Owning and operating a small business is not always easy in this economy. Especially as we provide services that are not always understood to be essential (but can be) and sometimes thought to be available from anyone (not). We need to keep getting the message out about what we do, and keeping up relentlessly with performance and quality. We have financial obligations ourselves.

But it has its rewards. We, the veterans, spend time on the job site and with every client. So we see the situation first hand and we know our clients' hopes and fears. We see it in their eyes. We also get to travel and contribute extensively to a better world. We don't have to ask the stockholders (we are the stockholders) or the home office in France or whatever to do these activities.

We're planning a visit to explore opportunities and building professional and business relationships

The place:

The United Republic of Tanzania is the largest nation in eastern Africa, approximately twice the size of California, situated between 1^o and 12^o South on the Indian Ocean. Tanzania is a natural economic hub for east Africa, sharing borders and commercial links with eight countries and two trade communities with a combined population of > 300 million people.

Formed 1961-1964 from the British-administered U.N. mandate territory of Tanganyika (former German colonies on the mainland) and coastal Arabic-culture Zanzibar, Tanzania has overcome challenging social conditions (over 120 tribes and evenly divided Moslem and Christian populations), maintaining civil peace and forming a strong sense of national unity. It is an island of peace in a tough neighborhood. It is a peaceful and safe place to travel. Tanzania has rich wildlife and scenic resources that make it an exotic tourism destination.  It is the home of Mt. Kilimanjaro (at 5895 m – 19,340 ft – the highest point in Africa), and the big national parks like Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti, and Ruaha are accessible and well run.

Tanzania has a lot of challenges – but also a lot of opportunities for American water and wastewater sector companies (see following). Like South Africa or India before it, the pieces are in place for the nation to have an explosion of economic growth: infrastructure is being developed, and new sources of valuable natural resources discovered. It has a population that knows about and wants the basics of life, including safe and abundant water and proper sanitation. The Government of Tanzania is in the midst of an aggressive program to expand agricultural output and to raise the rural standard of living. This is a nation where Americans are well liked and appreciated, particularly as an alternative to other foreign service providers.

There is much interest in testing well water to evaluate risk related to oil and gas drilling in our region of the USA. The newer “unconventional” gas and oil development tapping Devonian shale source rocks (Marcellus, Utica, etc.) involves deep and directional drilling, with hydrofracturing (HF) used in completion. Because large volumes (millions of gallons) of water, amended with chemicals, are used in each HF event (often referred to as “fracking”), and because of the risk of penetrating methane-yielding formations, it is widely advised that well owners should conduct relevant testing of the quality of water wells.

This summer, I was stunned by a phone call from one of the guys at Ohio EPA who organized operator training for operators in the Northwest District, Ohio Section AWWA. I had given a talk on my experience in Tanzania searching out and evaluating technical capabilities for water development there. If a group (for example, the Diocese of Youngstown) is raising money to support water development in an area, they like to know that the money was well spent, with wells and distribution equipment properly constructed and working. I help with such evaluation informally for several groups (Water for People is not involved there). The audience (often bored during talks) largely listened intently, asked a lot of questions, and talked to me about it afterward. I have seldom seen them so engaged. “Great,” I thought, “Raising awareness.” Anyway, Richard told me that Ohio EPA’s contact hours evaluation committee had declined to give credit for the 45 min talk.