Bringing Clean Water to Africa

ACC Professor Joins Hydrogeology Quest

If water is life, then one African village will have a better life soon because of one Austin Community College professor.

Bruce Darling, adjunct associate professor of geology, is traveling to Kenya in January as part of the international group Hydrogeologists Without Borders (HWB). He and other water experts will work with the villagers to develop a safe, sustainable supply of drinking water.

“I’ve always wanted to do this sort of volunteer work, so I jumped at the chance,” Darling says. “I almost went to work in Africa 20 years ago instead of pursuing my Ph.D., but there was too much political turmoil at the time.”

Today, between running his Austin-based consulting firm and teaching classes at ACC, the water resource expert volunteers his time helping Central Texas residents and small communities manage their water resources.

His work drew the attention of colleagues at UT-Austin, where he earned his doctorate. They recruited him to join HWB’s Kenya trip and serve as technical director on the project.

“This is incredibly valuable work,” says Dr. James Heath, chair of ACC’s Physical Sciences Department. “The need for clean drinking water in Africa is often more extreme than it is for food.”

According to HWB, waterborne illness is the No. 1 cause of deaths in the region. The upcoming project focuses on Kenya’s Marakwet District, an area outside Nairobi that has no power source and just one frequently contaminated canal to supply most of its water.

‘The need for clean drinking water in Africa is often more extreme than it is for food.’

“What we’re doing is about solidarity and providing a basic human need for nearly 140,000 people,” says Alan Gallivan, the project’s cultural liaison. “Women and girls are often tasked with carrying drinking water many miles each day by hand, which keeps them from engaging in the community or attending school.”

Beyond the immediate health implications, Darling is fascinated by the relationship between healthy, sufficient water sources and economic development.

“With improved infrastructure, everyone, especially women, will be able to devote more of their time to important needs within their village and local economy,” he says.

On January’s exploratory trip, Darling and other water resource experts from around the world will work with the University of Nairobi to scout well locations and plan sanitation and treatment facilities. They will return in July to complete their work.

Each step of the project will become a living lesson in one of Darling’s lectures. “This project allows me to return to the classroom with vivid examples of the important work geologists really do,” says Darling, who teaches Physical Geology (GEOL 1403) at ACC.

“We’re proud to have a professor who’s serving both local and global communities,” Heath says. “I have no doubt this project is going to enrich the department as much as it will the region where he’ll be working.”

To prepare, Darling says he’s compiling reports and publications on Kenyan geology and receiving multiple inoculations.

“This trip is only the beginning of a multi-year humanitarian effort,” he says. “I’d like to spend the last 10 to 15 years of my professional life doing this sort of meaningful work and teaching from my experience.”

For those who are interested in learning about the Earth and working in environmental science, ACC has a wide spectrum of course offerings, Heath says. “We offer academic training for possible transfer to four-year universities as well as immediate workforce entry training for water quality field technicians.”

ACC’s more specialized water resource management courses are taught in the Environmental Science and Technology Department.

“The whole world is looking at looming water shortages, meaning there will be job opportunities developing and protecting water resources in the foreseeable future,” says George Staff, Environmental Science and Technology Department chair. “The surface and groundwater skills we teach can be used any place from Texas to Africa.”

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