Engineers Without Borders 

Lafayette College, Easton, PA


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Sustainability Measures

One of the most important considerations when designing a project is sustainability.  Sustainability focuses on the long-term impacts of the project on all environmental, economical, and social aspects of society on the local and global level.  Designing and evaluating a project based on its sustainability is essential for the maintenance of society throughout future generations.  The project to be implemented in La Fortuna, Honduras, includes a water system, sanitation system, and grey water treatment system which will provide clean potable water and a safe means to dispose of human and water waste.  A sustainability evaluation was created to determine which options were best suited for the community, if expectations for the project were sustainable, and if the project actually proves to be sustainable in the future.  First, a sum evaluation method was used to determine the best options for the system.  This compared all options using a grading scale from 0-10 for the same general criteria.  A 2 pipe centralized water system, with one treated pipe, and one untreated pipe, along with pit latrines and a box grey water treatment system proved to be the best options using the sum evaluation method.  Next, these options were analyzed using a sustainability checklist which used “yes/no” questions to give “+1” or “-1” points to the project.  The result of this sustainability evaluation was positive, meaning the project will be sustainable if implemented as designed and expected.  Lastly, the final sustainability evaluation is a series of survey questions with mostly numerical, level (high, medium, low), or “yes/no” questions.  This evaluation will be carried out before the project is implemented and for years after to show quantitatively if the La Fortuna project improved the standard of living for its community members.

:: Appendix 1 (Downloadable PDF)

:: Appendix 2 (Downloadable PDF)

:: Appendix 3 (Downloadable PDF)

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