Lifewater.ca trains and equips villagers in Haiti as well as in 4 African countries to drill safe drinking water wells. The Haitian team is working tirelessly to drill wells in villages swollen with refugees and has help provide biosandfilters supplying over 10,000 refugees. The team will continue for years and Lifewater needs support to fund the acute & ongoing water needs. (More information on Lifewater Canada is included at the bottom of this email.)
Until February 12, 2010 all donations for Haiti will be matched by the Canadian Government.
Through those individuals who have already registered for the course we have provided sufficient funds to establish a new water well in Haiti for a community.
In order to provide the greatest benefit to the Haitian relief effort we would therefore like to ask our colleagues and associates to please forward or communicate to the appropriate individuals (provincial, state, local and federal government personnel, industry, consultants, stakeholders, etc.) who may have an interest in the learning more about Contaminated Site Management.
15th Annual Contaminated and Hazardous Waste Site Management Course - Theory, Practice & Outdoor Field Demonstrations (Site Characterization Equipment and Remediation Technologies)
Course: May 3-7, 2010, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
GOwen Environmental, the Association for Environmental Health and Sciences and the International Association of Hydrogeologists present the 15th Annual Contaminated and Hazardous Waste Site Management, a comprehensive course that provides a solid theoretical and practical foundation in contaminated site management. The Course has been developed especially for individuals who manage, regulate, investigate, remediate, or are impacted by contaminated sites. Managing these sites is a multidisciplinary task, therefore, integrating several disciplines is necessary to efficiently and economically manage or make decisions regarding site issues.
This is the most comprehensive one week indoor-outdoor course being offered globally that covers all issues related to managing subsurface contamination, from theory to practice. The 15 instructors in this course, along with the many technology demonstrators, will provide participants with unique access to a very broad base of practical experience and an excellent opportunity to network with leading professionals. This knowledge will be coupled with a hands-on approach to understanding the tools and techniques for managing contaminated sites. Some experience is helpful, but not necessary, as the course teaches basic principles before addressing more advanced topics.
Choose either 3 or 5 days of in-depth discussions by 15 leading environmental, soil, sediment and groundwater experts representing academia, consulting, and government from across North America. These experts will provide a comprehensive and unbiased overview of hydrogeology and geochemical principles, site assessment procedures, risk assessment and risk management tools, remediation technologies, and management issues relating to contaminated and hazardous waste sites.
For further information, please contact Gareth Owen, President, GOwen Environmental Limited. Contact information and course details can be found at www.contaminatedsite.com |
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Letter from Gareth Owen
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As you will read below, a colleague and friend of mine, Jim Gehrels has arrived in Haiti to assist with providing temporary water supplies near Port-au-Prince. Jim is a senior hydrogeologist with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and has dedicated years of volunteer time to the Lifewater organization. He and his fellow volunteers have worked extensively in the past in Haiti and have strong relations with a local water well drillers near the capital.
Jim’s wife Lynda sent the information below to alert me to Lifewater’s activities in the Haitian relief effort and to provide me with direction on how to support his and Lifewater’s efforts. I know Jim and fully trust that Lifewater, through Jim and his team, will do everything in their power to help during this time of critical need in Haiti as well as in the future during the rebuild.
If you are able, please consider supporting their efforts through a donation as indicated below. In support of Lifewater, the Owen family has also provided the funds for an additional well to be installed in Haiti as well as the well that was installed through the Contaminated Site Course registrations to date.
Letter to Gareth Owen from Lifewater.ca
Dear Gareth, I am writing this short email to update you on Lifewater Canada's response to the devastation in Haiti. For many years, Lifewater has worked with a team of local drillers based out of Cape Haitian, about 90 miles from Port-au-Prince. The team and all their equipment survived intact and is able to get around.
Les Babock, an experienced driller from Alberta, has worked with this team for over 20 years. Tomorrow (Monday, Jan 18), he will be travelling to Haiti with my husband Jim, a Senior Hydrogeologist with the Ontario Ministry of Environment, They will spend 17 days in country working to help provide safe drinking water.
Their short-term focus will be providing any help they can in support of temporary safe drinking water stations in Port-au-Prince. Their longer-term focus is:
- Meeting with other groups operating in Haiti to coordinate the local team's work with the larger, sustainable development response that Haiti will need in the years ahead to recover;
- Ensuring that there is suitable transportation to safely move around roads that were in poor condition even before the earthquake;
- Hiring a Program Coordinator to improve the team's efficiency by providing complete documentation needed before Lifewater can release donor funds;
- Inspecting existing wells to ensure ongoing quality of work;
- Providing whatever drilling or hydrogeological training is necessary to help the team drill safe water wells; and
- Of course, a key focus will be staying safe and operating in cooperation and partnership with other groups wherever possible.
If you would like to help support this work and have 100% of your donation go right to the people in need, you give on-line by visiting http://www.lifewater.ca or clicking on the following link:
https://www.canadahelps.org/
Thank-you very much for your care, consideration and support.
Yours Truly,
Lynda Gehrels
Lifewater.ca is a group of volunteers that trains, equips & supports the rural poor in Haiti & Africa to drill wells and build washrooms. You are connected with overseas villages that can't afford the full cost of critically needed water & sanitation facilities. Your sponsorship saves the lives of children and dramatically improves educational opportunities for young girls.
All Donations for Haiti Relief will be matched by the Government!
YOU CAN make a difference right now!
The greatest vaccine against disease & death is ... safe drinking water!
(Source: GOwen Environmental, www.contaminatedsite.com)
