Currents 2026 Vol 1: The Art of Innovation

CAROLLO ENGINEERS VOLUME 1 2026

No Challenge

Too Great for San Francisco’s

Award-Winning Headworks

PLUS

Process Intensification to

Optimize Performance

Bridging the Infrastructure Gap

for Small Communities

New Digital Tools Transform

Master Planning

Making an Impact in Malawi, Africa

CURRENTS / IN THIS ISSUE

EDITORIAL

CONTENT EDITOR

Diana Leonard / dmleonard@carollo.com

COPY EDITOR

Mary Ann Mavrogianes

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Silvia Higuera-Backlund

Cover photo by Ethan Kaplan Photography

DIANA LEONARD (dmleonard@carollo.com)

This issue’s feature story takes an

in-depth look at the challenges met

during design and construction of San

Francisco’s newest headworks facility—

demonstrating how innovation and

collaborative problem-solving overcame

a variety of challenges and delivered a state-of-the-art,

award-winning project.

We also explore the latest process intensification strategies

and how they’re helping optimize treatment at many

facilities, and we detail how a national program is helping

small communities struggling with aging or failing water

and wastewater infrastructure develop and fund cost-

effective solutions.

In our article about digital master planning tools, we look

at how new technology is transforming static documents

into dynamic management tools capable of addressing

new challenges long after the planning process is complete.

We also take you to Malawi, Africa, where Water For People

is working with local communities to enable access to safe,

sustainable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.

working with local communities to enable access to safe,

sustainable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.

From new technologies to community solutions, we hope

you enjoy this issue. Please reach out to me or our authors

with your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you!

IN THIS ISSUE

Process Intensification to Optimize Performance

Bridging the Infrastructure Gap for Small Communities

The Art of Innovation: No Challenge Too Great for

San Francisco's Award-Winning Headworks Facility

New Digital Tools Transform Master Planning

Making an Impact in Malawi, Africa

PROCESS

INTENSIFICATION

Strategies for Better,

Faster, and More

Affordable Performance

ANDRE GHARAGOZIAN, PE (agharagozian@carollo.com)

YI CAO, PhD

More stringent effluent requirements, the need to expand

capacity, or the desire to reduce power and O&M costs are

driving utilities to consider wastewater process intensification

strategies. Intensification can optimize process performance

by increasing capacity, improving effluent quality, and

providing more cost-effective upgrades and greater

operational control—all within a smaller footprint.

Successfully implementing these emerging technologies

requires a risk-mitigation-based design approach that

carefully integrates new systems into existing plants while

managing technical, operational, and financial uncertainties.

Carollo's Emerging Technology Design Integration Team

(ETDIT) uses this approach and incorporates lessons learned

from operating facilities to integrate new technologies into

existing plants.

Process intensification encompasses numerous technologies at

varying stages of maturity based on factors like number of installations,

years in service, and complexity. The technologies labeled here

and discussed in this article range from emerging innovations to

established systems, each with different risk-reward profiles.

Intensification Technology Maturity Curve

Lab

Study

First

Demo

1st

Generation

2nd

Generation

3rd

Generation

Mature

Technology

Number of Installations

Pilot

Activated Sludge (AS)

Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs)

Anammox Sidestream Treatment

Anaerobic Granular Sludge

(AGS, Sequencing Batch

Reactor-Nereda

)

Ballasted Activated Sludge

(BioActiﬂo

, BioMag

)

Integrated Fixed-Film

Activated Sludge (IFAS)

Membrane Aerated Bioreactors (MABRs)

Densiﬁed Activated Sludge (DAS, InDense

)

Innovators

Early

Adopters

Early

Majority

Established

COMMENTARY / CURRENTS

Promising Technologies

Several emerging technologies offer

the potential to enhance or intensify

activated sludge (AS) processes. In most

AS systems, the limiting factor is usually

the ability to separate solids downstream

of a reactor.

Improving Liquid/Solids

Concentrations

Densified activated sludge (DAS)

selects for heavier, better settling floc

by washing away lighter, less desirable

biomass. It can be achieved through

biological or physical selection using

cyclones or sieves. This allows operation

at higher mixed liquor suspended solids

(MLSS) concentrations, translating to

more treatment capacity.

Ballasted activated sludge (BioMag®)

uses magnetite as a ballast to increase

floc density and enhance the settling

rate of mixed liquor in an AS process.

