CMU Engineers Without Borders club members help revive a rural Amazonian community’s water system
The Amazon River — one of the longest river systems in the world — is the life source of South America, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the far west side of the continent. There are over 1,000 river and stream systems that branch from the main source which fuel and sustain hundreds of communities. This water is used for cleaning, growing food and hydrating life, so it is essential that the resource is available and usable to even the most remote and rural regions.
At the start of the 2024 spring semester, a group of Colorado Mesa University students visited a village on the Napo River, a lesser-known tributary of the Amazon River, in Ecuador, South America. Home to just under 250 people, Runashitu is a rural community, where water is essential in everything they do. Only their water system needed significant improvements to be usable and residents were unsure how best to fix it.
The year prior, CMU students traveled to Runashitu to uncover innovative ways to filter debris from the water intake, provide storage to meet usage needs and discover a solution to help maintain pressure within the pipes. That initial research trip was a success, but it was up to a new team of Engineers Without Boarders (EWB) club members to implement. Seven EWB students and two professional mentors took a plane from the high desert to the Amazon rainforest to engineer solutions.
Among the group was Tucker Wiltse, an electrical and computer engineering major and the president of the Engineers Without Borders Club at the time. According to Wiltse, the water system was originally constructed in the 1990s, but the transfer of responsibility to the community didn’t include a plan for ongoing maintenance. Without upkeep, the system fell apart.
“The way the intake worked at the head of the stream, it comes from a spring that spills into a damn that went straight into the pipes, and it would clog with leaves and sticks and rocks and it wouldn’t filter. It would do the opposite of filter and allow sediments to go straight in, catch in the concrete tank which would get bacteria ridden and that would just go straight into the community,” said Wiltse.
He said tape and sticks were used to patch holes in the pipes and that the water flow was constantly clogging.
Alongside Wilste, the EWB crew was made up of students Andrew McGuan, Kaleb Coleman, Robert Marquez, Ron Koch, Ryan Foresythe and Athena Branch, as well as Mesa County Development Engineer Teddy Martinez and Professional Chief Engineer David Hartman. In collaboration with members of the local community, the group worked from sunrise to sundown driven by the knowledge that their efforts would not only reverse the clogging issues and bring clean water but also open new possibilities for growth and health in Runashitu.
To get the system working again, the group added a wedge wire screen to help with clogging. They added another tank to support routine maintenance and provided translated documents to help guide future upkeep. Chlorine tablets were provided for added purification and about two dozen taps were placed within the community. After nearly two-weeks — the implementation of solutions was complete.
CMU Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Michelle Mellenthin, PhD, and EWB club advisor said for many of the students it was their first experience traveling outside of the country. For them, seeing their engineering efforts in action for the betterment of others was a life experience they’ll never forget.
“So many student projects just sit on a shelf, but these students worked hard on a project that has the ability to help transform a community,” said Mellenthin. “Clean water delivered straight from the tap is something that can be easily taken for granted here, and we don’t always think about how different our lives would be if we did not have that luxury. This opportunity to travel to Ecuador really opened students’ eyes to how so many people in our world live and it motivates them to be socially responsible engineers.”
Mellenthin added that this most recent trip marked the beginning of a meaningful relationship between the students and the community leaders. So much so that the students stay in regular contact with the community through WhatsApp.
“Going there and seeing the people so happy and so excited and knowing their quality of life is going to increase and that they are going to have more potential to live a better life, it’s surreal,” said Wilste. “I often find myself doing things for the sake of doing things. This was absolutely a life changing experience.”
Mellenthin and the donors that make trips like this possible believe these experiences and engineering projects help build a better world. The benefits of these projects go beyond tangible impacts — students gain hands-on experience tackling real-world challenges, appreciating diverse cultures and honing teamwork skills that will serve them throughout their careers. Perhaps most importantly, they return from these experiences with a deepened belief in their power to serve as a model figure within the world they want to create.
“I love it when students come back from these trips because you can see it via the light in their eyes that they truly believe in their own ability to create positive change in the world. The EWB experience is more than just volunteer projects — it’s life-changing opportunities for the students and the communities they partner with,” she added.
“I just want to help people. I just want to do something to make the net good of the world slightly better, in any capacity,” said Wilste.
Water is essential in every corner of the world, from the rivers that sustain us to the projects that strengthen humanity. Just as the Nile and Amazon rivers serve as lifelines for millions, the efforts of these CMU students now flow into the lives of the Runashitu community, bringing not just clean water but hope and opportunity. Through their work, they’ve demonstrated that whether it’s in the Amazon or the high deserts of Colorado, the power to change lives is in their hands — one drop at a time.