Volunteer Work

Tectitan Hazard Mapping, Guatemala

In October 2005, Hurricane Stan made landfall in Central America, causing flooding and landslides that killed an estimated 2,000 people and displaced about 70,000 in Guatemala alone, overwhelming the relief resources of the country. Guatemala sustained heavy damage largely due to the steep terrain and vulnerable rural population. Ray Womack was asked by SIL, a Christian linguistics organization, to assess slope stability and prepare a landslide hazard map for relocation of displaced people near the remote village of Tectitan. The results of this work were presented at the 40th Annual Symposium on Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering: Landslides – Investigation, Analysis and Mitigation,  Utah State University, Logan, Utah, May 24-26, 2006.

Bukaleba Water Supply and Community Development, Uganda

This project involved design of a mountain water pipeline and solar-powered pump system to convey water from a remote spring, as well as geotechnical engineering of foundations for a community clinic and schools near the northeastern shore of Lake Victoria. The project is being built by Arise Africa with assistance from Engineering Ministries International. The project provides basic services and agricultural development for about 30,000 people.

Flood Control, Bayeux, Haiti

This project was performed for Medical Ambassadors International (MAI). The village of Bayeaux, including the MAI clinic, is on low-lying ground along the Port Margot River near the Caribbean coastline of Haiti. Frequent violent floods resulted in loss of livestock and crops, as well as threatening lives. The high velocity flows were found to be caused by concentration along abandoned irrigation canals originally constructed before 1800 for a French sugar plantation. The solution was bendway weirs to deflect flood flows away from the eroding river bank.

Kandisi River Bridge, Kenya

WAI worked as part of a multidisciplinary team to design a new bridge that provides access to Africa Nazarene University and basic services to hundreds of inhabitants.  The existing bridge had flooded up to 5 times a year; during the “long rains” of 1997, El Nino caused the crossing to be impassable for 2 days at a time. The bridge has been rebuilt to handle higher discharges.