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Alumni online seminar: Sanitation & Groundwater – revealing the hidden links and risk management

Online Seminars

Online seminars form part of lifelong learning resources we offer to the Institute's Alumni and Partners. The one-hour seminars feature webcast interactive lectures and discussions. Organized by IHE Delft in collaboration with The Water Channel, the seminars focus on topics selected to suit the interests of alumni and partners, but they are of interest also to a broader audience – feel free to invite colleagues and others who may be interested. Participation is free.

After the seminar, a recording will be published on the IHE Delft alumni webpage, IHE Delft's YouTube channel and the WaterChannel. Earlier seminars are available via this link

About the seminar

World Toilet Day 2022 underlined the impact of sanitation on groundwater. In this online seminar, Konstantina Velkushanova, Senior Lecturer in Non-Sewered Sanitation at IHE Delft and Jan Willem Foppen, Associate Professor of Hydrology at IHE Delft, will share their insights and perspectives about the important, yet often invisible, linkages between sanitation and groundwater quality. The presentations will highlight mechanisms of groundwater contamination from sanitation sources, and the associated risks on water supply and public health. Furthermore, two case studies will be presented on urban aquifers affected by waste water infiltration. The discussion will explore management strategies and solutions from both domains.

About the speakers

Konstantina Velkushanova is a Senior Lecturer in non-sewered sanitation at IHE-Delft. Konstantina’s background is in environmental engineering with almost 20 years of professional experience in WASH and sanitary engineering. She spent nearly a decade in UKZN, Durban in South Africa, where she has been working on different research projects and activities in non-sewered sanitation, faecal sludge management, development and evaluation of innovative sanitation technologies, and capacity building. Konstantina is actively involved in different programmes and initiatives supporting the global sanitation agenda, including: FSM6 conference chair and FSMA supervisory board chair; co-founder of the NSS specialist group of IWA; technical committee expert for ISO standards on NSS and FSM; lead editor of the recently published book “Methods for faecal sludge analysis” aiming at a standardised approach for faecal sludge analysis worldwide. Konstantina is a coordinator and lecturer of educational programs under the largest capacity building network in CWIS - the Global Sanitation Graduate School. 

Jan Willem Foppen is Associate Professor of Hydrology at IHE Delft. He received his M.Sc. degree in Hydrogeology. In 1995-1996, he was stationed in Sana'a, Yemen, where he was part of a project team aimed to identify sources for the drinking water supply of Sana'a. Intrigued by poor groundwater health conditions in Sana'a, he focused on the transport of the faecal indicator organism Escherichia coli in saturated porous media, whereby the aim was to extend the colloid filtration theory. This work resulted in 10 publications in peer reviewed journals, and in June 2007, he obtained his PhD degree from the VU University, Amsterdam.

How to attend?

The event is free. Please register here to receive a link to join the meeting, held on the Zoom platform.

How can I ask questions or make comments during the seminar?

Please enter your questions in the platform’s question box. 

Check your time

Make sure you don't miss the seminar by checking your time zone through this link.

Information

For extra information please contact Ms. Maria Laura Sorrentino, Alumni Relations Officer at m.sorrentino@un-ihe.org.