Oruchinga Refugee Settlement Project

Benito Mariñas, SGWI Director, met recently with Ugandan Vice President Edward Ssekandi, regional ministers, local officials, regional/local NGOs, community leaders, and in-country US/international agency representatives to secure land and the full regional stakeholder support for the Sustainable Safe Water & Sanitation project at the UNHCR Oruchinga Refugee settlement and surrounding communities.  The regional source waters are contaminated with high concentrations of naturally occurring iron, manganese and fluoride.  These challenges are exacerbated by E. coli contamination in and around the water distribution systems.  The SGWI is working to develop locally sustainable solutions to provide safe water and improved sanitation while simultaneously developing renewable energy and nutrient recovery resources for the host communities.

Individuals on either side of an irrigation canal

Safe Global Water

SGWI taps the power and energy of students and faculty towards global development challenges to create collaborative research experiences, new globally accessible academic courses, international student and faculty exchanges between consortium members, fieldwork in target countries, technical training and short courses, outreach programs to local communities, internship programs hosted by UNESCO-IHE and KAUST WDRC, and capacity building courses and workshops on safe water and sanitation co-organized with UNESCO-Africa and USAID Missions in East Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

Researchers, casually dressed, analyzing water samples.

SGWI News & Features

  • Smart Water Disinfection project featuring Aimee Gall, Graduate Student – watch the video!- Sept. 2015
  • Engineering Solutions in Africa – Wed., Feb. 25 – cover story in Daily Illini featuring CEE 449 students
  • CEE 449 Travel Team departs for Kenya!  Fri., Feb. 6 – Visit the CEE 449 Water, Sanitation, and Energy Solutions Blog for their daily experiences:
    CEE449 BLOG
  • Renewable Wastewater for the Developing World – featuring Prof. Jeremy Guest
    watch the video!
  • “The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change” – panelist Benito Marinas
    Tues., Nov. 12, 2014 at 3:00pm, Spurlock Museum at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. film preview and panel discussion info
A group photograph of various people

SGWI Events