Water Quality

Bhutan boasts some of the most pristine waterways in the world. But these waters are threatened by human activity and insufficient wastewater infrastructure. NGOs like Clean Bhutan are working to eliminate waste and keep Bhutan clean in all ways. 

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We evaluated water quality upstream and downstream of metropolitan centers to reveal the impacts of human activity on the water quality of major rivers. One of the most impactful moments for me was the detection of e.coli in a remote, first-order watershed that contained only one monastery. 

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Our approach included water chemistry and the use of macroinvertebrates as water quality indicators. We used an open source Arduino-framework colorimeter for immediate nutrient chemistry and petrifilm plates to detect e.coli within 24 hours of incubation within our hotel lab.

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Read our report on this work.