rick of when he was first working in Germany and all the meetings there were in German.

When the discussion turned to the possibility of establishing a certified testing lab in the state (to analyze the quality of waste water), the initial comments were in favor of turning that over to CONAGUA (the federal water commission) and CEA (the state water commission). However, Erik spoke about the work that he has done at the university and the possibility of setting up an independent certified laboratory. We would like to be able to have an independent (or part of UABJO) lab that is not located on campus since UABJO seems to be closed more than open due to protests. Erik stated the lab could be located off campus and be a joint effort with UABJO. In addition, we don’t like the idea that it would be run by CONAUGA & CEA because this is like the fox guarding the hen house.

Meeting with the Finance Minister

The next topic discussed was about irrigation water quantity and quality. Both the state and federal representatives gave their perspectives on the situation. What was both sad and somewhat funny is that the state water commission representative who has worked in several different states talked about a “great program” he implemented, but was stopped because the aquifer went dry! The minister rolled his eyes, as he fully understood this was not a good strategy. Then another government representative spoke about his program and how great it was until the region suffered from increased desertification. Again, the minister understood that this was not a good strategy. Juan Jose led the discussion for both INSO and WFH, since all the meetings were in Spanish. Juan Jose spoke about the potential of using new and innovative techniques to better capture rain water and help manage stream & river flow rates that
will increase the availability of irrigation water. In addition, he spoke about how to implement changes in irrigation practices to increase water productivity. We finally left the office complex about 3:30 pm and were driven back to the city to have a late lunch.

Etla Treatment Plant, R-L: Nelly, Erik, 3 Etla officials

Thursday was a day for us to look at three potential sites for the possible repair or replacement of existing treatment plants. First, we went go out to Etla and met with the new Municipality head. As you may know, the political situation in Etla is challenging. We waited for well over an hour and a half (one hour is customary) and the Municipality head would not receive us, so we decided to go to the treatment plant and see the work that Etla is doing to rehab the inadequate system. Shortly after we arrived at the plant the Municipality folks all showed up! From what we understand the Minister told them to respect our time and meet with us to learn more about our ideas for this site. We spoke
for a good 45 minutes and agreed to continue the discussion next Tuesday at 6PM.

Tlacolula Treatment Plant

We then drove to the other side of Oaxaca City to Tlacolula (population 20,000) to see the plant there. Eirk could not join us. However, he did his Master’s thesis on how to incorporate a wetland at this plant several years ago. This is the one that Tressie and the Engineers without Borders group from Eurika, CA, worked up a full redesign on and did not implement due to political issues in the town. We had difficulty finding the site because the map Erik gave us was inadequate. Thursday is “Market Day” and the roads we were directed to go on were blocked by the market. After wandering around for a while we went to the municipal offices to get directions around the market to the plant. We made it to the plant and looked around. The system is minimal at best with two large facultative lagoons. On the up side there is a lot of open land
around the plant. On the downside it a very large community and we would not be able to implement many of our other ideas at this scale right out of the box.

Biggest Tree in the World

Because we lost a good 45+ minutes getting lost trying to find the treatment plant we did not have time to visit the last site. However, on our way back to meet with Juan Jose for a 7pm meeting, we stopped off at what is said to be the “largest and oldest tree” in the world in Tule. We had a great seven year old girl as our guide and she pointed out all of the animal-like features of the grand tree.

Working on the proposal

Upon arriving back at INSO at 7pm we started work on a proposal to present to the minister at our breakfast meeting Friday morning. Earlier in the day before we went on our tour, we started drafting our ideas. We worked well past 10:30pm on our proposal which was based on action items the minister brought up throughout our meetings.


We decided on a four part plan that will take six months to complete. It covers the following:
1. A vision-/strategy for water and sanitation for the Central Valley
2. A review team that will evaluate the existing treatment plants and divide them into three categories.
a. Fixable
b. abandoned/scrap/not worth fixing
c. More extensive research required.
This team will work with CEA (the state water commission) in an oversight and advisor function.

3. Produce a process document that municipalities will follow to justify their request for water and sanitation improvements.
This report will outline a basic process for doing economic analyses that includes the engineering, social and environmental effects. The minister is an economist and wants to have a way to objectively evaluate potential projects so he can prioritize them correctly.

4. Pilot project development.
This will cover the planning and pre-implementation costs of pilot projects that reinforce our strategy and show that some of the innovative recommendations are both valid and cost effective.

Some of the pilot projects we are planning for both urban and rural locations are:

• “Family ecosystems”
• Storm water management
• Industrial and household water use reduction program (education and equipment)
• Dry latrines and ultra-low volume flush toilets
• Greywater treatment
• Rainwater Harvesting.

This joint proposal is expected to cost $1,000,000P ($80,000 USD) over a six month period.

Friday was our last day in the fancy hotel and the day of the 31st INSO Water Forum (Foro Oaxaqueno del Agua-quarterly meetings sponsored by INSO to discuss water and sanitation issues in Oaxaca). We had a very brief breakfast with the minister. He had to leave early for a meeting with the governor. However, we did have the opportunity to present our proposal to him and it was well received. Mr. Cajiga said his initial impression is that the structure and costs are in line with his budget and expectations. He then said he would like to make the INSO &WFH group his “think tank” for advice on water and sanitation. With that said he directed his assistant to arrange a meeting for next week to finalize the proposal.

