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Aiden Burridge – Undergraduate - Geography
Water Crisis in Dakar: the Relationship Between Urbanization and Groundwater in a Growing City

When combining poor water infrastructure, overexploited aquifers, lack of sewage drains, and a continually growing urban location, groundwater pollution is inevitable. This is only part of the situation that people in Dakar are experiencing. In Senegal, 80% of water resources come from groundwater, making it the primary way that the people of Dakar obtain their water for everyday use. With an increasing population and rapid progression towards greater urbanization, groundwater in Dakar has become polluted from anthropogenic sources. With a lack of resources to fix the problem, people in Dakar are experiencing a water crisis. Dakar has been experiencing a water deficit since 2011 due to a combination of factors such as climate change-related drought, degradation of water quality from human-induced pollution, and the inability to utilize water as a renewable resource. The water scarcity in Dakar is projected to worsen, with water withdrawals increasing from 30%-60% by 2035. Fixing water pollution and scarcity in Dakar requires political and socio-economic changes. To strengthen water governance in Dakar, a multisectoral approach can be implemented to restore and maintain the balance between current water resources and protection for future uses simultaneously. Diversifying water supply sources and increasing the population's access to safe sanitation are also important. This can be done by revamping government systems and creating specific socio-economic programs while reorganizing plans and priorities. Currently, sectoral strategies and plans need to be coordinated in Dakar. Priorities need to shift to implementing water security programs in Dakar, which include rearranging current economic outcomes and reallocating money.

Aria Frey – Undergraduate - Environmental Science
Conflict at Lake Turkana: How a Changing Climate and Biology is Spurring Political Tug of War for the Lake’s Resources

This paper will explore the extent to which climate change is impacting the ongoing conflict regarding the largest desert lake: Lake Turkana, found in the Northern region of Kenya and the Southernmost part of Ethiopia. Limited food and water resources have created domestic conflict between tribal groups and pastoralists in the region, and international conflict with Ethiopia has also increased in recent years due to climate change affecting the biology of the lake. Though it is not heavily relied on for drinking water due to high salinity and alkalinity, the boreholes and rivers that surround it, as well as the thriving fish populations inside, are vital for keeping the communities surrounding the lake afloat. The Horn of Africa, where this endorheic basin lies, has been deep in a drought for years, but the erratic rainfall that occurs further north has only served to overflow the River Omo and impact the salinity of the lake. These changes are spurring disagreements by forcing relocations and interactions between already competing communities. This has a massive impact not only on the communities of the region, but the lake itself and the wildlife inside of it. This research will dive into the major layers of this conflict, including stakeholders, biological changes, and historical context for the communities, and discuss possible solutions that would set this region on a path to peaceful water distribution and intercommunity interaction. ​

Casey Pectol – Undergraduate - Forest Management
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

The Grand Ethiopian renaissance Dam is a hydroelectric infrastructure project on the Nile River in Ethiopia. The project has significant impacts on the social and political networks in the Nile Basin. Egypt and Sudan are two of the downstream countries that will be most affected by changes in stream control by the dam. The dam alters the social dynamic creating a swing of power in Ethiopia's favor. The power in the area will shift in favor of Ethiopia because of their control over the Nile Rivers water flow. Downstream countries are worried about water security, especially during dry seasons. With Ethiopia being able to control all of the dams output, countries fear they have too much power over the river's flow. This paper will explore the benefits coming from the dam, as well as the negatives, and possible tensions with neighboring regions. The challenges posed by the dam will need to be met with a collaborative form of governance to ensure water security for all countries involved. This dam calls for cooperative governance of the Nile River stream, or else the situation could lead to a greater conflict than already is. ​

Hannah Potts– Graduate - Geography
“A Divine Solution”: Water’s Multifaceted Place in Nigeria’s Aladura Churches

