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on her graduate degree in public health at the Oregon Health and Science University, did a

community health assessment to help determine why the children in the village were having a significant parasite problem. Local doctors believed the issue was linked to contaminated drinking water.

EWB‑USA, CH2M HILL, and You | Fall 2009

The village of Puca Chicta, Ecuador, was more than concerned about the increasing health issues their community was facing, and the lack of sanitation and clean water in the village was making matters worse. Three different times outside organizations had come to the village to help develop and repair the local water system, but now the water system was severely degraded and badly in need of repair, and no one in the village could fix the problem. This is a common story in small villages around the world; communities send a call for help, upstanding citizens respond and implement much needed projects, but upkeep falls to the wayside because local communities do not know how to do the work themselves.

Not just about WaterIn July 2009, the Portland, Oregon, Engineers Without Borders‑USA (EWB‑USA) Professional Chapter sent a group of volunteers to Puca Chicta to develop a sustainable solution to provide clean drinking water that could be implemented, maintained, and fixed locally. In this way, the indigenous people of Puca Chicta could be in control of their water systems, rely on each other for improved health, and help the 500 people who utilize the same water source, well into the future. This first site assessment trip was as much about understanding the issues being played

Personal and Professional Development Found in a Small Village in Ecuador

out in the community in terms of health, sanitation, and a suitable water supply as it was about building local support and knowledge for the upcoming projects.

Heather Rectenwald, a CH2M HILL employee from the Portland, Oregon, office and an EWB‑USA volunteer, participated in this 10‑day adventure to help Puca Chicta become more self‑reliant. Not only was this project consistent with CH2M HILL’s values of global responsibility and commitment to addressing the need for clean drinking water in developing countries, but it also met Heather’s perosnal

goals to travel, speak Spanish, and provide public health professional expertise.

Sustainable Solutions To ensure that a sustainable solution was chosen for the community, the village was involved with the assessment from the start. Heather, an environmental scientist for CH2M HILL, who is also working

(cont. on page 2)

BorderLines Fall 2009

“This was my first EWB‑USA project. I didn’t really know what to expect. However, I went into the experience with an open mind, even thinking that this may be more than a water project, and I wasn’t let down—it was quite an amazing experience and I learned a lot.” ‑ Heather Rectenwald, CH2M HILL Associate Scientist

CH2M HILL Associate Scientist Heather Rectenwald begins the initial community assessment by sketching a map of the households in the village of Puca Chicta, accompanied by a few local children.

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She went door‑to‑door in the village to survey what the primary health concerns were and to determine if environmental exposure was a likely cause of these problems. Engineering projects around the world are nearly always carried out to improve human health and welfare, and this project was no different.

“The purpose of the community health assessment was to collect information related to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in the community,” said Heather. “We will use this information to identify an engineering intervention that will help improve community health in the long run, as well as to help guide conversations with the villagers about improved sanitation and hygiene practices.”

Overcoming ChallengesOne of the many challenges facing Heather and her fellow EWB‑USA volunteers was the language barrier. Although the team had members with Spanish experience, 80 percent of the village of Puca Chicta spoke the indigenous language of Quechua. This challenge was overcome by identifying a community member who spoke Spanish and who was willing to spend up to six hours a day for five days with Heather and other team members interviewing families.

“At first I felt like such a burden on the interpreter,” said Heather. “We spent every evening of every day moving through the village asking the same questions over and over. But as time went on, I realized how valuable it was to have more community members participate in the process. With the help of the local Peace Corps volunteer, we were fortunate enough to find an interpreter who is training to become a community health promoter and is passionate about environmental health. This relationship will begin the long‑term community engagement that is vital to the sustainability of any project we end up implementing.”

Heather’s team members collected water samples from the current drinking water source and looked at other possible water sources for drinking water. Microbiological samples were analyzed in the field and some samples were brought back to the United States. for chemical analysis. The engineers collected information to assess the feasibility of new options for a water distribution system, always considering which solutions would be most sustainable.

Returning HomeNow that the team is back in Portland, they are working on analyzing the data. Initial observations show that the drinking water may not be the main cause for the health concerns in the community. Rather, poor hygiene practices and sanitary conditions appear to be major pathways for disease transmission. Nonetheless, the current water distribution system is in disrepair and not accessible to all households. Heather and her fellow Portland EWB‑USA team will use the data they collected during this trip to develop an appropriate

and sustainable engineering project for the community.

“One possible alternative we have discussed is to collect clean water from the roof tops,” said Heather. “This solution would require little maintenance and would help with storm water management.

