Engineers Without Borders USA - OSU Chapter

Nicaragua

We were partnered with Los Potrerillos, Nicaragua, from 2014 to 2023. 

The community had expressed that they had poor water outputs and it was very time consuming to collect water from distant areas. Thus we focused to increase and distribute clear water to the three surrounding sectors of the community.

In 2019, we worked on designing a water storage system, piping, and shelter to protect the infrastructure from weathering. Providing sustainable and accessible drinking water from the community. 

The project was ended in 2024 due to governmental conflicts in the area. 

Timeline-

2014 (Program adoption):

• Partnered with Los Potreillos community

2015 (Assessment trip 1):

• In-community data collection

2016 (Implementation 1):

• Install drilled wells in community, data collection

2017 (Implementation 2 and assessment):

• Install piping and connect to drilled well, data collection, river crossing

2019 (Remote implementation 3):

• Travel Ban- Remotely install tanks and piping and connect into existing system, data collection

2020 (Remote implementation 4):

• Design and build a pipe crossing to distribute water to lower sectors of the community

2021 (Remote implementation 5):

• Check system performance and assess the success of the project

2024 (Project end):

• Project ended

Cambodia

We are currently partnered with O’rana, Cambodia. This project was adopted in 2016 as a water access mission. The goal of the project was to design and construct a water filtration, storage, and distribution system that will provide year long access to clean water.

The O'rana community has about 1,620 community members whose access to clean drinking water is limited to water bottles, which they spend a lot of their income on. 

Our first implementation provided biosand water filters to 214 members of the community. We traveled in the summer of 2025 for an reevaluation trip, during which we surveyed community members on the filters and tested water samples. 

Timeline-

2016 (Program adoption/Assessment trip 1):

•  Originally partnered with Cambodia Rural Development Team (CRDT)
• Hydrogeologic assessment, initial community survey

2017 (Assessment trip 2):

• Flow rate testing on candidate wells, formation of water board, water quality testing

2019 (Implementation 1):

• Distribution of biosand filers and training, surveying, community communication

2021 (Remote implementation 2):

• Implement pilot treatment system (two trains) with Rainwater Cambodia coordination

2025 (Reassessment trip):

• Community surveying and water testing of wells/filers

Cameroon

We are stationed in the Littoral region of Cameroon. Our project mission here is to implement a sustainable water system to provide safe water for drinking and irrigation. The region we are reaching includes 5000 households. None of these households have reliable water sources, them being hand dug wells subject to contaminants.

This project is brand new as of 2025. We are currently exploring and researching options for which we can reach our goal. We are beginning with the Kombe Gare municiple as we come up with a sustainable solution. Then which we can implement it in larger communities and expand out. We are planning on a long term-partnership in the region. 

Our current research for possible solutions include borehole wells, which we are further investigating the prospect of. 

Timeline-

2025 (Program adoption/Assessment trip 1):

• Partnering with the Littoral region and connected with community leaders
• Testing and exploring existing water sources
• Conducting household surveys to gauge community interest and get their inputs into the future of the project