Annual Water Cycle event to benefit Engineers Without Borders' international projects

Auburn’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB) chapter is providing the perfect opportunity to follow through on New Year’s Resolutions. Their second annual fundraising event, The Water Cycle, will be held on April 22 at Lake Martin Dam in Dadeville, Alabama.

 Participants will be able to choose from three different path distances: 15, 30, or 60 miles. Additionally, for competitive cyclists, there will be a 60-mile race in which winners will be taking home prizes. Registration for the event includes tickets for food and live music at the Dam Jam following the ride. These tickets are also available for those who do not wish to ride during the event. T-shirts will be included in rider registration and available for individual purchase.   

All proceeds from the event will go directly towards the chapter’s next humanitarian project: providing water for drinking and irrigation in Guatemala and Bolivia.   

“One of the great things about EWB is that we are a 100% volunteer organization, so nearly 100% of the funds we raise are used directly for our international projects,” said EWB Faculty Advisor, Christian Brodbeck.  

Brodbeck oversaw a 2022 Guatemalan project in which the Auburn EWB chapter provided clean drinking water to 42 homes that had been seeking water since 2012.    

“The project we did included designing and building a spring water catchment system, a 2-mile water transmission line, a 10,000-liter tank and a distribution network into 40+ houses in the community. Our students were exposed to all design and construction aspects of a project of this magnitude,” Brodbeck said.  

The next international trips being caried out by the EWB chapter will include Bolivia in addition to Guatemala. In Bolivia, the team will work on designing and installing an irrigation system.   

“The irrigation system will allow the farmers to provide vegetables on multiple rotations throughout the year rather than just one crop rotation during the rainy season,” Brodbeck said.  

For the 2023 Guatemala project, the team will be working to pump water from a spring to a water tank that will ultimately distribute the water to about 200 houses in El Adelanto.  

All bike routes for The Water Cycle will be primarily dirt and gravel with some portions of pavement. Electric bikes are permitted for all portions of the trails except the 60-mile competition race. Free parking is available for all participants at the Lake Martin Dam. Registration is open now and can be accessed at https://ewb.auburn.edu/cycling-event/ .