EWB-NY Cambodia Water Project

Science, Technology & Innovation

2010-10-04T15:50:00.009-04:00

I spoke on behalf of the Cambodia Team at the Science, Technology and Innovation Forum during the UN General Assembly meeting on September 22nd. The event, sponsored by USAID and the New York Academy of Sciences was to build on the momentum generated from our Agency's conference- Transforming Development through Science, Technology & Innovation.

The forum featured an interactive "science fair" to showcase examples of currenty low-cost, life-saving technologies, that have or can have a transformational impact in the developing world. These products from the public and private sector demonstrate the great potential to solve current and future development problems.

The forum was interested in the Kite Aerial Photography (KAP).

The KAP was designed to obtain site visuals when maps were not available.

To see the clip of the presentation on the project, please see:

For the rest of the presentations as well as the write ups please see: http://www.usaid.gov/scitech/

Bentonite Injection

2010-02-06T02:51:00.014-05:00

In November and December, EWB was focusing on the repair of a few small but potentially dangerous leaks in the earthen embankment. There were three outflow points where water could be seen flowing out on the downstream side of the embankment, and we were able to locate three inflow points on the upstream side of the embankment. After digging test pits at the inflow points, we found pipe-shaped voids, around 1.5"-2.5" in diameter, that we believed traveled straight across the embankment. The voids are believed to either have been old termite tunnels, or left behind from decomposed tree roots.

The proposed method of repair was bentonite injection. Bentonite is a material with very unique properties. It is a naturally occurring material found in the earth - a clay - which can swell up to 16x its original size when it comes in contact with water. This property makes it a useful material for sealing leaks, waterproofing buildings, and many other applications where water flow needs to be stopped.

While bentonite would help us fix the leak, we had a minor problem to overcome - where could it be purchased in Cambodia? We soon found out - nowhere! So, we looked to our closest geographic neighbors - Thailand and Vietnam. Through a material supplier located in Siem Reap, we were able to make a purchase from a Thai supplier. After the purchase, two weeks later, the bags of bentonite powder were delivered to HT's office.

Special Delivery

After researching and consulting with our project mentors, we started experimenting with the bentonite and water to determine what the mix proportions would be that would yield the most desirable end product - something that would plug the "pipes", the voids, completely. The ideal mix would have a low enough viscosity to pass through the 2" water pump, yet have a high enough bentonite concentration to expand and "solidify", thus completely filling the voids. We used a bentonite slurry that was about 11-12% bentonite powder to water, by weight. In this application, measurements did not have to be very precise, so out in the field, proportions were altered slightly as necessary to make the pumping operation continuous and effective.

Left: Bentonite injection technique
Center: Things get real! Dirty, that is
Right: The setup - Filtering water, the mixing barrel, pumps and hoses

With the fluid slurry mixed, we started pumping by inserting a length of typical 1.5" diameter flexible hose as far into the inflow point as possible. Things were going well - messy, wet, dirty, but so far so good.

Meatballs, bottom of photo

Once the voids were full, we had to plug the inflow point to prevent the slurry from draining before it expanded fully. Our solution - meatballs! Well, they looked like meatballs anyway. Excess bentonite that was starting to clog the pump was removed from the mixing barrel, and shaped into balls the same size as the inflow point of the pipe shaped voids. Once we had pumped slurry through the embankment, we quickly jammed 8-10 meatballs right in the void and blocked any slurry from draining out. Now, theoretically, the slurry was inside the embankment, and slowly, the water should have been permeating through the bentonite powder, expanding each particle until the mass of slurry had filled the whole shape of the void.

To finish the repair, a layer of bentonite powder was spread over a 3-meter long strip, covering the three inflow points. This area was then backfilled with clay and protected with a layer of rip rap.

The downstream area has been dry since the bentonite was injected. The real test will be the upcoming rainy season, which will start in May/June. We'll keep you posted!

The Cambodia Team goes to India!

2010-01-28T22:20:00.005-05:00

After flying for what seemed like forever the team met up in Chennai, India, for the EWRI of ASCE's 3rd International Perspective on Current & Future State of Water Resources & the Environment, held on January 5-7, 2010.

From Left to Right: Jason , Monica, Jess, Matt, Bryse, Tim

Matt, the project lead, gave the presentation, which by far was the best, but, I could also be a bit biased.

As for India, it definitely was an intense and rewarding experience. Those of us who had the time to travel a bit longer got a well-rounded view of India.

Including, the large city of Chennai, where in order to cross the bustling streets, we had to play Frogger-- with only 1 life. We continued to travel into Mamallapuram where we stayed on the beach and watched many cultural and traditional dances during a large festival. Afterwards a few of us went up north to Darjeeling (a city 2000m above sea level), to go trekking.

The most amazing view was being 3000m above sea level and seeing the night sky, including the Milky Way, unobstructed by light pollution.

After our first experience with the trains in India, we arrived in Varansi (a very religious and spiritual place) where we witnessed the festival of new beginnings and the solar eclipse. Granted it was foggy out.

In the end, there are a few things I learned while in India:
1) Public Urination is common, even if there is a bathroom around the corner.
2) Nobody is every in a rush, except when it comes to driving.
3) Drivers are perpetually on the horn.
4) "India time" refers to 6 hour delays or more.
5) Anything goes.

Downstream O Ta Bet

2009-11-24T02:30:00.010-05:00

A group of explorers set out to track the downstream path of the mighty O Ta Bet

As part of the downstream canal planning, and the FWUC organization, HT arranged for a group of us to meet and walk the entire length of the downstream O Ta Bet. The group included village chiefs, FWUC members, HT/CTO members, and EWB. As we walked, the village leaders explained where the stream flowed in relation to the Balang commune boundaries. They also pointed out how the water was currently being managed by the farmers - a system of man made dikes and diversions led the water from rice paddy to rice paddy quite effectively. GPS points were taken during the walk to trace the path of the O Ta Bet, for the purpose of canal planning in the future.

Chai, Sourneang, Sovann debating... should we have turned left at that tree back there?

At each twist and turn (or, after we had waded through a rice paddy where the water was knee deep) the group would take a short break in the shade to discuss where we'd been and where we were in reference to our map... and to check for any pesky leeches that were trying to get a free ride on our legs!

Following Bok Kron's sure-footed steps... and trying to move faster than the leeches.

As we made our way downstream, we stopped in to a crocodile farm whose owner has recently decided to take on relatively large scale dry season rice farming. Here, we saw what could become more commonplace in the future if more water is available during dry season. Water was being pumped from the stream to irrigate elevated fields of dry season rice seed. This was interesting to see, as we found out that the soil here absorbs water quite rapidly, and thus requires a large amount of water to remain irrigated - ie, placing large demands on the water supply during dry season.

Dry Season rice experiment at the crocodile farm: water pumping operating in the background. O Ta Bet is to the far right.

After having a rejuvenating glass of tea at the crocodile farm, the expedition continued downstream, finally making it to Bok Kron's daughter's house on the main road. Here, I got a glimpse into the rice harvesting process, and chatted with her family about the rice yields they were getting this year. Finally, our day completed with a homemade lunch and a de-briefing meeting where the FWUC and HT discussed plans for canal development and reservoir maintenance.

Prioritizing the canal construction with the FWUC

Even though 90% of the spoken conversation occurred in Khmer, I received translations from Chai, and it was good enough to get me through. I have to say, it was one of the most extraordinary days of my involvement on this project thus far.

Repairs & Current Work

2009-11-19T01:34:00.006-05:00

Localized erosion

Basic repair items that are being addressed now are erosion along the downstream embankment in localized areas. Eroded areas will be backfilled and compacted, after proper surface preparation has taken place - removing grasses and leveling uneven and gullied soil. Erosion along the downstream wing wall returns will be filled in with rip-rap. Erosion has occurred here because it is exposed to foot traffic, fishermen who climb down the rip-rap along the side.