The Aladura churches represent a distinct confluence of Christian and traditional African beliefs and practices, and water is a key element in their spiritual life and practices. This paper is an exploration of the various elements of the hydrosocial imaginary that makes up the Aladura churches' relationship with water, including ritual and spiritual practices, physical healing, and economic power. The Aladura churches emerged out of an interaction between Christian and Yoruba spirituality, drawing on both of these traditions in their understandings of water as a sacred substance. In this paper, I explore water as a source of ritual and spiritual meaning and examine both the physical uses of holy water, including immersion and consumption, the spatial dimension of sacred sites, and the spiritual manifestation of powers that control water, including angels and spirits. I will draw on water as a source of healing for the Aladura and the history of hydrotherapy within the churches, especially focusing on the connection to women’s roles and health in the churches. Water is not merely a spiritual force for the Aladura churches, but also an economic driver as churches and vendors sell holy water and related paraphernalia to individuals and communities looking for healing and good fortune. In this paper, I explore what water really is to the Aladura churches, understanding it as a connection to the divine, a source of healing and economic opportunity, and a social force that lies at the heart of Aladura spirituality. ​

Celeste Robles - Undergraduate - Biotechnology and Microbiology and Immunology
Public Health Concern Over Microbial Pollution From Cattle Livestock in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, livestock animals are about 70% of the economy for the country. Maintaining livestock requires water as the main source to which grazers use the same water sources that communities rely on. The interaction between grazers and communities with their water sources has not been properly monitored which has led Ethiopia to have contaminated waters with disease communicable bacteria. This fecal contamination has increased microbial pollution that has been linked to human health problems. Ethiopia’s second cause of death in children under the age of 5 is diarrheal diseases which come from contaminated waters. Diarrheal diseases are connected with a particular strain of E. coli which is present in cattle feces. Meaning that improper waste management has been contaminating water sources and infecting communities. This issue has not been targeted fully by the government as there has been lack of water management due to the inability to monitor and create proper infrastructure because of the communal lands system which grazers use for their livestock. Enforcement is also lacking even with policies in place meaning no one is being held accountable for continuing to pollute the waters. Finally, there is the difficulty of training and educating farmers to use better safe practice as their own ways have been tradition for hundreds of years. All of these concerns continue to increase the number of people that get ill with diarrheal diseases.​

Hayley Williams - Undergraduate - Environmental Science and Forest Ecology/Management
Improving Water Quality in Rural Ghana Through Women Empowerment

Ghana, located in sub-Saharan Africa, faces significant challenges regarding water quality and scarcity. Inadequate water infrastructure and sanitation leads to contamination by waterborne pathogens, many of which lead to illness and fecal-oral infection. Water scarcity in the region is seen as a result of drying rivers and the depletion of aquifers, which is exacerbated in the northern region of the country by minimal precipitation and an overall arid climate. Empowering women in rural Ghana is key to enhancing water quality and availability through the implementation of improved water and sanitation infrastructure. Women play the primary role in household water supply and sanitation management within these rural communities. In areas of water scarcity women and girls spend hours walking to collect water for drinking and daily domestic chores. However, this contribution towards water management is vastly disproportionate to the decision-making power that women possess. The sexual inequalities instilled in this country’s social, cultural, and political processes are contributing to the lack of water infrastructure development. The use of programs such as training women as hand pump technicians or implementing boreholes have shown the positive effects of such progress. The empowerment of women in rural Ghana can promote both economic growth and social advancements. The heath of communities is likely to increase and the economic gain by women may further and opportunity to escape immense poverty. Educating and promoting women to roles in sustainable water management and infrastructure has the potential to enhance community resilience. ​

Easton Smith - Undergraduate - Geography
Water Governance in South Africa 2024

How infrastructure is built in many ways can define a country. Access to infrastructure and most importantly water is essential to fostering healthy communities within a country. Countries that have a history or continued use of racial or ethnic persecution to separate people, creating equal infrastructure that serves people safely can be extremely complicated. South Africa comes up in this conversation often. Apartheid, since its ending in the early 1990s has still had profound social and economic effects on the native people that lived within the country. Today even in 2024 there is a stark difference in general access to infrastructure between the Native African people, and the people of Dutch and British descent. Within this Article we will lay a foundation on how South Africa and more specifically Cape Town's history affect the water crisis that peaked in 2018, how the history of the city affects the infrastructure today and how that infrastructure will hold up moving into the future. Recently Cape Town has seen an extreme variance of weather events going from prolonged drought starting 2018, to very recently having one of the rainiest months ever recorded. Cape Town and the rest of South Africa have to face two different problems developing an effective and sustainable solution to prevent the loss of water and expanding and less wealthy people better access to clean water. Fresh water’s importance in sustaining life makes it a resource that must be managed properly and fairly of unity throughout the country.