Next summer, a different group of volunteers from our same chapter will go back to Puca Chicta to implement the chosen sustainable solution and teach the indigenous people the necessary steps to maintain the project.”

Still excited from her first EWB‑USA project trip, Heather is sharing her experience with fellow employees and engineers with the hope that others will join EWB‑USA when they hear what a powerful professional and personal development program it is.

“I am a better‑rounded employee and can offer even more to CH2M HILL now because this project provided me with experiences that were challenging and rewarding in such a different way than I experience in the States. Not only has my trip to Ecuador helped improve my

Spanish skills and made me more aware and understanding of other cultures, but also I have proven to myself and others that I can contribute my public health skillset to an interdisciplinary team and that I could thrive in a future international project assignment with CH2M HILL.”

EWB‑USA projects support CH2M HILL values of global responsibility and improving quality of life worldwide. While perhaps not the typical engineer who volunteers with EWB‑USA due to her interest in public health, Heather’s participation exhibits the wide array of expertise needed on every EWB‑USA project. Heather speaks of many lessons learned, but offers this final advice:

“Go in with an open mind. You can plan and prepare, but there will always be surprises. You have to learn to overcome the unexpected.”

Personal and Professional Growth Happens Everywhere (cont. from page 1)

“I am a better‑rounded employee and can offer even more to CH2M HILL now because this project provided me with experiences that were challenging and rewarding in such a different way than I experience in the States.” ‑ Heather Rectenwald, CH2M HILL Associate Scientist

A typical household water dispensing system, which were usually shared between neighbors . More than half the homes in Puca Chicta did not have access to water.

A spring that the Portland, Oregon, EWB‑USA Chapter considered restructuring into a new drinking water source for the community.

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The Value of Mentorship

At CH2M HILL, professional mentorship takes place at every level. Avinash Shekhar, a Water

Business Group engineer in the Southwest Florida office, has found himself surrounded by mentoring opportunities as he becomes increasingly involved with Engineers Without Borders‑USA. After reading about a CH2M HILL intern who was involved with EWB‑USA, Avinash enthusiastically helped start a professional chapter in Southwest Florida, and soon began working with a local university to promote both EWB‑USA and careers in engineering. Avinash shares his project experiences and plans, such as a bridge project in Santa Cruz De Azuay, Ecuador, with students at Florida Gulf Coast University, and has included a group of students in the bridge design process to help them gain professional experience.

Only a few years out of school himself, Avinash has found many mentors since he started with CH2M HILL in 2007. These mentors include Joe Elarde, who has given him opportunities to work with key CH2MHILL technologists, and his direct supervisor Bill Beddow, who supports and encourages his involvement with EWB‑USA through the funding of projects and conference attendance. Greg McIntyre, Water Business Group Global Operations Director, also has provided mentorship to Avinash from across the country through educational and encouraging e‑mail exchanges that support Avinash’s personal and professional goals to help ensure community health and safety through engineering. Avinash’s experience with EWB‑USA and CH2M HILL shows that mentorship plays a valuable role in personal and professional growth, no matter if you are the mentor or the mentee.

BorderLines Fall 2009

Every day at CH2M HILL employees prove that education happens in more places than just inside a classroom. David Waller, a business development manager in the CH2M HILL Trigon office in Durango, Colorado, helps support experiential education through his work as a liaison with the Fort Lewis College EWB‑USA chapter.

In 2005, an energetic intern joined David in the Trigon EPC office and shared his enthusiasm for EWB‑USA’s work. He asked if the firm could sponsor his upcoming trip to Ecuador to work on a water project. Two years and two trips later, David and his colleagues were hooked on supporting the students and their EWB‑USA projects, and began attending the student chapter’s meetings.

“We discovered a great organization which met the company’s funding priorities—to help local engineering students gain valuable real‑world experience while improving the lives of the less fortunate in developing countries,” said David. “These are CH2M HILL

Experiential Education Plays an Important Role around the World

values as well, so it was easy to continue supporting the chapter after Trigon EPC was acquired by CH2M HILL in 2007.”

The Fort Lewis College EWB‑USA chapter is an all‑volunteer effort and raises all of the funds necessary to carry out their projects. Students pay for more than half of their own travel expenses. As a liaison, David attends the EWB‑USA meetings to better understand the project needs, offer support through both an annual

financial donation, and technical experience as needed.

In May 2009, the Fort Lewis College EWB‑USA Chapter of 14 students and two professors spent three weeks building water and sanitation systems for two remote villages in Laos—Ban Phakeo and Ban Songhak, in a region known as The Plain of Jars. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizaion (UNESCO) has identified one of the villages as a potential World Heritage Site, where they hope to foster eco‑tourism. The Fort Lewis College EWB‑USA chapter is helping in the sustainable development process in an effort to safeguard this special area.