Erosion below Monitoring Well #4B

Each set of monitoring wells had an additional well installed at the downstream toe. Now there are four sets of three wells per set. This well will give a third plotting point on the phreatic line graphs, which we use to show the behavior of the water through cross sections of the embankment at four locations. The data will also help us in determining the most effective elevation to locate a toe drain just above the downstream toe.

As may have been mentioned at some point on this blog, there has been some leakage visible at the downstream embankment. We have monitored it visually and through the readings captured at the Monitoring Wells. For the last few months, the conditions have remained stable, which is a good thing, however it can't be left to leak for the long term. Our plans to plug the leaks have taken several twists and turns. The best case scenario for fixing the leaks has always included Bentonite, a naturally occurring clay which carries the unique inherent property that upon contact with water, it can swell up to 16x its original size. We would be using sodium bentonite in either powder or pellet form, and would spread it over the upstream embankment and insert it into potential inflow points to form a "plug" that would seal reservoir water from traveling through the embankment. However, Bentonite is not commonly used in Cambodia, and so we had to look elsewhere for material suppliers. We have just received pricing from a Thai supplier, and looks like we could receive material within two weeks. (PS, if any of our blog readers have information on bentonite suppliers in this region of the world, we would love to hear from you, for future reference.)

While this may solve the problem on our hands now, once the reservoir is fully turned over to the community, it will not be so easy to reach out to a Thai supplier, purchase material, and get it to the site... Something we're trying to start, as we perform maintenance and repairs on the embankment now, is getting the high level FWUC members involved directly. Participation of the FWUC is essential now, because they will be responsible for operating, maintaining, and inspecting the dam and watergate in the long term. A long period of overlap with EWB, HT, and FWUC all participating in routine dam inspections and monitoring procedures will help to ensure the success of the project's future management.

The Project

2009-11-01T03:28:00.009-05:00

Looking North along the main embankment

Back in Siem Reap, and I must say it feels good to be here. I arrived about a week ago, after a whirlwind 17 day tour of Asia via the TransSiberian Railway (but that's another story, for another blog!) My last visit out here was in early 2008, in the very dry and dusty month of January.

Having just emerged from the rainy season, Cambodia seems like a different place in October - full of vibrant green colors, lush rice fields, tree limbs full of flowers and fruit, and the occasional afternoon or evening rain shower to cool the hot air.

I made my first trip out to the watergate early in the week, a day or so after I arrived. The first thing I noticed was that the ride to the site was surprisingly pleasant, and much quicker than I remembered... it took me just a minute to remember that the roads had recently been topped out and leveled by the military with laterite. What a difference! The second thing that I noticed was all the water flooding the rice fields, which I learned was from the reservoir. As Chai and I approached the watergate, again I was struck by the colors of the scene around me. The burnt orange of the laterite road, bright blue water in the reservoir, and the white/gray concrete of the watergate - it was quite beautiful. Chai and I walked the length of the main and north embankments, looking at the state of things in general after the past weeks of storms, and I reacquainted myself with the landscape.

I couldn't check out the Vetiver Nursery during my visit (due to the recent storms). The culverts on the south embankment are in good shape, and there were no worrisome wet areas on the downstream side of the embankment (though the water level is somewhat low right now, so none were expected). While at the site, Chai and I went through the latest version of the Operations, Maintenance, and Inspection Manual - a work in progress that is coming along well. I've been working with HT, analyzing some recently collected demographic and agricultural data from the villages surrounding the watergate. This information will be the basis of our Baseline Year Project Assessment. EWB's intention is to compare data over the next years of reservoir operation to see the impact that the project has had on the agricultural prosperity of the commune.

Structurally the embankment and watergate are in good shape. They weathered the recent storms very well, and that's encouraging for the future because Typhoon Ketsana was said to have been the worst storm to hit Siem Reap in years. Unfortunately, it seems that another storm is headed along Ketsana's path, Typhoon Mirinae. We'll see how things turn out as that storm develops.

Marathon PRA

2009-10-22T01:57:00.004-04:00

Sourneang with the men's group

Bouny and Arwen with the women's group

"Participitaory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is a process which is used in development programs worldwide to help rural communities. PRA consists of a series of participatory exercises which help community members better assess their history, resources, and overall situation as concerns agriculture, health, education, and other important areas. Focused on the use of local resources, PRA can help provide a framework for a community's sustainable, long-term development." -PRA Handbook

Typhoon Season

2009-10-04T03:11:00.002-04:00

The good news is the reservoir stood up to typhoon Ketsana well with no visible damage. The bad news is typhoon Parma is on now heading this way. Right now, the reports are saying this next storm is moving more north so the effects should be less here in Cambodia. But it sounds like Parma is big enough that there will be an impact to this region even if it does continue north.

Typhoon Ketsana- water, water, and more water

2009-10-01T01:09:00.004-04:00

At this point, I think all of Cambodia is flooded. I've been wading through knee high water to get to town, which isn't even bad in comparison to other locations where the water is up to people's heads. My bike (the awesome new green bike that EWB now owns, we're putting the logo on it!) can't make it through the water, and the motos and tuks can't get through either. I will post pictures of town soon, the river is overflowing, so the water level of the river is equal to that in the streets. It wouldn't be so bad except for all the sewage...

Though the flooding has caused some damage to the culverts, nothing to the main embankment, more in depth information to come. Below are some pictures that Bunheng/Chai took last night. We'll be going to the field tomorrow, and we're preparing ourselves to swim through lots of mud.

Maybe I should join the bandwagon-- and move to Cambodia

2009-09-25T05:58:00.008-04:00

So it's day two for me in Cambodia, and it's been great, minus the countless bug bites, falls and near death experiences involving biking around town-- drivers are scary here. I saw a tuk crash into a food cart, there were bowls flying everywhere.

But on other news, HT has a new office, it's across the river. Which is pretty awesome, it's a house... with a pool.

I also got to go to the site today for the first time with Chai. Let me say, pictures don't do it justice. I don't think it really hits you how much this project has helped people till you see all the homes being serviced through this reservoir. But, we drove around the embankment and saw the trees that were planted during the 'tree planting ceremony', collected measurements at the monitoring wells, and took lots of pictures. Other things we checked out was The Vetiver Nursery that will be underway in the next day or two, because everyone had the week off for the recent holidays. And the bamboo is also ready to be used as a 'fence' to keep the fish from getting out of the reservoir.

Lunch with Maria and Bryse.

Passing the Umbrella...ella...ella!

2009-09-21T12:00:00.004-04:00

Drumroll please! It is with great pleasure that I announce the newest Cambodia Project Team member to join the ranks of Project Lead.... Matt Bussmann!

Yes folks, the time has come again to pass the proverbial torch on to the next Team Lead. Only this time we're passing... an umbrella? Why the umbrella, you may ask? Firstly, the neighborhood establishment where many team meetings are held wasn't too excited about our idea of bringing a lit torch inside for the photo-opportunity. Secondly (and more truthfully) it happened to be raining that day.

In all seriousness, an umbrella was a great item to use for this occasion, handing off Project Lead to our veteran team member, Matt. In Oriental tradition, the umbrella symbolizes a shield of protection over the bearer from inclement weather and the hottest heat from the sun. The next few months are a time of transition for the Cambodia Project on a large scale. Farmer Water User Communities (management groups) are in the process of being formed, and the Baseline Assessment will kick off in the months of October - December. In early 2010, HT will start transfering the dam operations and maintenance over to the farmer management communities. In this time of transition within the project team and the project, I hope that the umbrella will live up to its symbolic status. And, for all those familiar with Cambodia, a little shade from the sun is never a bad thing :)

Good luck to Matt and our team in the coming months!