Water Forum Sign

Water Forum Head Table with Secretary Cajiga

Mrs. Ines Avelina Barroso

We then rushed off to the 31st Water Forum, in which the minister opened the forum and anno-unced the formation of a yearlong project (A Common Plan for the Common Good) with INSO to further the work they have been doing in the valley for the past 20+ years. Then, he briefly spoke about the proposed partnership with INSO & WFH. The minster then slipped out to go to Mexico City. Juan Jose gave the keynote presentation at the Water Forum: ‘A Common Plan


for the Common Good’. He introduced the idea and highlighted that it would include technical, environmental and social aspects to all future plans for water and sanitation in the Central Valley. Towards the end of the forum Mrs. Ines Avelina Barroso made a presentation about the rainwater harvesting program in Bravo Ahuja (which WFH is helping to fund). We met her after the forum and arranged to visit the site on Wednesday at 1700. Maria, the former head of Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla also attended the meeting. We spent several minutes after the meeting with her to get her views of the situation with the wastewater treatment plant in Etla. We are looking forward to next Tuesday’s meeting there. The forum ended about 12:45 and we went back to INSO to wrap up our work for the week.

L-R: Stan, Maria, Santa Domingo official, Rick

We are very much looking forward to a “weekend off.”

Rick and Stan

Upcoming Trip to Oaxaca Mexico

Upcoming Mexico Trip
Finally, after more than nine months, we have had a major breakthrough with the state government.

Water for Humans (WFH) will be traveling to Oaxaca to meet with Senor Cajiga, the Oaxaca State Finance Minister, on Oct 10th. The minister has agreed to meet with us (paying our travel) to discuss working on a strategy for water and sanitation, first for the central valley and hopefully for the entire state. This work will be divided between WFH and our partner NGO: Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca INSO. WFH will be bringing Dr. Firdaus Jhabvala (from Natural Systems International/Biohabitats) to help with contracting and municipal sanitation.

Our goals for the finance minister are to do the following:

• Secure a contract to develop a strategy for water and sanitation projects.
• Secure commitments/funding for pilot projects.

We will be in Oaxaca for two weeks working with the Senor Cajiga and following up on our other projects: school water filer and rain catchment.

Joint working agreement with UABJO Oaxaca

I am pleased to announce a new joint working agreement with Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO) Water for Humans and Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca (UABJO).  Professor Erik  Martinez Torres of the Chemical Engineering Department will formally join our efforts to help educate the community and government on the need and technology for natural waste-water treatment.  Erik's laboratory will be more involved with our ongoing water analysis of both drinking water and black-water.

We look forward to working more closely with UABJO as our plans for the design and construction of a natural waste-water treatment plant in Villa De Etla, and Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla.

Maria Soledad Diaz Gonzalez Reelected as the Agency Head of Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla

Maria Soledad Diaz Gonzalez was reelected as the  Agency Head of Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla. This election took several months to resolve as there was said to be irregularities, and the opposition was disputing the results. Just last week the election was certified fair and complete.  Maria has been the Agency Head for several years and her reelection is very important to our work in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla.Maria has been spearheading most of the environmental efforts in the community and with her support and the Community of Elders we have built strong community support to replace the derelict wastewater treatment plant with a sustainable natural treatment system.

On Wednesday Maria and the new Mayor of Villa De Etla met with our partner NGO

Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO) to discuss the strategy for our upcoming meeting with the Governor to present our solution to the derelict wastewater treatment plant. This derelict treatment plant floods several houses in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla when ever there is a big rain storm, and the raw sewage continuously floods farmers fields.

Gabino Cué, the new governor of Oaxaca state in Mexico

Gabino Cué officially took office as the new Governor of Oaxaca on December 1st 2010 (which seems like a long time ago already).  Please see the attached link. This election has come at a critical time for us and INSO as there will be a significant power shift in our favor.  Grabino is committed to sustainable development and is very concerned about water and sanitation in the face of climate change.  He understands the importance or water productivity and some of the potential challenges Oaxaca faces in the coming years. INSO has already held several key meetings with the new ministers, and INSO is working hard to secure a personal meeting with Grabino and several of his ministers. The goal of this upcoming meeting is to help the new government formulate a sustainable strategy for water resources.  We (Water for Humans) and INSO will hopefully be able to help formulate an overarching strategy that will allow us (WFH & INSO) will work closely with the new government and implement many new projects

Biohabitats acquires Natural Systems International

Biohabitats has acquired Natural Systems International, Water for Humans' partner for constructed wetlands' expertise. Biohabitats was started in 1982 and works on projects to restore the earth and inspire ecological stewardship. Acquiring NSI will allow the new organization to focus efforts on more water related issues in the future. This is a good fit for both companies and is 'Good News for the Earth'. This will not change Water for Humans' relationship with our constructed wetland's consultants.