To improve the socio‑economic status of the local communities, the students built sanitation systems for one village where they installed a water storage tank and rebuilt the water source intake structure. They also initiated a water system in the other village, which included the construction of a water‑intake structure, a pipeline to a large water‑storage tank, and a water distribution system.

(cont. on page 4)

In addition to piping a clean water source to the village, the EWB‑USA members also distributed clean drinking water containers and taught villagers about safe water handling practices.

Students and villagers working on the water intake structure. The monsoon season began while the team was in the village, which made it a wet trip!

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This was vital to the health of the villages, where community members previously carried drinking water from polluted rivers. Where electricity wasn’t readily accessible, it was essential to create a central water system with the appropriate technology. To overcome this challenge, the students dug wells by hand to create a gravity fed water system. This eliminated the need for local children to carry half their body weight in water twice a day.

“Most of us volunteer because of the very real and immediate difference realized in the lives of the communities we have worked in,” said physics and engineering professor Laurie Williams who accompanied the students on the trip. “There is the added benefit of seeing our students grow, gain an appreciation of global problems in the developing world, embrace their education, and gain an awareness of the meaningful connections that exist among the many college disciplines represented by our participating students.”

Since 2005, the EWB‑USA student chapter at Fort Lewis College has also worked in Thailand and Ecuador. This July, they will begin a third year of work in the Andean highlands of Ecuador, where they will help residents of the Ganquis region develop systems to deliver clean water to local homes and schools.

Health and Safety Tips from the Field• Bring your own personal protection equipment

(PPE) with you—hard hats, steel toe boots, gloves, etc.

• Make sure the group has a sound travel plan. Know how you are getting to your project location, assess the risk, and take all precautions to mitigate those risks.

• Pack drinking water and food if necessary.

• Beware of bugs and local pests that could be hazardous—pack bug spray and netting.

• Know where you are staying and the conditions—prepare for the worst.

• Know where the nearest hospital is and how you would get there.

• Know your own health and physical fitness level.

• Always carry a first‑aid kit.

• Be prepared to take responsibility for the health and safety of both your team and those working with you. This could mean paying a local’s hospital bills if they get hurt on your project.

• If your gut says the situation is precarious, it probably is. Stop and reassess the situation, there is always more than one way to do something.

BorderLines Fall 2009

“I’m very impressed with the Fort Lewis EWB‑USA chapter.This is a handful of students who try to help underprivileged people build a better world. They are very committed to the cause and understand how lucky they are to be born with privileges.” ‑ David Waller, CH2M HILL Business Development Manager

David notes that these students have an edge when it comes to getting a job, but at the end of the day, that is not what is most important for these hard working students. “EWB‑USA encourages serious engineering and teaches engineering fundamentals that cannot be learned within a classroom. And while this experience should help any resume, these students are not participating to improve resumes; they are looking to help the world.”

Today, David and CH2M HILL Trigon continue to support the chapter through funding, resources, and mentoring. And that original enthusiastic intern—he’s now a full‑time engineer in the CH2M HILL Durango office.

Experiential Education (cont. from page 3)

Constructing the water intake structure 5km from the village required hauling cement, rock, and sand for mixing concrete. Each family in the village is assigned a “weight” to deliver and in this photo you see them weighing and recording their loads.

As personal protection equipment (PPE) is hard to find in Haiti (notice the lack of shoes), CH2M HILL employees Steve Blaine and Dave Kelly packed and distributed as much PPE as they could during their water project trips to Haiti in 2009.

Photo courtesy of Rolly Constable

page 5BorderLines Fall 2009

With the assistance of CH2M HILL employee and EWB‑USA Board Member Mike Paddock, the EWB‑USA Health and Safety Committee recently finalized a comprehensive Health and Safety Program that went into effect on Sept. 15, 2009.

Although EWB‑USA has always been committed to the health and safety of its members, it recently expanded the program to provide additional resources and guidance to chapters. All project teams are required to comply with this new program. You can learn about the new health and safety requirements and resources available to you on the Web site: http://ewb‑usa.org/myewb/login.php (under Project Resources).

Of course, CH2M HILL’s Health and Safety culture made it a perfect fit to assist with this effort. “With EWB‑USA

constructing hundreds of projects each year around the country, it is important that we treat health and safety like any other contractor,” said Mike. “It is critical that all of our volunteers return safely home to their friends and families in the same condition that they left in.”

