Volume I, Issue I 
December, 2008 

Improving drinking water quality through innovative research, knowledge transfer, open source 
engineering, and design of sustainable, replicable water treatment systems 

In this issue: 

1 Introducing the 
AguaClara Newsletter! 

1 An Update from Cuatro 
Comunidades 

2 AguaClara Treatment 
Plants in Honduras 

2 HavenŐt Heard? An 
Overview of the Project 

Read the 
latest update 
from the 
AguaClara 
Engineers! 

Introducing the AguaClara Newsletter! 

We are proud to introduce the AguaClara newsletter for the 
ever-growing base of supporters and team alumni! In this first 
issue we provide a focus on the implementation of our latest 
project in Cuatro Communiades. 

An Update from Cuatro Comunidades 

Excavation of the construction site at Cuatro Comunidades 
(Four Communities) has been completed and the foundation of 
another AguaClara plant has been set. In fact the flocculation 
tanks have already been cemented and most of the walls are up. 
Our Regional Partner, Agua Para el Pueblo (APP), a non-profit 
Honduran NGO who manages the project, knows the 
importance of community support of our plants and has worked 
to involve the community from the start. APP works directly 
with the Junta de Agua, or Water 
Board, which acts as a liaison 
between APP and the community. 

It is important to note that one of 
the most important social 
components of the project was 
already in place before construction 
began. Before the first stone was 
placed, the community and the Junta 
had agreed to contribute to the 
construction of the plant with labor 
and materials and to raise the 
monthly water tariff to a sustainable level once the plant is 
built. Annexed to the construction agreement was a budget the 
Junta made planning how they will use the tariff to maintain 
and operate the treatment plant and water system. 


On October 30th, APP and the two AguaClara Engineers 
who are alumni from the project team, John Erickson and 
Tamar Sharabi, organized a fair called FODA (which stands for 
Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats in Spanish). 
In a comfortable environment, members of the Junta and other 
community leaders were able to evaluate 


Treatment Plants 

In Honduras 

Currently Operating: 
Tamara, since 2008 


Marcala, since 2008 


Ojojona, since 2007 

Under Construction: 
Cuatro Comunidades 
Special Thanks To Our 
Partners: 


Volume I, Issue I 
December, 2008 
Page 2 

the current situation of the Junta and think about how to 
improve it. 

Later in November, APP contracted a bus to bring 60 
residents from the Cuatro Comunidades to Ojojona to see the 
first AguaClara plant constructed by APP. Pictured above, 
Antonio, the AguaClara technician employed be APP, explains 
the layout of the plant. The participants enjoyed the excursion 
to Ojojona and returned ready to build consciousness and 
enthusiasm in the Cuatro Comunidades for their future plant. 

Also in November, several members of the Cuatro 
Comunidades Junta travelled to Marcala for an exchange event 
between four different Honduran communities involved with 
AguaClara. Operators and water board members from Tamara, 
Ojojona, Cuatro Comunidades and Marcala convened in 
Marcala to discuss the operation of their plants and to tour the 
Marcala plant. 

Community ownership and support of AguaClara plants 
will continue to be a key factor in the success of the AguaClara 
project. 

HavenŐt Heard? An Overview of the Project 

Over thirty students from undergraduates to Ph.D. 
candidates are working hard at Cornell University and on 
internships in Honduras to research, design, and implement 
AguaClara water treatment plants, all under the direction of Dr. 
Monroe Weber-Shirk. Research conducted at bench scale, pilot 
scale, full-scale, and through computational fluid dynamics 
increases our understanding of flocculation processes. The 
Design of AguaClara plants including the AutoCAD drawing is 
automatically generated by a design tool created by a team of 
students. Ultimately, the designs for our plants will be made 
available online as part of our commitment to open-source 
engineering. 


AguaClara.cee.cornell.edu 
CUAguaClara@gmail.com 
Hollister Hall, Cornell University