The magnetite ballast material is

recovered to use again. Similar to

DAS, the improved settleability allows

operation at higher MLSS concentrations.

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs)

separate solids and liquids using a

membrane rather than gravity—resulting

in 100 percent solids removal and ultra

clean effluent. Eliminating gravity settling

allows higher MLSS concentrations in

the aeration basins and reduces the

process footprint.

Combining Suspended Growth

and Fixed-Fim Processes

Integrated fixed-film activated

sludge (IFAS) is a hybrid fixed-film

and suspended growth AS process.

The fixed-film media provides a

surface to grow biofilm and increases

the biomass in the aerobic zone of a

reactor. IFAS provides the most benefit

in cold temperatures. Since the biofilm

removes some of the nutrient loads, the

suspended growth AS process can be

downsized for lower loads.

Membrane aerated bioreactors

(MABRs) are a newer hybrid process.

MABRs are unique in how membranes

supply oxygen and provide a surface for

biofilm to grow, which typically removes

30 to 40 percent of the nitrogen.

Selecting for

Specialized Microbiology

Anammox sidestream treatment

selects for anaerobic ammonia

oxidizing bacteria combined with

shortcut nitrification, reducing air and

chemical requirements. Anammox

processes don't use carbon for nitrogen

removal, so they're well-suited for

plants that must meet very low limits.

While most often used for sidestream

treatment, these processes are now

beginning to see applications for

mainstream treatment.

Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) selects

for large, rapidly-settling granules

containing all microbial cultures required

for nitrification, denitrification, and

phosphorus removal. The feast-famine

conditions created in a sequencing

batch reactor configuration, as well as

selective wasting of flocculent biomass,

encourages granule formation.

Largest Municipal BioMag

Facility

Logan, Utah

Carollo master planned and designed the largest

municipal ballasted AS facility in the world in Logan,

Utah. The new $135 million wastewater treatment

facility (WWTF) achieves average euent total

phosphorus and total nitrogen concentrations of

0.2 and 3.3 mg/L, respectively. Using BioMag®

instead of conventional AS reduced the size of new

aeration tanks and secondary clariﬁers, saving the

city approximately $40 million in construction.

MABR Piloting

Klamath Falls, Oregon

Carollo is completing design-build delivery of

Klamath Falls’ replacement of aging facilities

and process improvements to reduce nutrient

loads to Lake Ewauna from the Spring Street

Sewage Treatment Plant. Work includes optimizing

MABR conﬁgurations with piloting and modeling

to meet stringent ammonia and phosphorus limits

in cold weather.

Nutrient Removal with AGS

Kimberley, British Columbia

The City of Kimberley is using integrated

project delivery to upgrade its WWTF. Following

technology evaluations and potential site reviews,

AGS surpassed expectations as the most feasible

and cost-eective technology to optimize nutrient

removal at the existing plant site.

Driven by growing demands for

efficiency, sustainability, and innovation,

the evolution of process intensification

relies on creative applications of novel

treatment enhancement strategies. New

developments in AI and automation

will only spur this momentum. But it's

important to remember that technology

is only half of the equation.

The value of merging science with

human creativity, resourcefulness, and a

natural drive to remain competitive in a

dynamic industry cannot be overstated.

At Carollo, our experts in process

intensification are working with several

technology providers to investigate

strategies that optimize, integrate, and

enhance these intensification methods.

We invite you to reach out to us to

discuss solutions customized to meet

your specific needs.

Tailored Solutions

Process Intensification at Work

A Coalition of Support

Some communities lack the resources and technical expertise required

for ongoing maintenance of critical public infrastructure. Recognizing this,

USEPA established a technical assistance program specifically designed

to help small, under-resourced cities and towns navigate the complex

process of infrastructure planning and funding.

Since late 2023, Carollo

has partnered with Eastern

Research Group (ERG) and

USEPA to provide technical

assistance to small, rural, or

tribal communities struggling

with aging or failing water and

wastewater facilities. What

began as a single job has

evolved to 21 active projects

across 14 states, including

California, Delaware, Florida,

Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, New

Mexico, New York, Nebraska,

Oregon, Texas, Washington,

Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Successfully meeting the diverse needs of each community takes a broad

coalition of stakeholders—including a committed and passionate core

management team from Carollo and ERG, national and regional USEPA

staff, community representatives, and outside organizations offering

community assistance. Together, this partnership helps identify

water and wastewater challenges, develops feasible improvement

concepts and costs, and delivers

the Preliminary Engineering Report

(PER) documents that lay the

groundwork for state and federal

funding applications.

