Press & Galleries

AguaClara Engineering Trip to Honduras

Twenty-one Cornell students in the AguaClara program spent two weeks of their winter break traveling in Honduras and learning about the sustainability of various drinking water treatment technologies. The AguaClara team has developed a series of water treatment technologies that do not require any electricity and that are able to transform highly turbid surface waters into safe drinking water. The team at Cornell partners with Agua Para el Pueblo in Honduras to implement the Cornell technologies. While in Honduras they traveled over 1400 miles with many of those miles on dirt roads. The team visited five communities with AguaClara water treatment plants and two communities where AguaClara plants are on schedule to be constructed this year.

Sedimentation Tank Hydraulics Team Develops Tank Design

The Sedimentation Tank Hydraulics team is working on designing a new tank that has optimal geometry for floc blanket formation. However, floc blanket is currently not part of existing AguaClara plants. In past years, the team was successful in forming floc blankets in labs but failed to form them in full size plants. They believe it is due to the geometry of current sedimentation tank design. Team leader Anna Lee says, "We are still working on designing the sedimentation tank. Our schematic drawing and the autocadd drawings of the model will be part of our first reflection report." To view the Sedimentation Tank Hydraulics reports visit the team page.

AguaClara's Spring Benefit Concert

In just a few months, AguaClara will be hosting its semester benefit concert at The Nines! The night includes performances by talented local bands and great food at one of Collegetown's most popular local hangouts.  In past years the concert has featured bands such as Juliana Richer Daily and Weggalo Star.  AguaClara is currently looking for any bands interested in participating in the concert this April. Money raised from the night will go towards AguaClara research as well as funding annual trips to Honduras, where the team will work on further developing their system. If anyone is interested in participating in this event, please contact Gianna at gz68@cornell.edu

Update: AguaClara benefit concert starts at 10pm at the Nines next Thursday, April 7!

Volunteer Opportunities

AguaClara is currently taking local volunteers! As of this semester, the team is open to individuals willing to help out with any aspect of the project. Teams are involved in a variety of tasks and range from Foam Filtration Research to the Design Team. Those without significant engineering experience are welcome to participate and learn more about AguaClara and the water filtration system. Additionally, they are welcome to participate on the Outreach Team which works to spread the word about AguaClara both locally and globally. Projects include updating the website, planning fundraising event, creating promotional materials, and contacting potential funding sources. Volunteer opportunities vary in length of time commitment and every participant will receive a certificate at the end of their commitment as verification of their contribution to AguaClara. Anyone interested can contact Rosa at rm497@cornell.edu.

The annual AguaClara benefit concert will be held next Thursday, April 7, 10pm-1am at the Nines in Ithaca. Get excited!