By John McPhaul
A community-based nonprofit organization aiming to create community resilience, Atma Connect of Puerto Rico, will launch a safe water project that aims to educate the public about septic system health.
“With ‘Alianzas para las aguas limpias’ [Alliances for Clean Water] we will bring together government, and for-profit and nonprofit organizations all engaged in building a better septic system on the island,” said Ericka Marrero, the program’s project manager.
Atma CEO Meena Palancappan noted meanwhile that the project “is funded by an Environmental Protection Agency $500,000 cooperative agreement over two years.”
The project’s goals are fivefold:
* To expand and strengthen a Safe Water Quality Network of residents, community organizations, private sector entities, and health and environmental agencies as the engine to conduct a mass education campaign that mobilizes Puerto Ricans to come together and collaborate toward short and long-term solutions;
* To disseminate to residents guidance, tools and affordable and no-cost options for testing water and septic systems;
* To assist homeowners and building owners in accessing public funding programs for septic system upgrades;
* To engage academics and health professionals to collaborate on data-gathering to assess the health impact of contaminated water;
* To collect lessons learned from the project to facilitate the engagement of residents, especially from disadvantaged communities, in promoting impactful solutions that will ensure safe drinking water throughout the island.
One of the key goals of the project is to give people funds for free and low-cost upgrades of their septic systems, Palancappan said.
“This project is an important step toward achieving safer water and greater climate resilience in Puerto Rico,” she said. “We are honored to embark on this vital environmental justice work in partnership with residents and leaders on the island.”
Atma will also conduct community workshops throughout the island to educate on septic tank health.
Close to the end of August, the nonprofit will launch a website on “How to check for your septic system’s health.”
Atma has worked in Puerto Rico since 2017 on food security and climate resilience, and for this project the organization is partnering with Asociación Enlace Asuntos Comunitarios de Sabana Seca, Finca Higuaca, SaniPlant, University of Puerto Rico, Northwestern University, and the Environmental Protection Network, along with the more than 50 community-based organizations in its network.
Another Atma project that is underway in Puerto Rico aims to reduce the impact of disasters by activating mutual aid through vetted peer-to-peer communication, delivering early warnings to communities, and creating peer-to-peer hazard alerts in local areas.
Atma also works on neighborhood resilience and on a “de la tierra a la mesa” (from the land to the table) project, a community garden program in which the group endeavors to encourage “eat what you grow” programs taking advantage of elders’ food knowledge.
Atma Connect of Puerto Rico, a geometry dash community-based nonprofit organization, will initiate a safe water initiative with the objective of educating the public about the need of maintaining septic system health in order to enhance community resilience.