How to Get Water to Those Who Need It Most with David Pines

The United Nations estimates that 1 in 4 people still do not have access to safe drinking water. The New York Times has framed water access as a hotbed political issue likely to provoke tension between the “haves” and the “have-nots” as climate change worsens.

In an inspired teaching moment a decade ago, University of Hartford engineering professor, David Pines, sought to alleviate this problem on a community scale; he involved the Engineers Without Borders Student Chapter at the College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture (CETA) in designing and constructing a solar-powered water system at a girl’s elementary school in Haryana, India. This seed project spiraled into others, leading to the expansion of the water system in neighboring villages and schools over the next 10 years. Despite their success, Pines remains acutely aware of how many factors still combine to endanger the long-term sustainability of water access:  declining groundwater levels from developments, climate change, and local governmental priorities.

Join Pines – who has interacted with so many people living and working in Indian communities, small and large – to learn about the technical and social, and cultural hurdles to developing a clean water supply and to possible solutions as we look towards the future.

Friday, Oct. 21 | 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | $20 | The McAuley

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