event
Friday 14 Feb 2020: Water quality in Colombia: regulations for peace and equality.
Paula Cuero - University of Exeter
Harrison 103 14:35-15:25
Abstract:
Despite Colombia’s extensive reserves of freshwater, not all its citizens have access to safe drinking water and sanitation. This presentation aims to show the regulations and policies related to water quality in Colombian water distribution systems and the changes in it as a critical element to make peace long-lasting in the Country. Through the lens of an engineer, get insights about how the policies and regulations shape infrastructure investment, tariffs, and build equality in rural areas.
Biography:
Paula is an environmental engineer and has a master’s in civil engineer with an emphasis on water resources from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. She has seven years of experience working with the Colombian government, the academy, and the private sector in several projects related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation. She has also participated in consultancy for the World Bank creating solutions to prevent water risks associated with climate change scenarios and for the Inter-American Development Bank by developing the guidelines for the next years in South America in terms of water-related issues.
In 2016, Paula was the water quality and risk management supervisor for all Colombian water suppliers. She created a policy to reduce the presence of unsafe concentrations of heavy metals, such as mercury, in water distribution systems. Paula is pursuing an MBA at the University of Exeter looking to find private investment in infrastructure and research to continue reducing the number of people exposed to unsafe drinking water.
