Faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Anthropology are co-leading a National Science Foundation-International Research Experiences for Students (NSF-IRES) field school in Costa Rica with environmental engineering colleagues to examine wastewater management.
Anthropology professors Dr. Nancy Romero-Daza and Dr. David Himmelgreen say the goal of this NSF-IRES program is three-fold: first, to train students to conduct interdisciplinary research on both the technological and social aspects of wastewater management in rural Costa Rica; second, to provide students with teamwork experiences to develop effective communication skills, work across disciplines, and find solutions to a pressing global problem related to water security and health; and, third, provide students an opportunity to live and learn in another cultural setting where resources such a reliable internet are sometimes limited.
“A key takeaway from this program is that researchers must be flexible and come up with novel ways to work with the local communities’ acceptable solutions,” Himmelgreen said.
Dr. Kevin Orner demonstrates how to collect a sample from a septic tank chamber. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Nancy Romero-Daza)
Wood shavings used in composting toilets. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Nancy Romero-Daza)
Students Tailyn Osorio (left) and Sarah Yingling (right) measuring gas emissions from sludge samples. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Nancy Romero-Daza)
The program aims to better understand how septic tank systems work and to learn about community perspectives on the use and acceptability of composting toilets—a type of waterless toilet that treats human waste through biological processes such as mixing with wood chips— as well as the pros and cons of installing a centralized wastewater management (sewer) system to address the growing problem of water and soil contamination in the area of Monteverde, Costa Rica.
“This is a bio-diverse area with a cloud forest that is inhabited by several thousand residents. However, about 250,000 tourists visit annually to explore the rich flora and fauna, coffee and dairy farms, and to learn about the rich culture in the mountains of northwestern Costa Rica. As you can imagine, while tourism is vital to the local economy, it takes a toll on the environment including the significant concerns about wastewater contamination that can affect health and wellbeing of all living things in the region,” Himmelgreen said.
Romero-Daza and Himmelgreen add that in Costa Rica, 70 percent of its five million residents use septic tanks and 66 percent of the septic tank sludge is not treated before disposal.
For residents connected to a sanitary sewer, 86 percent of the wastewater receives no treatment prior to discharge, jeopardizing a national economy dependent on ecotourism due to contamination by untreated septic tank sludge.
The complexity of deciding which sanitation infrastructure to implement at which scales (decentralized, semi-centralized, or centralized) has created a need for a wastewater decision-support tool designed specifically for smaller communities.
“While tourism is vital to the local economy, it takes a toll on the environment including the significant concerns about wastewater contamination that can affect health and wellbeing of all living things in the region,” Himmelgreen said.
“Like so many other global problems, wastewater management is not only a technological issue but also a social one,” Himmelgreen added. “An approach that combines anthropology and environmental engineering is essential to solve both the technological problem (feasibility and costs) and whether residents will use and support the technology. As we know, many development schemes fail because they don’t always pay attention to the community needs and perspectives.”
This is the first phase of a study that seeks to understand how wastewater technologies can be best adapted to the physical and cultural environment.
“This year we focused on composting toilets and septic tanks which are examples of decentralized wastewater systems—systems in which each home or business is responsible for managing its own wastewater—to manage wastewater from toilets. In future years, we will look at other decentralized systems such as bio-gardens for the treatment of ‘gray water’ from sinks, kitchens, and laundry. We will also assess community perceptions about whether wastewater managements should continue to be decentralized or if a centralized system managed by the local water authority—where there is a central facility with sewer connections to each house—or a hybrid wastewater treatment, which combines management of individual homeowners with cluster systems managed collectively by groups of community members, is most appropriate for this community,” Romero-Daza explained.
The field school is a collaboration between USF anthropology and engineering colleagues, who are also USF alumni, Dr. Kevin Orner from West Virginia University and Dr. Pablo Cornejo from University of California at Chico.
Each university funded two students this summer for the six-week long experience, with opportunities to be offered again in 2025 and 2026.
Under the guidance of the faculty, the students conducted research, analyzed data, and presented the findings to the community. They are also writing a final report that will be submitted to academic journals.
“In other words, the students were involved in most of the facets of the research. This experience along with the report, presentation, and papers contributes to their training and professional aspirations such as going to graduate school or getting a job after completing their master’s or doctoral degrees,” Himmelgreen noted.
A total of six students, two from anthropology and four from civil/environmental engineering disciplines, learned about the methods, theories, and overall perspectives of both disciplines, and then worked collaboratively to conduct community-based research.
“They collected samples from six water treatment systems and analyzed them in the lab. At the same time, they conducted observations on the way systems are maintained and collected data through individual interviews with 20 local residents,” Romero-Daza added. “This mixed-method approach allowed them to get insights into how the technology works and into people's experiences, likes, and dislikes with the systems they use.”
Nicole Kennady, a master’s student in the applied anthropology medical track, was one of the two USF students chosen to take part in this year’s research endeavors.
“I appreciated being chosen to participate in the NSF program and was very grateful for the experience. My role was in helping facilitate in the anthropology side of the project, such as helping lead interviews and helping the engineering students learn the methodologies. Our anthropological presentation focused on the current wastewater management methods people in Monteverde use and their values surrounding wastewater management, as well as their desires for the future,” Kennady said.
“This is particularly important as this region exists at the top of the watershed, meaning that any environmental problems will trickle down the system and lead to larger issues down the road, for both the Monteverde community and the people who live further down the mountain.”
Tailyn Osorio, an applied anthropology PhD student, said working on a project that combined anthropology with an environmental issue in Latin America was something they appreciated about the experience.
“I felt very grateful when I saw I was accepted because this was an opportunity to work on an interdisciplinary team in an international setting and gain new leadership skills,” they said. “We ended the anthropological portion of this study with about 47 interviews, 40 of which were conducted in Spanish. Overall, I think that it was a very beautiful experience and I’m very glad that I was a part of it. This NSF IRES experience validated for me that I want to prioritize one day living and working for an international government organization in Latin America.”
The plan is to continue this research field school for the next two years, sending six students—two students each from West Virginia University, University of South Florida, and California State University, Chico—to conduct research in the ecotourism community of Santa Elena, Costa Rica.
“It’s been an honor to work with these highly motivated students who are deeply concerned about the environment and people,” Himmelgreen said. “They give me hope about the future.”
Romero-Daza adds that the most exciting part of this project is “seeing the students' appreciation for interdisciplinary research and their work ethic and dedication to the project. I was also thrilled to see the very strong relationship they developed as peers and friends and the connections they established with their host families. I hope that this experience was valuable not only academically, but also in terms of personal growth.”
Informational sessions and recruitment for the next cohort of students will be held this fall semester. Anthropology students interested in participating in the field school may contact Dr. Nancy Romero-Daza.