Stop-gap measures, such as plugging a pipe

leak with a pencil, can only do so much.

USEPA’s program helps deliver long-term,

affordable benefits to the communities that

need them the most.

While completing US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)-

funded water and wastewater improvements for several small

communities, Carollo has encountered the use of creative stop-gap

solutions to keep aging infrastructure operational. In one case, utility

staff actually plugged a hole in compressed air piping with a pencil.

While such repairs demonstrate resourcefulness, they also highlight

the broader challenges faced by many communities.

Scan to view the federal

requirements for producing

a typical Preliminary

Engineering Report.

ALLIE McCURDY, PE, PMP (amccurdy@carollo.com)

CARI ISHIDA, PhD, PE, ENV SP

NATE JANEGA, PE

CHAD KNIGHT, PE

BERNARDO CASTRO

USEPA Technical Assistance for Small Communities

CURRENTS / PROJECT UPDATE

BRIDGING THE

INFRASTRUCTURE GAP

As projects progress, the Carollo/ERG team works through

challenges and decision points with each community to

arrive at the most appropriate, technically and financially

feasible solution. The process sometimes dictates including

representatives from the funding organizations in project

meetings, which can help set realistic community expectations

and better prepare local participants for what can be a

daunting funding application process.

Navigating the Process

For each project, work begins with gathering information.

This entails traveling to the community, inspecting its

existing infrastructure, conferring with operations staff and

community representatives, and completing a site visit

report. The effort then turns to identifying alternatives,

vetting design concepts with all parties, developing cost

estimates, and evaluating the non-monetary ranking factors

associated with each alternative.

After presenting these alternatives and their capital and

O&M cost estimates to the group, the team incorporates

stakeholder comments and delivers the final PER.

Although some State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs require

slight variations, the format and content requirements of a

PER are set by federal guidelines established by USEPA, the

United States Department of Agriculture, the Department

of Health and Human Services, and the Department of

Housing and Urban Development. A typical PER is around

60 to 90 pages long (without appendices) and ultimately

provides a basis for funding applications for design and

construction of the preferred alternative.

Funding is Key

Because many of these communities have small rate payer

populations and want to keep costs affordable for their

customers, financial support is often needed to keep failing

or compromised systems operating. Aerated lagoons are a

common primary means of wastewater treatment. Creative

stop-gap measures—such as the pencil in the compressed

air piping or circumventing instrumentation and control so

that certain processes are operated at their highest setting

or shut off completely—are not uncommon. Plus, in certain

locales, public works expenses can exceed utility rate

revenues, pushing local governments to tap sales tax

revenue to cover losses.

In areas where water scarcity is an issue, communities

sometimes look to sophisticated wastewater processes

that allow indirect potable reuse of effluent. However, these

alternatives are frequently the most expensive. Further,

finding, retaining, and adequately compensating operators

with the required certification levels for more advanced

technologies can be difficult in remote areas.

A Proud History

USEPA’s technical assistance program has helped

hundreds of small US communities build, repair,

or replace vital infrastructure. Carollo's ongoing

commitment to this program helps guide those we

serve through complex state and federal funding

requirements and supports implementation of

affordable water and wastewater improvements

that were previously out of reach for many.

Communities Served

by Carollo/ERG

Since the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s inception, Carollo and

ERG have delivered technical assistance to more than 21 small

and resource-limited communities across the US.

USEPA's Bipartisan Infrastructure

Law provides funding for

technical assistance to qualifying

communities at no cost. Carollo

and ERG deliver these services

through the program.

Carollo and ERG worked with a Pacific Northwest client

to develop biosolids management alternatives, including

addressing overgrown vegetation in a sludge storage basin

that was compromising the basin liner.

Carollo and ERG worked with a Pacific Northwest client

to develop biosolids management alternatives, including

addressing overgrown vegetation in a sludge storage basin

that was compromising the basin liner.