Preparing a Health and Safety Plan (HASP) is also an important skill that will likely be a part of anyone’s career upon graduation. While the HASP might be intimidating when you first look at one, it really is relatively easy to put together. Start with your schedule and identify the risks you might be exposed to during each task. Then select the risk mitigation strategy that is appropriate. If you get stuck – ask for help from your mentor or the EWB‑USA Health and Safety Committee.

Are you CPR or First Aid Certified? You can find American Red Cross First Aid, CPR, and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) courses and programs that fit into your schedule across the United States, so don’t put off certification any longer. Certification programs are designed to give you the confidence to respond in an emergency situation with skills that can save a live, no matter where you are in the world.

Additional training in bloodborned pathogens and injury prevention can be added to any basic training to prepare you to prevent and respond to life‑threatening emergencies that you may face not only on project sites around the world, but also in your own home.

American Red Cross Preparedness programs can also be tailored to the needs of specific groups and individuals, so locate your local American Red Cross by visiting www.redcross.org and set up training for your entire EWB‑USA chapter.

CH2M HILL Helps Advance Health and Safety at EWB‑USA“With EWB‑USA constructing hundreds of projects each year around the country, it is important that we treat health and safety like any other contractor. It is critical that all of our volunteers return safely home to their friends and families in the same condition that they left in.” ‑ Mike Paddock, CH2M HILL Sr. Project Manager and EWB‑USA Board Member

Mike Paddock, (second from the right), brought hard hats along with a variety of other personal protection equipment for himself and his teammates on his recent trip to Bolivia. While developing their HASP, the team realized that they would not find it locally.

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CH2M HILL has been a founding sponsor of EWB‑USA since 2003. As a leading global engineering and construction firm with the mission of making technology work to build a better world, CH2M HILL sees a clear alignment with EWB‑USA and

its mission of building a better world, one community at a time.

CH2M HILL supports EWB‑USA because of our common values and a shared commitment to:

•Deliversustainableengineeringsolutions

•Inspireandmentorafutureengineering and construction workforce

•Givebacktotheglobalcommunity

•Useengineeringprinciplesandtechnologies to improve quality of life

From providing leadership in the boardroom to mentoring students on projects, CH2M HILL has a growing network of employees who are actively engaged in local EWB‑USA chapters. These individuals contribute countless hours and substantial passion and technical expertise to help grow the EWB‑USA organization, mentor students, serve as public speakers and ambassadors, and bring sustainable engineering projects to life in countries such as Guatemala, Thailand, and Kenya.

CH2M HILL and EWB‑USAThese efforts are supported by the company through financial grants that help employees offset the personal costs of project travel and related expenses. The firm also provides financial support to the national EWB‑USA organization. EWB‑USA is an important part of the firm’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainable development.

Continue your commitment to EWB‑USA; apply today with CH2M HILL.

To learn more about exciting career and internship opportunities at CH2M HILL, visit ch2mhill.com/careers.

Career Corner—Plan NOW for a Summer 2010 InternshipInternships are imperative in an engineering student’s course of study. They offer a glimpse into the “real world” of engineering and offer students the opportunity to explore what it is they truly love (or don’t love) about their field. Did you know that NOW is the time to begin your search for a summer internship? It might sound odd, but as soon as you start classes in the fall, employers are starting their search for YOU – the next crop of potential future leaders; interns! So how can you ensure that you’re doing the right things to find the right internship? Here are some great tips to help you in your efforts: •Know what you are looking for. Target some specific companies or specific types of positions and focus on those. Don’t waste time searching for things that might not exist.

•Prepare and update your resume. Make sure your resume reflects your most recent job, include your year in school, and identify in your objective that you are seeking an internship for summer 2010. Remember to spell check!

•Attend career fairs, info sessions and apply online for open positions. Recruiters will be out in the fall on campus

looking to interview and hire. Sitting in your dorm will not help your efforts – get out and network!

• Remain positive. It’s a tough market, the number of openings are slimmer than ever, but stay focused and the right position will turn up.

At CH2M HILL we are always on the hunt for the best and brightest talent. We look for students who are not afraid to challenge the status quo and who push the boundaries on new ideas.

As 2009 CH2M HILL summer intern Sam Markolf said, “Be proactive and take ownership of your internship, because the more you put in, the more you are likely to get out.” We could not agree more!

BorderLines Fall 2009

“Be proactive and take ownership of your internship, because the more you put in, the more you are likely to get out.” ‑ Sam Markolf, CH2M HILL Summer Intern

Field engineering at its finest, Laurie Williams and student Jake Cammack of the CH2M HILL‑supported Fort Lewis College EWB‑USA Chapter discuss plans for the installation of a water storage tank with villagers by drawing schematics in the dirt.