Bringing safe water to the table

New George Mason University researcher goes beyond engineering to connect communities.

Fresh water is not just the foundation of life; it’s also at the center of every society. From ancient watering holes that brought all the animals to the yard to municipal systems that bring refreshment from tap-to-glass, water connects us all. 

Daniel Smith is a water treatment engineering expert who advocates for clean water and sanitation in both large municipalities and tiny rural communities. The newly appointed assistant professor of environmental engineering and water resources in the Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering brings experience working with organizations in Honduras, Uganda, Bangladesh, and across the United States—just to name a few. 

What makes him really interesting, though, is how he blends social sciences with his engineering research. He's implemented research on a phenomenon called social capital, which is a way to measure how much a community trusts—or distrusts—one another and its effect on infrastructure management. “That was an amazing concept to me as an engineer.” 

In communities with high social capital, he found, it's easy to get widespread buy-in for community-managed infrastructure. “They tend to raise more money, have better communication with less misinformation, and better implement training programs,” he said. 

The projects are easier to get off the ground, gain trust and enthusiasm, and create a “virtuous circle” where the buy-in creates better living situations, which raises social capital overall, and allows for openness to further improvements. 

In communities with low social capital, however, communication is difficult, projects are hard to get going, and a vicious cycle starts, which leads to even less trust and buy-in overall (and poorer water quality). In those cases, he's worked on communication methods to help raise community trust. 

As a new face in civil and environmental engineering, Smith is still in the process of setting up his water quality lab at the Potomac Science Center. When it’s finished, he will bring his nonprofit and research collaborations with water utilities in the Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., area and nonprofit organizations, such as AguaClara Reach in Honduras and International Lifeline Fund in Uganda, to George Mason.