Earlier, we posted the first dispatch from Cassidy Volek and Jake Midkiff, who are in Guatemala for spring break. The two students are part of a UMR group that is testing water quality in rural areas of Guatemala and installing disenfection systems. This dispatch was emailed to us Sunday:

Yesterday we went to three different locations to do testing on water quality and decide installation procedures for today. The first location was the home of a Pastor Tomas. There we tested two spigots for Ecoli, Turbidity, pressure, and total suspended solids. The Materials group will test their six ceramic filters there today.

The second location was the Ruth y Namoi project. This is a group of women who produce textiles for sale. This project was organized for widows by the Methodist church during the Guatemalan Civil War. The same tests were taken in this location as at the home of Pastor Tomas. The operations and maintenance team will install a ceramic candle filter system in the pila (sink) for long term testing.

The third location was the Bombaros (firefighter) Station in Chichicastananga. Again, the same testing was performed. The operations and maintenance team will install a UV disinfection system on the main water source at this location. This system will also be used for long term testing.

Signing off from Guatemala,

Cassidy and Jake

NOTE: Cassidy and Jake say they won't be able to contribute photos until they get back to Rolla. In the meantime, we'll post some images from similar trips organized by previous UMR travelers.