Vetiver: At Home

2009-09-02T10:53:00.004-04:00

Santa Barbara, California

The use of vetiver grass is most common in tropical countries, however there are case studies of its use in California and the US Gulf states as a slope stabilizer. Its use in California's Santa Barbara foothills has been mainly to stabilize slopes in areas highly prone to wildfire. Vetiver typically survives wildfires and has a quick regrowth time after a fire (3 weeks in some cases), making it ideal vegetation to reduce erosion, stabilize steep slopes, and to prevent the subsequent mudslides that typically follow on slopes stripped by wildfire.

Although its use is not widespread in the US, this could be a cost efficient, environmentally friendly method to help reduce the impact of natural disasters on community members in hurricane and wildfire regions.

To read more, check out www.vetiver.org. (Source of picture: www.vetiver.org)

Vetiver... finally

2009-08-27T23:51:00.003-04:00

Chai and the tillers

With the help of Bun Heng, Tobias and the Office of the Royal Development Projects Board in Bangkok, HT has recently procured the long awaited vetiver tillers. Three thousand tillers were delivered in all and now we will need to propagate and plant to stabilize our embankment.

Meeting the Minister

2009-08-16T22:02:00.005-04:00

There were quite a few high ranking officials at the fishery ceremony last month including the Deputy Governor of Siem Reap and the Minister of Forestry.

Here is a photo of Tobias Rose-Stockwell, the Human Translation director, chatting with the Minister of Agriculture, Fishery & Forestry, H.E. Chan Sarun during the ceremony.

Trav Kod Watergate Presentation: India 2010!

2009-08-12T08:38:00.006-04:00

Earlier this summer, the EWB team was selected by the Environmental & Water Resources Institute, a branch of the ASCE, to present the Trav Kod Watergate Project at their 3rd Annual Developing Nations Conference, this coming January in Chennai, India! The full title of this conference is: An International Perspective on Current & Future State of Water Resources & the Environment. EWB's responsibilities consist of submitting a technical paper detailing community relationships, project history and development, design, and construction, and developing an oral presentation, which will be delivered at the conference in Chennai over a few days in January.

The conference consists of projects centered around water and environmental issues throughout Asia and Africa. Project presentations will focus on the global effect of the regional issues confronted in these projects, and the innovative solutions implemented as a result. EWB is proud to share the story of the Trav Kod project on behalf of HT, HRND, the Balang Commune, and all of our partners, in such a conference!

Check out the conference website for more details: http://content.asce.org/conferences/india2010/index.html

Tuk Thom Thom

2009-08-05T23:15:00.002-04:00

HT was just able to obtain this photo from a company that flew by the site taking photos. Pretty nice!

Fishery Ceremony

2009-07-15T03:16:00.005-04:00

This morning, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held a ceremony at Trav Kod to celebrate the reintroduction of fish at the reservoir. Several high ranking Provincial Government Officials gave speeches focused on responsible fishing methods amongst the villagers.

At the end of the ceremony several hundred fish were released into the reservoir, with several thousand more to be provided by the Ministry in the next month.

Roadway and Canal Update

2009-06-30T01:23:00.004-04:00

Over the past few weeks, the Military has been working on the laterite roadway. The have completed compaction and will begin grading shortly. Laterite is well known in Asia and is commonly used for tertiary and sub-tertiary roadways in Cambodia.

The two south canals are also in place. We are still working on rip rapping, which we plan to finish in the next couple of days.

His Holiness

2009-06-30T00:42:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Tobias on this most honored recognition. Don't know if it can get any better than this. Then again, knowing Tobias, it always can.

"...Tobias receives a ceremonial scarf from His Holiness, the Dalai Lama in a ceremony celebrating the humanitarian works of ordinary individuals. This ceremony was called "Unsung Heroes of Compassion." Photo is by Robert Bengtson, who was the official photographer at this event..." -Maria Jarina

New Sign at Site

2009-05-04T11:55:00.003-04:00

Chai just sent this photo of the sign at the watergate. EWB-NY is famous!

Culvert Installation

2009-04-12T19:52:00.004-04:00

Construction is well underway on a series of culverts leading out of the reservoir through the south embankment. The culverts are intended to act as emergency spillways, as well as outlets to provide water to the downstream villagers (replacing the Wat Trach canals that previously occupied the same location). Once installed and backfilled, the culverts will ensure that the roadway on top of the south embankment will remain in service throughout the year. In the past, any flow through these canals during the rainy season meant that the roadway was flooded, and therefore very difficult or even impossible to use.

The design phase consisted mostly of hydrological modeling and re-modeling, trying to optimize capacity of the culverts while minimizing the cost of installation. The crucial number that the team was trying to optimize was the invert elevation of the culverts. Our objective was to minimize the amount of excavation needed to make grade for the culvert installation.

In the end, the hydro analysis showed that six culverts, 1m in diameter, with a slope of 2%, would provide enough capacity to act as the additional emergency spillways for the reservior. To determine the invert elevation for the culverts, we checked many different scenarios in the stage/storage model for the reservior. The few scenarios that met all necessary hydrological criteria were compared with the existing site elevations, and a final decision was made in line with the original objective of minimizing excavation.

The structural details were determined for the sub-base stone layer, concrete collar wall (to aid in preventing water seepage along the length of the culverts), and backfill. Design sketches were sent over to Cambodia in the beginning of March, and construction promptly started. Readily available pre-cast concrete culvert sections, 1m in length, are the typical materials used for culvert installation throughout this region of Cambodia. In the above photo, sections of culvert are being set, and the concrete collar wall has been cast, visible in the background.

Let's hear it for Bernard Amadei!!

2009-04-01T18:47:00.005-04:00

Pick up a copy of ENR, or visit ENR.com this week, and check out the cover story. The founder of EWB-USA, Bernard Amadei, was named the 2008 Award of Excellence winner! This award is one of the construction industry's most prestigous honors, and has been given out annually by ENR since the mid-1960s.

The 7-page magazine article tells the story of Amadei's vision for the future of engineers to use their skills to provide to benefit a larger, more universal purpose. EWB-USA, with its roots starting back in 2002 at Colorado University as a single chapter with a few student members and a small volunteer staff, has grown into a respected, vibrant, nationwide organization with 12,000 members and nearly 300 student and professional chapters.

The article is full of interesting information: descriptions of projects currently ongoing across the world, accolades from industry professionals about the importance of EWB, and innovative ideas in practice today that are "taking EWB from charity to enterprise".

ENR does a wonderful job of communicating the mission, excitement, and passion surrounding EWB. I'd like to congratulate Mr. Amadei for this recognition, and thanks to ENR for the spotlight in one of our industry's most respected publications.

Featured....

2009-03-29T09:49:00.004-04:00

Since the milestone completion of the watergate, this project has been recognized for its tremendous efforts. Our NYC chapter was recently featured by Nationals for this dam project.

Meetings and Vetiver...

2009-03-27T04:06:00.004-04:00

Meeting at military site

These past few weeks have been focused on meetings with the Military, District leaders, Commune leaders, and village leaders. Last week was the first meeting where all were able to meet at one place. Our main topic of discussion was the canal construction which was due to begin yesterday, however, due to malfunctioning equipment is delayed till tomorrow. Also discussed was the erosion control measures for the embankment as well as the proposed laterite roadway.

Dr. Paul Truong of the Vetiver Network
(photo credit: www.hydromulch.co.za/vetiver-grass.htm)

Tobias recently took a trip to Bangkok to inquire about Vetiver grass, which we hope to use along the embankment. A tropical grass that grows locally has many uses from slope stabilization to prevention and treatment of contaminated water and land. This grass with its amazing root structure could be the answer to our erosion issues. We were given some samples to test out for ourselves.

Award-Winning Poster in Denver!

2009-03-11T10:33:00.007-04:00

More accolades for this landmark project are in order for being presented on February 27, 2009 in Denver at Kleinfelder's 23rd Professional Development and Technical Training Seminar during the poster session. With the help of the intricately-crafted watergate model created by Hank Dombrowski and miniatures sculpted by Noa Bornstein, over 1,500 seminar attendees were exposed to our little project half-way round the globe.

