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An agreement between SEI US and Ecuador’s Higher Polytechnic School of Chimborazo kicks off work between the two organizations that will include studying local watersheds to mitigate flooding and preserve ecologically protected waterways.
SEI US formalized an agreement with an Ecuadorian university last week to support the school and local governments in protecting area watersheds using SEI’s flagship water modelling tool, WEAP.
The cooperation agreement, signed 10 May at the Higher Polytechnic School of Chimborazo (ESPOCH), kicks off a partnership that will aim to mitigate flooding in the city of Riobamba and manage river contamination in an ecologically protected area.
The work will include performing watershed modelling with WEAP, an integrated water modelling software that allows users to develop policies that support water quality and sustainable water management. The information WEAP produces can help local policymakers manage their unique water challenges.
“This agreement establishes a relationship between our institutions to jointly work on projects that lead to improved monitoring and management of watersheds and protected areas in the Chimborazo province of Ecuador, resulting in habitat restoration, improved potable water reliability, and decreased flood risks,” says SEI Scientist Doreen Brown Salazar, who visited ESPOCH for a signing ceremony and tours of the local watersheds.
Ing. Adriana Guzmán of ESPOCH, second from right, leads a team on a tour of local watersheds that the university will study alongside researchers from SEI US.
A project that ESPOCH has already begun, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Water and the provincial government of Chimborazo, addresses urban flooding in two watersheds, the Cunduana and the San Sebastian, where flooding has become routine. In 2022, a low-lying public health building was inundated with 1.2 meters of standing water. SEI will help the school better characterize the watershed and develop recommendations for how to curb the damage of such storms.
Another potential project in this collaboration focuses on one of Ecuador’s largest protected areas, Corredor Ecológico Llanganates – Sangay. Locals fish in the tributary rivers in this area, but the main river that feeds them is contaminated by metal and gravel mining. This raises health issues for both biodiversity and community members, most of whom obtain their water from untreated surface water. SEI will work with ESPOCH to model watershed hydrology and inform policymakers on potential impacts of alternative strategies to reduce human effects on water quality and flows.
Doreen Brown Salazar, fifth from left, representing SEI, joins Ing. Jenny Basantes Ph.D, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (Vicerrectoría Académica), sixth from the left, representing ESPOCH, and a team of ESPOCH professors at the 10 May signing ceremony of the agreement to work together analysing local watersheds. Ing. Adriana Guzmán of ESPOCH, third from the left, and Romina Diaz of SEI, not pictured, led the development of this collaboration.
SEI’s Doreen Brown Salazar, Romina Diaz-Gomez and Laura Forni will support ESPOCH with the water modelling and training needed for these projects.
Tool / The Water Evaluation and Planning tool (WEAP) provides a comprehensive, flexible and user-friendly framework for policy analysis in water resources planning.
Tool / WEAP proporciona un marco integral, flexible y fácil de usar para el análisis de políticas en la planeación de recursos hídricos.
Past event / SEI scientists will host a three-day training on WEAP, SEI's flagship water modelling software, on 12, 14 and 16 June 2023. Register today.
SEI brief / A new tool developed by SEI's Bolivia WATCH team integrates sanitation and hygiene considerations into watershed planning.
Past event / Learn how SEI's innovative water modelling tool allows researchers and policymakers to advance sustainable and equitable water planning.
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