It’s World Water Week beginning Monday, August 25, and this year’s theme is “Water for Society — Including All.”
Four Hope College professors have been conducting research with that theme in mind for three years now. Dr. Jonathan Peterson of the geological and environmental sciences department, Dr. Aaron Best of the biology department, and Dr. Mike Pikaart and Dr. Brent Krueger of the chemistry department are members of an interdisciplinary research team that is on a reconnaissance mission, looking at samples collected via Sawyer® water filters from 30 countries so far, including Kenya, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Costa Rica and Senegal. The research team’s goal is to help improve drinking water quality in less developed countries. They have presented their findings about particulates, bacteria, and heavy metals in global water at scientific professional meetings and are in the process of preparing a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.