And best of all, the poster won the award for "Best Poster Presentation" out of a total of 41 other presentations.

Other EWB NY Project Blogs!

2009-02-19T22:03:00.002-05:00

OK, so we know you've enjoyed following the Cambodia Dam Project's progress on this blog... And we also know you've been craving more EWB-NY project action! That's why we've added links to four other EWB-NY active projects: the Usalama Project, a school expansion and so much more, in Usalama Kenya; the Matunda Health Center Water Project, located in Lugari Kenya; the Belen Clinic Project in northeastern Peru; and the Miraflores Public Health Project located in El Salvador. The links can be found in the "Project Related Links" section of this blog.

Thanks as always for keeping up with our progress, and we hope you'll check out the efforts of our other project teams!!

Acronym Overload

2009-02-02T00:50:00.007-05:00

PIMD, ADB, IRRI, CARDI, MOWRAM, PDOWRAM, PRA, RGC, USAID, BBD, CCC...FWUG, PLUP, CLUP...What the FWUC?!

Welcome to the land of NGOs. There are over 450 in Cambodia and nearly 90 in Siem Reap alone. Siem reap is a brand unto itself, a town that is beginning to outgrow its spot on the map to become the very epitome of voluntourism. Many people come to see the famous Angkor temples but stay to become semi permanent fixtures among the expat community. Acronyms become part of everyday conversations and you wont be surprised to learn that you pick up these acronyms quickly.

Organizational Structure of the MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, and Fisheries)

Working with government entities can be somewhat daunting when one is not familiar with the formal procedure. After meeting with Tony Bott of the NorthWest Irrigation Sector Project (NWISP) and Eric Von der Brink of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), we discover that farmer water user communities or FWUCs are integral to a successful system. Developing and implementing proper FWUCs require starting from the bottom up, meaning that water user groups or FWUGs must first be developed. FWUGs are farmers that share a similar tertiary canal system, soil, and cropping system. But before any of this can happen we need a proper land use map. This is where we could use the help of Aruna Technology based in Phnom Penh. Somewhat a monopoly in Cambodia, Aruna Technology is a consultancy that specializes in web based GIS and GPS mapping. This map depicts the layout of the reservoir and the primary and secondary canal system that the FWUGs can work off of to design their water blocks following participatory land use planning methods or PLUP... Hope you got all that.

Truck time-out

2009-01-30T07:43:00.002-05:00

Today, we were planning to go to the site to install more monitoring wells. We had sent HT's truck in for repairs last night, planning to pick it up this morning; however, Chai called from the repair shop to let us know that the truck would not be finished until tomorrow morning.

Despite our missed site visit, we spent plenty of time doing research on farmer water user communities, and learned some new information on how we can set up our water user groups.

Monitoring Well Installation & Surveying

2009-01-30T06:40:00.006-05:00

After the completion of the rip rap installation, the monitoring wells need to be installed to monitor the phreatic line at different distances along the embankment. Each well requires a 2"diameter PVC pipe, tape, cement and filter fabric.

On January 27th we went to the site to install one monitoring well and do some survey work to determine the cross section of the north embankment.

Using an auger Matt & Chai worked together to dig a hole approximately 25 meters south of the embankment and 4 meters deep. It takes a lot of effort to dig the hole so alternating diggers was key. As they worked, it became apparent that there was something stuck in the pipe; it turned out to be a frog! But they saved it.

The PVC pipe was wrapped with filter fabric and inserted in the hole then the space around the pipe was filled with sand. The top of the pipe is protruding from the ground. Concrete was poured around the well to keep it in place. A successful installation.

In the meantime Linda, Maria & Ceda surveyed from the watergate to the north embankment about 10 points using the measuring rod and level.

While we were there we studied the cracks just north of the dam. The largest seems to be 30 feet long from the edge of the dam and, using a make-shift plumb, it measured as much as 1'8" deep as seen below.

After about 4 hours the well was complete, and we reached the north embankment with our surveying. It was time to head back in time for Chai's class, just before sunset.

Boat Trip on the Mekong

2009-01-26T20:41:00.006-05:00

Boats on the bank of the Tonle Sap River

Between our meetings in Phnom Penh, we found some time one evening to take a relaxing boat trip across the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers. There were some great views back on the city and delicious plates of Khmer cuisine!

Road Trip to Phnom Penh

2009-01-26T18:58:00.010-05:00

L to R: Maria, Tobias, Matt, and Tony Bott

Over the weekend, EWB and HT traveled down to Phnom Penh for meetings with consultants and government officials who may be able to help with the next steps of our project. Tops on the list were conversations about the formation and legal registration of the Farmer Water User Community (FWUC), baseline assessment, and community mapping.

Our first meeting was with Mr. Mlob Bon, from Cambodia's national Department of Irrigated Agriculture. He led us through the FWUC registration process and offered his help in navigating the provincial bureaucracy when we officially register our water project.

Next, we met with Tony Bott, an Australian consultant who has a good deal of experience with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and was able to clarify many of our next steps toward FWUC registration, canal mapping and construction, and project assessment.

Maria and Erik

After this, we met with Erik Van Den Brink, who works for Catholic Relief Services in Cambodia and has several successful development projects in Cambodia under his belt. Erik articulated many of the proper techniques for FWUC registration, and also described some of the pitfalls to avoid with mapping and assessment. He pointed us toward some helpful resources for both the water user group establishment and the baseline / impact assessment.

Last, we met with Paul Gager from Aruna Technologies, a small GIS consultancy that has worked on many different projects: both government and non-government, agricultural and economic, and many others. Paul was helpful in describing our options for mapping and GIS, andgave us options for building maps for FWUC registration and assessments.

All in all, a very successful trip!

Watergate Model

2009-01-25T15:43:00.003-05:00

For those of you that were able to attend the Milestone Gala held in September of last year, you will recognize the subject of this photo! Our friends at HLD Workshop, an environmentally friendly furniture manufacturer based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, constructed this amazing model and donated it for display at the Gala. The model was a hit, and was the topic of many conversations that night!

We'd like to thank HLD once again for their detailed (and speedy, might I add) work putting this model together. Check out their blog for more info!

Before & After

2009-01-08T18:31:00.004-05:00

before construction

after construction

after water

New Year, New Lead

2009-01-08T00:26:00.011-05:00

l-r: jess miller, wiL

As the design and construction phase of the south canals reaches its near, and the next phase of impact assessment begins, we reach a good transition point in this project for some fresh perspective and approaches. It is thus with a privilege for me to announce our new project lead, Jess Miller, who have graciously accepted this challenge.
Please join me in welcoming and congratulating Jess to her new position by raising your next glass of Angkor!

One Star Turn Revisited

2009-01-05T20:20:00.005-05:00

Last spring we ran into an problem regarding land ownership when we were planning out the downstream route. This problem caused the One Star Turn as shown in the photo above. However, by the time we resolved the land ownership issue we did not have the resources to fully excavate the path. complete the side walls and armor the soil at the turn so we knew we would have to finish this work during the final phase of construction.

Here is the path during our last trip.

And here is the path this week. Chai and the crew on site widened the path, enlarged the side walls and armored the turn. We still have a few more items to finish out there but Chai did a great job getting this one done quickly.

Impact Assessment

2008-12-17T22:30:00.013-05:00

l-r: matt barber, tim weiss, steve forbes, jess miller

Since the major milestone of the watergate completion, the project is progressing towards yet another interesting phase called the impact assessment. Over the past few months, we had several brainstorming sessions on how to gauge the impacts in which the completed watergate and restored reservoir will have on the village and villagers for the next few years.

We met up with Steve Forbes a few weeks ago to share some of our initial thoughts on planning and implementation of the impact assessment. Steve have worked with many other projects that have implemented their own assessment. Additionally, his own dissertation involves some of these projects as case studies. It was interesting to hear some of these other approaches and learn how impact assessments are often project specific, and requires some adjusting to better suit the conditions of another project.

