WaTER Minor graduate tells of her Peace Corps experience

The OU WaTER Center recently had the chance to visit with Alexis Medina, a recent Environmental Engineering graduate who just spent 18 months serving as a Water Resources Engineer with Peace Corps Panama. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Alexis’ stay in Panama was cut short with rushed goodbyes and a mandated evacuation. However, during her time in Panama, Alexis was able to provide the small village of San Isidro, Panama with clean water – using the techniques that she learned through completion of the OU WaTER Minor, her fellow Panamanian community members, and the 10-week Peace Corps training.

Coffee was a local crop that was mostly of two varieties - a higher grade Arabica bean, and a lower grade bean grown in the lowlands. 

The community to which Alexis was assigned, San Isidro, had outdated spring boxes and leaking pipes which led to the infiltration of sediments and parasites in their water collection system. If there was a big storm coming, the community had learned over time to gather water in advance in an effort to avoid the “chocolate water” that would come with the rain. With the help of her community, Alexis was able to redesign and update five spring boxes, all of which fed a chlorinated storage tank that distributed water to each home in a tightly knit community of about 150 people. The new spring boxes were constructed using brick and mortar and included concrete lids which could easily be removed for washing out the stones that filtered the spring water.

Spring boxes were built to collect and distribute spring water from a higher elevation.

Besides having the adequate technical skills to manage the project, Alexis understood the social dynamics that must be accounted for to ensure the sustainability of the updated water network. For example, she organized professional WASH seminars for her “Water Committee” composed of villagers in charge of caring for and repairing the water system. At the end of each seminar, she awarded them with certificates and a party for having completed their training. She also made sure to share the important educational materials with the entire community so that everyone understood the importance of the project.

There were two large rivers between the village and the closest town, rivers that had no bridges and were often too high to cross safely in a vehicle. 

Alexis had the fortune of working closely with the landowner who maintains all of the spring boxes, conveniently located on his property. Despite his ability to manage the project independently, Alexis encouraged him to involve younger community members and women in the design/maintenance process because she knew how important it was for more than one person to be responsible and understand the technical details. She understood that they trusted him, a trust that only grew once she and her team consistently produced clean water to their homes and villages.

In addition to her BS degree in Environmental Engineering, Alexis earned the Minor in “Water and Sanitation for Health and Sustainable Development” at OU, which gave her additional coursework and practical experience in these skills - manual and hydraulic well drilling, concrete and sand construction, field surveying, water quality analysis and sampling, and biosand filter construction. As part of her Minor curriculum she spent 4 weeks in Cambodia where she helped to construct ferrocement rainwater harvesting tanks.

Erik and Alexis have a new "family" in Panama.

Overall, Alexis was able to accomplish the work that she set out to do – establishing and ensuring the longevity of the San Isidro water supply. Despite her rushed departure, the community members now have the tools and knowledge that they need to properly maintain their water supply and fix any errors that arise. In return, Alexis has a new-found love for the Panamanian people, their ease of life, their endless kindness, and their abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. Alexis and her husband, Erik, will soon be moving to the Seattle area where she hopes to work in river and stream restoration.

To Alexis and Erik – Buena suerte y que Dios los bendiga!