Creating a Healthy Global Water Environment

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), in coordination with the newly-formed Howard University Water Environment Association (HUWEA), hosted a panel on careers in protecting human health and the environment – becoming a water professional. The theme: “A community of empowered professionals creating a healthy global water environment”.
We were joined by leading water professionals from the Water Environment Federation (WEF), DC Water, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), Chesapeake Water Environment Association (CWEA), US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and leading design and consultancy firm, Arcadis.
Students from all engineering disciplines and architecture were invited, as the water industry is not limited to civil and environmental engineers. DC Water Engineer Christine DeBarbadillo reassured a skeptical mechanical engineering student that the water industry comprises many engineering disciplines. For example, the “treatment facilities are full of equipment that requires the expertise of mechanical engineers,” she explained.
Our newly-formed HUWEA or WEF student chapter recognizes the need to increase awareness of the importance of water in overall public health and environmental sustainability. Increasing the awareness of the importance of water to our overall well-being is one goal of the non-profit WEF with more than 34,000 members in the technical and educational realms and student associations around the globe.
We are pleased to share this goal with WEF, along with working diligently to address socio-technological challenges in the industry. CEE Sophomore Ayanna Butler-Hooker is the president of the student chapter of HUWEA and CEE Assistant Professor Jeseth Delgado-Vela, Ph.D. is the faculty advisor.
Alumnus Nathan Cole, Washington Aqueduct Chief of Planning and Engineering, shared his unmatched experience of successfully completing 50 projects over a span of only three years. “We are looking to welcome the best,” he added to his story of gaining all the tools he needed as a Howard student.