A House for Mr. Trau Kod

2008-12-15T15:42:00.002-05:00

We first met Mr. Trau Kod last year during the embankment repair. Now that the watergate has been completed, Boc Kron built Mr. Trau Kod a more permanent house so he can provide protection over the resevior.

Angkorian reservoir revived

2008-12-05T00:23:00.005-05:00

About a month and a half ago, Erica Goldberg from the Phnomn Penh Post wanted to write about the Opening Ceremony that was to take place that next day. When she met up with us, she learned a great deal more about the project itself, inspiring her to write not just about the ceremony, but to also follow up with another story about the project itself. She's kept her word, and had an article posted in today's paper. Take a read of today's article.....

Another Reservoir Photo

2008-11-21T13:39:00.001-05:00

Here is one of Jenn's photos of the reservoir on our first day back to the site.

Opening Ceremony Part 2

2008-11-09T18:54:00.004-05:00

The opening ceremony was amazing. Over 600 people attending, flags running along the completed embankment, ribbons covering the watergate. It was incredible.
The ceremony started about 45 minutes late because the Deputy Provincial Governor, shown above, arrived late. Speeches were made by Someth, Narith, Tobias, wiL and myself. The westerner speeches were translated into Khmer by Chai. When the Deputy Provincial Governor started his speech he made a last second request for Chai to translate his Khmer speech into English so that the westerners in attendance could understand. Chai looked a little flustered but really didn't have a choice and proceeded with the impromptu translation.

The Governor's speech was interesting. He had a prepared written speech in front of him but began his speech by announcing that he would not be reading the prepared speech but would just talk about the project. He proceeded to ramble on for 30 minutes about the project, about the wealth of Americans, about how the villagers need to request additional projects from us and then he committed to build a road from the Balang Commune to the Commune north of the site. At one point he asked the villagers to raise their hand if they were interested in Human Translation building a secondary school in Balang then turned to Tobias and asked him to build a secondary school.

After the speeches, we all walked along the embankment for the watergate ribbon cutting. Seeing all of the people at the watergate was definitely my favorite part of the ceremony. The site has been an isolated place for the majority of the project and to see all of these friends, colleagues and villagers at the watergate was incredible.

It was extremely hot that day so as soon as the ceremony was complete the site cleared out pretty quick. The HT and EWB crews hung out for a bit while Jenn and Chai did a quick site review. It wasn't until this point that I noticed the sign that was hung up at the back of the stage (shown above).

2008-11-06T12:41:00.002-05:00

Still can't believe the reservoir is retaining water again.

KAP RIP

2008-11-05T21:26:00.006-05:00

It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the passing of a dear member of the EWB team, the Kite Ariel Photography (KAP) kite. On a trip to the flooded forest, the kite took a nose dive into the Tonle Sap, the string snapped and none of us cared enough to jump in after it. wiL was actually complaining the day before that he wanted to get a bigger kite. But we certainly have some fond memories of running around the site trying to get that thing into the air.

Monitoring Wells

2008-11-05T20:44:00.006-05:00

Now that the reservoir can retain water again, we need to monitor the flow of water through the embankment.

So during this last trip we began the installation of a monitoring well than can be used to measure the depth of water at a particular location. The diagram above is what a monitoring well should look like. Water is supposed to seep into the pipe without the fine soil clogging the perforations in the pipe. Then you can take off the cap and measure the water depth.

So we embarked on another fun Cambodian adventure of improvised technology. This is a photo of wiL cutting the perforation slits into the PVC pipe in front of the Human Translation office.

We used our old hand auger to dig the hole, Jenn picked out this beautiful purple synthetic fabric at the old market that we used for a filter fabric. Then we used sand left over from the concrete construction to pack around the PVC pipe.

Finally, we mixed the concrete on site and poured the pad around the top of the well. Chai helped us install this one monitoring well so he will be able to install the 8 additional wells required in the near future.

Please Protect This Water Gate

2008-11-03T21:23:00.002-05:00

Chai painted this sign onto the watergate. It translates as "Please protect this watergate".

When it rains....it monsoons

2008-10-29T01:24:00.004-04:00

This year's rainy season seems to stretch a little longer than usual, according to some of the locals. It's been raining, on average, about an inch or so per day.
Most of the time, we are chased away from the site by a rainstorm, after having done most of our day's work, and scurrying to pack up and leave before getting drenched. There are times, however, we were simply forced to work through it...
...taking breaks in our makeshift haven.

KAP

2008-10-25T21:03:00.008-04:00

taken from downstream, looking northeast into the reservoir (background)

The KAP unit takes launch again, trying to capture images of the reservoir and completed watergate from the sky.

Monks In a Trunk

2008-10-25T00:01:00.004-04:00

A comment made by Jenn Lohr, when we were planning on picking up several monks from HRND and Wat Trach, on our way to the opening ceremony. During the ride, i had a long discussion with Sareeta (front right), who expressed his gratitude in the dam. He explained how many villagers will benefit greatly from the dam, including his very own family from the PropKot village.
Hearing such stories directly from the ones who grew up from the village definitely puts many things in better perspectives.

Improvements

2008-10-24T23:35:00.004-04:00

A large portion of the road to Trau Kod (the site) have changed since we've last been here about 9 months ago. Apparently, a Thailand company has proposed, and are currently building, a road from Siem Riep directly into Bangkok. This road used to be riddled with deep pot holes, and barely wide enough for one oxcart, thus, causing our trip to be an hour and a half long. Now, our commute is within the hour.

Additionally, the road is now often entertained with the sight of school kids making their way to the Wat Trach school. This school was part of the literacy program directed by Human Translation, and recently implemented a few months ago. It has been very succesful in bringing many local villagers of various ages to come to the school.
Changes such as these clearly indicates the growth of the community.

Read All About It

2008-10-24T13:41:00.007-04:00

l-r: tobias, bouny, jenn lohr
click to read article

The day after the ceremony, the Phnomn Penh Post had an article about the dam project. The journalist, Erica Goldberg, had met up with us a few days earlier to learn of the project.

Opening Ceremony

2008-10-23T12:03:00.008-04:00

Bryse takes a piece of the ribbon

The opening ceremony was an amazing experience. Over 600 attended, including many villagers, community leaders, and the provincial government. They came to share their gratitude to all who have helped made their vision a reality. Through their speeches, they extended their thanks to all who were not present, acknowledging the many more people that were involved on this large project. This note of thanks was definitely also intended to all the EWB-NYC members.

The event concluded with a ribbon cutting at the watergate. As everyone walked towards the gate, school kids lined along the embankment applauding. The experience was joyful, and absolutely surreal.

Let There Be Water

2008-10-20T22:39:00.005-04:00

the reservoir and the watergate
more photos by jenn lohr

We visited the site yesterday, and were excited to see the reservoir partially filled with water. It was definitely an amazing sight.

Rivalry at Thai Border

2008-10-16T15:11:00.005-04:00

Modern conflict near ancient ruins
photo and article from the BBC

In recent news, military breakout at the Thai/Cambodia border claimed two soldiers. Events as such have posed small delays on the Dam project in the past, often postponing meetings, review of our work, and/or obtaining approvals to proceed on some tasks.

Milestone Gala Photo Catalog

2008-09-23T12:59:00.005-04:00

Photos exhibited at the Milestone Gala can also be purchased. Put one on your wall today!

catalog and order form

Milestone Gala

2008-09-19T15:59:00.016-04:00

l to r: jessica miller, wiL, maria jarina, tim weiss, linda hamden, matt barber
not photo'd: kathrine mccullough, monica louie

The Milestone Gala was a blast last night! The first event of its kind for the EWB-NY chapter, this event had set a tone of great appreciation to our sponsors. Displays of photos, small scale dam model, slideshow of construction photos, and other EWB-NY projects kept our sponsors entertained and helped them realize what their support had helped us achieved - both in the project, and in the chapter. With good food and wine, music by Dengue Fever, and a lottery of everything from free bread for a year, to free Yankee tickets, we all wished the event didn't have to end.
One of the display was the KAP jig suspended above the KAP photos. The remote controller was passed around for everyone to experiment with. Take a look at the photos of their experience.

