New Hope resident and Cedarville University engineering student Matthew Shiel is working with a team of students to bring clean water to a hospital in Zimbabwe, writes Jeff Werner for Patch. 

Shiel is partnering with fellow engineering students Lauren Kolodsick and Caleb Weaver to design a water treatment system for Karanda Mission Hospital.  

The hospital serves around 75,000 patients every year, performing almost 4,000 surgeries annually. Clean water is needed for both drinking and sterile surgical use, serving both patients and those who live on the hospital grounds. 

“During the rainy season, the downstream filters quickly clog due to excessive sediment and particles in the water. Our solution seeks to lower the turbidity of the water before it reaches the plant so that it isn’t overwhelming the hospital’s existing system,” said Kolodsick.  

A previous team of students at Cedarville worked to develop sand filters for the hospital’s treatment system as part of the university’s ongoing partnership with the medical organization. While the filters have been effective, the maintenance has proven to be a challenge.  

During their fall semester, the trio designed a new prototype that relies on gravity to separate the sand particles from the water, a system they hope to finalize in the coming months. 

Read more about New Hope’s Matthew Shiel and his team’s efforts to improve the hospital’s water treatment system in Patch.  

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