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Today was another good day. We are really close to completing the system, which is super exciting, and we had time to hang out with the community this afternoon, which was also fun.

This morning, we installed the pumps into the tanks. Billy had to get back into the big tank to make sure that everything was aligned properly. He has been really great about jumping into the tanks whenever needed, which has been a huge help as we’ve been working on the system.

Billy in the clarifier tank adjusting the pumps

With the pumps in the big tank in place, we filled the tank enough to cover the pumps so that we could test the system later. Getting water into the tank was a bigger ordeal than we thought it would be. We had talked to Da Samuel about it, and he said that we could fill the tank with the water from his house. The hose that we had couldn’t reach all the way to the tank, so we walked around trying to find another spigot. The first one we found was broken. Da Samuel helped us find another one, and the hose barely reached. It took a long time to fill the tank, so we took shifts sitting on the tank and holding the hose.

Hanging out by the tanks

The ammonia sensor was also installed in the senior design instrument well box today. McKenzie and Carson got down in one of the trenches in the hot sun to install the cartridge thing that actually measures the ammonia level. Once they put the cartridge in, we had thirty minutes to fill the instrument well. We tried to fill it through the tank at first, but then filled the box directly for time reasons.

I got to work with Stephen for a little while to map out the system today. We used the measurements that I recorded earlier to create a diagram of the system. I really enjoyed seeing the numbers that I recorded on a diagram. I’m kind of a weird nerd, so the whole documentation process is really exciting for me.

Billy and Carson worked on the electrical panels for a majority of the day today. The panels have been installed in the little hut that the carpenters built for us. They have been working on wiring for a good portion of the day. There are so many wires that need to be connected, and there is only so much space in the electrical boxes, so it has been a slow, one-person job. We also realized that we forgot to bring a copper grounding rod with us. We found an old machete blade by our house, so we decided to use that as a grounding rod. We took some of the extra stranded wire, stripped the insulation off all the way, and completely wrapped the machete in the wires. We buried that to ground the system. I really hope that works.

Americans versus Ghanaians basketball game

Most people also had a little bit of time to play with the kids today. Some of the boys had challenged our team to an American versus Ghanaian basketball game. They ended up playing for a couple hours, and it was really funny to watch. Some of the other kids got a hold of two of our cameras, so there were multiple photoshoots going on. I always enjoy hanging out with the girls, playing little games with them, and talking to them about hair and boys and posing for pictures.

Girls just wanna have fun

Today was a good day. The system is so so close to being complete. We just need to get the electrical work done and then fill in the trenches. I’m thankful that I did not have to cut anymore corrugated pipe for media today. While I did get very good at it after doing it for a couple days, it was definitely not a fun job. I also appreciate the time I get to spend with the girls. I’ve gotten close with a couple of them, and I’m not ready to say good-bye yet. Finally, I didn’t have a ton of work that I needed to do, which was nice because I had an opportunity to hang out with a lot of people. Before we came on the trip, I didn’t really know half of our team very well, but I’ve gotten close with them. They are a group of truly amazing people, who keep me accountable and also know how to make me smile. I’m thankful to know them and to get to share this experience with them.

Our hot new sanitation system drops tomorrow.