Milestone Gala

2008-09-04T19:40:00.016-04:00

join us at the Milestone Gala
Thursday, Sept. 18th 7:30pm-11pm
Peter Cooper Suite, 8th Floor
Cooper Union
Foundation Building
7 East 7th Street, NY, NY
milestone.gala@ewbny.orga

The recent completion of the watergate structure marks a major milestone not only in the Cambodia Water Dam Project, but in the Engineers Without Borders-New York City Chapter as well.
Join us at the Milestone Gala as we say "THANK YOU" to all the supporters who have made this work a reality!

The 2008 HT Fundraiser

2008-08-20T00:28:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday, Human Translation hosted another extremely successful fundraiser in Napa Valley, CA. There was a opera concert in a wine cave, a delicious Cambodian dinner and a finally a live auction. HT had been working on the preparation for this event for the past year and it was amazing to witness everything come together so successfully.

Needless to say, wiL and I thought it was "pretty good". Here are some more photos.

NVR Article

2008-08-05T13:53:00.002-04:00

There is a great article in the Napa Valley Register about the history of the project and the upcoming Human Translation fundraiser. Last years HT fundraiser was a huge success and without the enormous generosity of the attendants we would not have been able to complete the project.

One Star Turn

2008-07-17T17:59:00.006-04:00

courtesy of Bouny Te

We ran into a surprisingly large problem before starting the downstream path excavation. A Cambodian One Star General had purchased the land downstream of the reservoir and did not want the stream to run through his land. It took quite a few discussions and some negotiating but we eventually agreed to turn back to the original stream path as quick as possible (see the relatively sharp turn to the left in the photo above). This path is more of a temporary solution until next dry season when we can provide a larger path and armor the side embankment at the turn. But this is a great example of one of the many completely unexpected problems that popped up during the project.

Excavating the downstream path

2008-07-14T23:06:00.003-04:00

ceda watches as a local villager excavates the channel

Excavation for the downstream path have begun. This path will guide the water from the watergates back to the existing O'Tabet stream. Manual labor was the best alternative considering costs and safety. At this point, the ground is saturated due to the rainy season, and having any heavy equipment out on site can be unstable. Work is estimated to be complete by next week.

Dengue Fever

2008-07-02T19:57:00.006-04:00

DENGUE FEVER

it's a serious disease, and nyc will be hit with a severe case of it this saturday, 7/5, at central park's summerstage! dengue fever was first introduced to this project via human translations' video, using "sleepwalking through the mekong" as the soundtrack to this powerful video clip. since then, ewb-nyc have been committed to this water dam project.

"...when things get hard within a project...you tend to search for reasons why you shouldn't finish it..." -Zac Holtzman to AM newyork.

Another Grassing Ceremony

2008-06-28T19:52:00.004-04:00

monks from HRND walking across the west embankment

Another grassing ceremony was organized last week, attempting to make the final push to protect the embankment. To date, over 90% of the embankment is covered.

sforbes point of view

2008-06-16T22:03:00.004-04:00

steve's photos roughly put together

Race To Finish

2008-06-10T18:12:00.009-04:00

before: March 2007, view from breach, looking east into reservoir

after: view from the gate controls, looking east into the reservoir

A first glimpse of impounding water in the resevoir. It's now (has been) a race to pull everything together for completion before the rain really hits. There are still a few outstanding items, such as finalizing on the downstream path, grassing of the remaining embankment, and rip-rap lining critical areas to prevent erosion.

Complete With The Cherry Topping

2008-06-05T17:36:00.004-04:00

more photos of the completed dam

The concrete work on the watergate have been completed last week, and now backfilling to both wingwalls are done! Topped off with a little color, the red beam is part of the control assembly to open and close the two gates. Hats off to all the field crew!

Hydro Revisited

2008-06-04T18:04:00.000-04:00

l to r: jason chan, brent katlin, monica louie

During the past few meetings, we've been revisting the hydro study done last summer by Brent, Tim, and John. The original study was based on the watergate to provide a spillway capacity large enough to accomodate for a 100yr design storm event. This assumption, however, resulted in a rather costly labyrinth structure. Thus, we decided to modify upon an existing design, and propose to revisit the hydro analysis to consider some spillway capacity that may be provided at other locations, such as the several existing south canals.

Looking back, the hydro assessment have undergone a long journey, starting from getting information about the river intersection, assessing the condition of the south embankment and the entryway of the south canals, and walking down one of the canals, called the Krapeu Canal.

The KAP Doctors

2008-06-03T23:58:00.006-04:00

l to r: larry on cadd, comparison of new and old kap jig, dustyn on band saw

Several weeks ago, i was introduced to Larry and Dustyn. They are both mechanical engineers, and generally work on robotic engineering. They heard about the KAP unit we've used on the project, and also heard that it malfunctioned soon after it's initial flight. So they volunteered to fix it! They've proposed to rebuild the jig, and hook up new servos to the unit. From Cadd to fabrication, these guys had all the right tools to do the job. Seeing them work was amazing and fun, these guys are true geekLabers!

The Concrete is Complete!

2008-06-01T10:18:00.002-04:00

Here is a shot of Chanda, Mean Someth, and Chai (l to r) standing on the completed watergate structure. The earthwork around the structure is underway now and the embankment grassing is about 50 to 60% complete. But another big milestone has been met and almost two months ahead of schedule!

Grassing the Embankment

2008-05-28T22:21:00.000-04:00

Monsoon Grassing from Human Translation on Vimeo.

Grassing Ceremony

2008-05-22T00:37:00.007-04:00

Mean Somethe of HRND discusses plans for embankment grassing

HT and HRND have been coordinating with the local villagers on grassing of the embankment. The planning took several weeks, and kicked off this past Sunday with a great success. Nearly 50% of the main embankment was covered in one day! The effort was distributed amongst the villagers by allotting sections of the embankments to a particular village. This made coordination and managing efforts much more efficient.
During the coordination and planning efforts of this task, things seem to fall in place as far as establishing a Water User Group. Leaders and villagers have come forth and organized into work groups. Continual participation from the villagers and leaders such as this will lead to their better understanding, ownership, and maintenance of the structure once it's handed over to them.

Design Squad

2008-05-16T21:39:00.002-04:00

Last November wiL brought a very fancy HD video camera to Cambodia which was given to him by a film crew working for a PBS show called Design Squad. Each episode has a short segment about engineers or designers that are working on interesting projects and the crew wanted to produce a short segment about Matt Sisul and Wil Cao for their show. So we took a bunch of videos of the project and of us messing around and the crew was able to turn it into a really great clip. And it was recently shown on TV! Here is a link to the video.

B Roll from Human Translation

2008-05-09T02:05:00.000-04:00

HV20 Test: Children on Embankment from Tobias on Vimeo.

Quick Update

2008-05-07T20:54:00.002-04:00

Here is a new photo from Bouny, Steve Forbes is back in Siem Reap, and it sounds like Chanda will be close to completing concrete by the end of this month!

Steel Gateway

2008-04-24T01:57:00.003-04:00

Chanda has been sending us drawings on the steel gateway. There have been several discussions on paint products to prevent the weathering and rust of the steel, and most of the conversation has led to a non-organic zinc epoxy base type of paint system.

similar to the TaBin gateway

Khmer New Year

2008-04-24T01:09:00.005-04:00

celebration of the khmer new year in long beach, ca

As the Khmer New Year celebrations reaches its end, the construction crew returns to the site to continue with the concrete work. From the latest progress reports, both wingwalls are complete, and formwork is being prepared on the dissipation blocks. At the same time, Chanda has been preparing for the fabrication of the steel gateway.

