Dissertation Research: Capitalizing on Existing Landscape Features for Sustainable Wastewater Management in the Andean Amazon of Peru

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

In this U.S.-Peru dissertation enhancement project supported by the Americas Program of the Office of International Science and Engineering, Lynn V. Saunders of the University of Florida will pursue a program of research to study wastewater management solutions, particularly the treatment potential of drainage ditches in Oxapampa, Peru, a rural town in the Andean Amazon. These earthen and vegetated ditches, called zanjas, route untreated wastewater from approximately 5,000 residents through the town and into a third-order river, the Rio Chorobamba. The Peruvian collaborator is Juan Sanez at the Institute of Environmental Studies, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru in Lima. The findings from this study will have direct implications for wastewater management throughout the developing world due to the ubiquitous use of rudimentary ditches for routing wastewater. This study will also contribute scientific information useful for understanding intrinsic attenuation capabilities of agricultural and roadside ditches, thus addressing a topic still lacking adequate attention in the current literature. The wastewater treatment processes that they will study are appropriate for the Andean region where they are to be applied than more technically advanced methods. This project will provide an opportunity to apply classroom skills to the "real world," so that students at the K-12 level will gain increased awareness of the connections between water, ecosystems and human health. This study will contribute to the local and global scientific community by providing further insight into sustainable water management strategies that improve both human and ecosystem health.