Senior Design Connects with the Solukhumbu

     The glacial runoff from the Himalayas has forged its way down and through the Solukhumbu Valley of Nepal, supplying valley members with a valuable resource: water. The Dudh Koshi River has done more than sustain the rural Sherpa communities and their agricultural lifestyles; it has formed a relationship with a group of engineering students over 7,700 miles away at Colorado School of Mines. 

     This is the second year the Senior Design Capstone course at Mines has offered civil, environmental, and mechanical engineering students the opportunity to contribute to one of Hike for Help’s sustainable engineering projects intended for the rural Nepalese valley. Last year, students were tasked with designing a public sanitation option capable of installation at 45 extreme sites along the Everest Base Camp (EBC) trail. This year, the seniors design team is challenged to engineer a multipurpose water delivery system for multiple villages and communities within the valley.   

     Such a system aims to update and install a water delivery system that provides a drinking water supply and fire suppression system. The former is fairly obvious: to better connect communities with drinking water. The latter, on the other hand, is not as transparent.

     Few, if any, villages within the valley have a fire suppression system. Coupled with the changing climate and geographical extremes of the region, this absence poses a threat to the livelihood of locals as well as the natural environment.

     Hike for Help is so excited to have a team of helluva engineers tackling such an engineering problem and is looking forward to fostering a relationship with the Senior Design Capstone course in the future!



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