One Down ...

2008-04-05T12:51:00.004-04:00

Chanda and the crew completed the first wing wall pour last week ...

and they have moved right onto forming the next one.

The structure is starting to take shape!

Steve Forbes - Man of the Year

2008-04-01T18:56:00.008-04:00

Steve Forbes is like a superstar. With a name like that floating around at an EWB conference, you're guaranteed to attract a group of students and professionals wanting to have a chat with you, asking for advice, opinion, and even time to sit in on one of their meetings.

It thus comes to no surprise that he was honored this year's "FOUNDERS AWARD" for "...embracing the visibility and advancing the mission of EWB-USA..."

The unsuspecting Steve Forbes humbly accepted his award to a standing ovation of 700 people.

Congrats Steve!

EWB National Conference Seattle

2008-04-01T18:44:00.010-04:00

l to r: Steve Forbes, Sammy, Bryse, wiL

Bryse and I attended the EWB National Conference held in Seattle on behalf of our NYC chapter to present the water dam project. We meet up with Steve Forbes and Sammy, a student from Ghana, here to represent one of the international chapters (EWB-Ghana) and participate on the International EWB Panel Discussions

Progress Update

2008-03-20T12:31:00.002-04:00

The foundation is complete, the sidewalls are being formed and should be poured in the next few days. Things are moving right along!

The Foundation Slab is DONE!

2008-03-11T17:11:00.002-04:00

Chanda and his crew finished the foundation slab! The volume of concrete already poured is about 50% of the total water gate concrete volume and they finished a month ahead of schedule!

EWB...Beyond Borders

2008-03-01T20:13:00.011-05:00

photos by rotciv97

Matt Barber, from the Usalama Project, and I presented to the Municipal Engineers of New York (MENY) on Wednesday evening. Our topic was "Engineers Without Borders 'Keeping it Simple' – Using Engineering Fundamentals to Build Big in the Developing World". The presentation went quite well, and many expressed interests not only in the projects, but in EWB-NY as a chapter.

Mixing Concrete

2008-02-25T11:02:00.002-05:00

Since our test cylinders arrived yesterday, we have spent some time on site working to cast samples of Chanda's concrete recipe. One of the challenges we faced was taking the recipe - written in kilograms of cement, gravel, sand, and water per cubic meter of concrete, and pretty much useless without a very expensive scale that can measure up to a metric ton - and converting it to units that would be more user-friendly for the workers who will be mixing the endless batches of concrete for our project. In this case, we used the measured density of all four ingredients to convert kilograms (mass) to buckets (volume) and marked out one of the buckets for measuring each material. After a short explanation of our "measuring bucket", the laborers were able to quickly assemble a batch of concrete at exactly the correct proportions.
Currently, workers are busy finishing excavations and bending rebar, and in the next few days they will start installing forms and bars, with the goal of pouring the first of the foundations by the end of the week. Stay tuned...

Mudmat!

2008-02-24T14:49:00.003-05:00

Hey Everybody, it's Jess here. I'm keeping up to date with Matt's progress photos (I used one of your pics in my post, Matt!), I have to say it's so great to see the site developing the way it is. After all the hard work, frustrations, and tough decisions that were made, especially in January, seeing the project take shape is very satisfying. Matt, I have to be honest, I envy you right now! I definitely wish I was there to see things happening in person.

I showed a few of my coworkers at Skanska the construction progress photos the other day. All were very impressed at the work that is being done, and those that were familiar with the project history (specifically, Shelly) were especially complimentary that our entire team was able to overcome the roadblocks we were faced with and make it into the construction stage. So, I will pass those compliments along to everybody that has been involved in this project.

It was great to be able to share the story of the project through the pictures, and this just opened up great discussions about the EWB organization in general. People were interested in what we do, and how to get involved. I think that there are huge resources of people in our NY area that could be of great assistance in this project, and future projects - both young engineers, and older more experienced engineers. Many just haven't heard of EWB, or don't know how to get involved - now that I have had my own personal experience being involved, and having visited the site, I want to use this to educate people and get them excited and involved.

I'll keep everybody posted on how these efforts go... Until then, keep the progress photos coming! Good luck over there, keep safe & productive!

Jess

Bussmann is back in 'bodia

2008-02-20T14:30:00.003-05:00

Matt Bussmann just arrived back in Cambodia almost a full year after the last site assessment. We are pretty lucky that he did. Chanda is gearing up for pouring concrete and Matt has quite a bit of concrete inspection experience.

a concrete chute

surveying for the top of base slab elevation

Road Trip to PP

2008-02-17T18:31:00.005-05:00

Before signing the contract with Chanda for the concrete water gate we had to meet quite a few times. However, Chanda lives in Phnom Penh and our project is just outside of Siem Reap. Chanda came to visit us in SR a few times so we decided it would be a good idea for us to go to PP and meet with him. We also decided it would be a good idea to load up the truck and drive our selves. The two cities are connected by Highway 6 which is one of the better roads in Cambodia but is basically a two lane deathtrap used by cars, pedestrians, motos, students on bicycles, dogs, cows, water buffalo, chickens, etc. If you take a bus between the cities it takes 6 hours, by taxi it's only 4. We figured we would be able to make great time, however, after 5 and a 1/2 hours of white knuckles on the steering wheel we finally arrived in PP exhausted and went straight to our meeting with Chanda.

On the way back we were better prepared. We didn't have a meeting waiting for us so we took our time, brought a bunch of snacks and had a really fun road trip.

Weekly Site Meetings

2008-02-15T16:14:00.005-05:00

Every Thursday we meet on site to review open issues. A typical meeting discussion includes things like construction productivity, budget and spending, community issues, and future work planning. Here are some regular attendees:

Chai (Project Assistant) and Ceda (Community Development Assistant)

Narith (Construction Manager)

Bouny (Project Coordinator)

one of Bac Krons dogs (potentially lunch)

Kong Chanda

2008-02-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

Our original plan for the implementation of this project was to start the embankment work then begin the concrete water gate and have two separate crews working simultaneously. However, when we began gearing up for the concrete work it became increasingly apparent that our crew did not have the so-mat-a-pe-up (capacity) to handle it. An example of this being the rebar cutter shown above. When purchased, the crew incorrectly believed it could cut up to a size D24 rebar. So we tapped into the ex-pat network and found three concrete contractors in Siem Reap to provide bids. But they were all high and not having any personal experience with any of them we were a bit hesitant to start anything with someone new. So in December we called Kong Chanda.

Chanda worked for HT about a year and a half ago and worked with our first site assessment team. wiL, Ryan and Alexi had nothing but great things to say about him and we were very concerned when he left the project for work in Phonon Penh. When we originally contacted him in December it was just for his opinion on our situation; high bids from unknown contractors. But after that first phone conversation Chanda called back 5 minutes later to tell us he would be in Siem Reap the next day to meet with us and see the site. As a side note: when Chanda saw the rebar cutter he correctly told us it could not cut anything bigger than a D16 rebar.

After that site visit in December we decided that hiring Chanda and his company to build the concrete water gate would be our best chance of finishing. Almost all business contacts we had made so far simply looked at us foreigners as a dollar sign despite the explanation of our project objective. Chanda was the first person to have a genuine interest in the project and helping the people of Balang. So we began trying to create this new project team. Chanda, very patiently, provided many different bids, schedules and met with us several times in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh over the next two months. Finally, after lots of very hard work by Chanda, HT and EWB-NY, we were able to agree on a contract price, sign the contract and Chanda has begun working. Chanda’s contract scope includes the complete concrete water gate and soil backfill around the structure. Essentially, everything left to make this reservoir functional.

The Earth Work Is Complete!

2008-02-11T18:10:00.000-05:00

The earth work is complete! We finished the all of the major earth moving necessary for the embankment repair and the equipment has been removed from the site. Above is the main embankment ...

the North embankment ...

and the South embankment.
We still have a lot of work, most critical right now is grassing the entire embankment before the rainy season begins. We will also need to install a rip rap band at the future water level, install monitoring wells and potentially a toe drain on the down stream side. But this is a major milestone completed a month before originally scheduled!

superbowl decision

2008-02-04T01:06:00.000-05:00

Superbowl Sunday, and as most Americans started their day today with anxious excitement to watch the game, the EWB Cambodia team started with a conference call to discuss final decisions on selecting which design to move forward with; the labyrinth design, or the straight weir design previously submitted to TAC. We have spent the last few weeks optimizing the labyrinth design to bring the cost down to fit the budget, but as time became a critical factor, the group was under pressure to finalize on one design to focus on.
Both designs have their pros and cons, and the group discussed at great length all of their concerns for each design. We concluded by agreeing to each write an individual final statement to submit to Steve Forbes, as he had previously agreed to be moderator should a decision not be reached within the group.

Trip to Cambodia (a short version)

2008-01-20T06:38:00.000-05:00

Hey bloggers! It's Jess, and I am on day...9 of my trip out to Siem Reap. I don't have too much time to write now, and I only wanted to get my first post up on the blog before I ran out of time here. But I would like to say that this trip has been incredible so far. Everything I can think of to write at this moment is falling short of accurately describing the experience, which I imagine that the rest of you guys who have been out here on a site visit can attest to also. Everyone is really puttnig a big effort in right now, trying to close the gap between our budget and our costs.

I have taken a lotttt of pictures that i will post on the website as soon as I get them downloaded (or uploaded, i guess).

More from me in the near future....

Jess

The Helicopter Ride

2008-01-11T03:16:00.000-05:00

Before leaving Siem Reap Steve Forbes insisted on taking a helicopter ride to the site to get some aerial photography. The helicopter was just brought to town by a company that uses it to fly tourists around Angkor Wat but our pilot, Matt, was happy to take a detour from his normal loop and help us find Trau Kod.

It took us less than 10 minutes to fly to the site and Steve, Bouny and I didn't stop taking photos until we landed. It was really amazing. This was the first time we could see the entire project at once; other than the blurry satellite photos we have been using from google earth.

When we got back I sent a text to Chai asking him if he saw us flying above. He wrote back: "I only saw steve clearly.did u land off? A lots of people ask me did u operate or pilot instruct u some and Y not land off at site? Oh,i think u had big..fun.!"

Mr. Trau Kod

2007-12-16T07:03:00.000-05:00

Recently, our friend Boc Kron built Mr. Trau Kod (shown above) to protect the reservoir and embankment. It was explained to me that Cambodian people believe there are spirits for all elements such as earth, wind, clouds, etc. and Mr. Trau Kod was built to represent the spirit of the reservoir. This spirit is meant to protect the area and seek revenge on anyone that would harm the reservoir. I think we will still need to implement our inspection and maintenance program after the project is completed but it's comforting to know we have Mr. Trau Kod on our side.

Filling the Breach

2007-12-08T03:02:00.000-05:00

This week the site crew began filling the embankment breach. This is the location where the river eroded the existing embankment away and destroyed the old reservoir. As you can see in the photo above, the river is still running through the space so we are filling it with soil and spreading it with the bulldozer to create a solid platform for our heaver equipment to work.

Once this platform is complete we can cut the key into the base and begin filling and compacting the new soil.

Stella!!!

2007-12-02T13:38:00.001-05:00

l to r: Narith, 'Stella', and Steve Forbes. at this moment, Stella buckles under the pressure.

we spent an afternoon fabricating a 12’ long, 2” diameter split spoon tube out of a pvc pipe cut longitudinally in half, then banded together with steel bands. the split spoon would core a sample of the soil by being probed into the ground using the bucket of the excavator to drive it down. we were uncertain if the pipe would be strong enough to probe through the unknown soil conditions, so we simply just had to take the risk. we invested a lot of sweat equity, and passion, into the creation, and joked that if the pipe were to simply burst into pieces during use, we would cry, “Stella….!!!!”, to express the pain of our loss.
Well, unfortunately, we hit a tough clay layer where Stella started to buckle under pressure. We weren’t able to probe any further than 0.25m when we started to hear a lot of cracking in the pipe. But, the good news is, the clay layer was a good discovery, as we had assumed worst soil conditions during design. We verified the clay layer by using the excavator to dig a ~10’ deep test pit, upon which we discovered a 1m layer of clay at the surface. Stella was demoted to being used as a measuring stick when taking photos of these test pits.

….Stella!!!!

Raw Steel

2007-12-02T13:24:00.001-05:00

photos by mulaohu

8 tons of raw steel....and that doesn't include the pickup truck. These #20 (#6 US) rebar was delivered to the site yesterday. we spent over $6k for this purchase alone.

Embankment Excavation

2007-12-02T13:12:00.001-05:00

l to r: bryse and bouny

it took about a week and a half to excavate a portion of the main embankment for the proposed watergate location. the excavation is approx. 20m wide, and 3.5m high.
this location was chosen because the soil conditions at the existing breach (not pictured) is unknown, and consolidation and stabilization of that soil would require surcharging over an extended period of time. instead of building the watergate at that breach, a new location was proposed with the assumption that the soil which it is founded on will already be well consolidated over a number of years by the existing embankment.

The Sheepsfoot Roller

2007-12-01T23:31:00.000-05:00

Part of our design was to specify the use of a sheepsfoot roller for the soil compaction on the embankment. Narith assured us that it would not be a problem to obtain one here in Siem Reap. However, when we made the deal with the equipment owner they mentioned that their one sheepsfoot roller was already rented but they could provide us with a sheepsfoot tow.

The sheepsfoot tow was definitely inferior to a full sheepsfoot roller and on top of that, the flat drum roller they sent out to pull this thing was older than me and broke down after a week.

Finally, after some tough negotiations, we were able to get a Self-Propelled Tamping Roller and this thing is a beast. You can feel the earth shake when it rolls by. This is a relatively rare piece of equipment so if it breaks down we could be in big trouble but for now it looks like we are in pretty good shape.

Forbes Rides Again

2007-11-28T21:27:00.001-05:00

Our mentor and friend Steve Forbes has come back to Cambodia to help wiL and me out with the start of concrete construction. Steve was the first EWB representative to visit the site and has continued to stay involved with the project by providing advice and much needed reality checks throughout the design process.

Embankment Excavation

2007-11-28T15:21:00.000-05:00

Excavation of the existing embankment for the watergate began about one week ago. Much progress has been made since. The crest elevation is currently at ~6.4m, and excavation will continue down to ~2.0m. As shown above, the watertable is at ~3.4m, thus, dewatering will need to be performed to have a dry working area.

the ride home

2007-11-28T14:20:00.000-05:00

A long day in the field is often complimented with a picturesque sun setting over the rice fields, accompanying the ride back home.

CPAC Ready Mix

2007-11-28T13:32:00.001-05:00

l to r: scared wiL, content chai, happy bryse

Bryse, Chai, and I paid a visit to the concrete mixing plant (CPAC) in Siem Reap (there’s only one plant in this town) to see what facilities were available. Their testing room was quite impressive, they had three compression machines; one for low range testing (such as smaller concrete samples, or compacted soil samples), a high range 350kips machine for the standard 6"x12" cylinders, and a small scale two point loading machine to test unreinforced beams.

Perhaps by saying impressive, I really mean to say I’ve wrongfully assumed such a facility would not have been available here in Siem Reap, or at least would not have been fully equipped with comparable standardized machinery. But I stand corrected, and once again, am proven wrong for underestimating what this town can provide. During the prime stages of the project, we’ve considered perhaps sending samples to Phnom Penh, or teaming with local engineering universities, to provide for concrete sample testing. But the solution was right around the bend, only 5km away, in this CPAC mixing plant.