BRIDGING THE

INFRASTRUCTURE GAP

CURRENTS / FEATURE STORYCURRENTS / FEATURE STORY

THE ART

No Challenge

Too Great for SFPUC’s

Award-Winning

Headworks

WALID KARAM, PE (wkaram@carollo.com)

MARYELLEN ESQUER, PE

JIM HAGSTROM, PE

Operated by the City of San Francisco

Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC),

the Southeast Treatment Plant

(SEP) is the city’s largest and oldest

wastewater facility, serving the

Bayside Watershed and nearly

two-thirds of San Francisco’s residents.

SEP receives and treats 80 percent

of the total annual flow from the city’s

combined sewer system.

Before the upgrade, the plant used

two headworks facilities to scale

between highly variable dry- and

wet-weather flows, allowing the plant

to treat the required 250 mgd during

rain events and discharge combined

sewer overflows (CSOs).

INNOVATION

In 2015, SFPUC, Carollo, and the Sundt-Walsh Joint Venture set out to

replace SEP’s two aging headworks with a single facility that could handle

the highly variable flows and extreme grit loads unique to the plant. The

engineering challenges alone were daunting but were compounded by

massive disruptions during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. What emerged

was a testament to engineering innovation and collaborative problem-

solving—a sophisticated $700 million, 250-mgd facility that has set new

benchmarks for urban wastewater design and construction.

Building Up When You Can’t Build Out

The SEP headworks is boxed in by a four-lane street, active railroad tracks,

the plant’s main electrical feed, and operating treatment facilities. With

such limited space, the project team faced a fundamental design challenge:

How do you build a new, larger facility when there’s no room to expand?

The team’s answer was an innovative, vertical configuration that stacked

treatment processes instead of spreading them horizontally. This was more

than just creative architecture. It integrated screenings compaction, grit

washing, and electrical support facilities into a compact footprint. To

execute the vertical design, the team had to re-imagine how headworks

facilities could function and carefully coordinate hydraulics, structural

systems, and operational access.

The limited footprint presented another important challenge. Any new

building on the site would require removing an existing structure, and

constructing the headworks without disrupting treatment operations was

paramount. The solution was a phased “demo-to-build” approach, first

constructing a temporary 100-mgd bypass system, then demolishing the

wet weather headworks, and systematically building the new facility

without compromising treatment capacity.

The result of the team’s imaginative design and careful collaboration during

construction was a new headworks that ultimately freed up space at the

plant—an increasingly valuable commodity, as evolving regulations will

likely require new future treatment processes.

A nimble and collaborative team met the

challenges of limited space, COVID-19 supply

chain and budget disruptions, extreme grit loads,

and seismic requirements in difficult soils to deliver

a state-of-the-art headworks facility.

THE ART

INNOVATION

THE ART

INNOVATION

THE ART

INNOVATION

An Existential Threat

Even the most careful planning and innovative designs

weren’t immune to the massive disruptions during the

COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, with the project already

under construction, material costs skyrocketed, supply

chains fractured, and the budget swelled $100 million

beyond projections. The team faced an existential question:

How do you dramatically reduce costs without sacrificing

quality, performance, or the project schedule?

The answer required an enormous pivot. Instead of

building a new 50-mgd influent pump station, the team

completely rehabilitated the existing structure. Though

not part of the initial scope,

this new approach kept

the project within the

original budget without

sacrificing momentum.

To stay on schedule, the

design and construction

teams worked in

lockstep—using remote

collaboration tools to

overcome pandemic

restrictions—and were

able to modify plans even

as construction continued.

When Grit Loads Defy Convention

Without effective capture and removal, grit can severely

compromise downstream equipment and processes.

But, while most water resource recovery facilities see

peak grit loads of 300 to 600 lbs/MG, because of its

location and San Francisco’s CSOs, the SEP routinely

experiences loads exceeding 6,100 lbs/MG—more than

ten times industry norms.

The team ran a year-long, full-scale, 5-mgd pilot study to

select the equipment best suited for the design. The pilot

evaluated multiple, side-by-side grit separation and washing

technologies under actual operating conditions. The results

guided selection of a system capable of handling the extreme

load requirements. It also efficiently separates organic material

from inert grit, resulting in reduced grit disposal volumes.

In another display of ingenuity, the design team used

hydraulics to optimize the screening process and raise

the hydraulic grade line under high-flow conditions. This

maintained proper screen velocities with just four screening

channels—half the number originally anticipated—saving both

space and capital costs while reliably maintaining optimal

performance under all flow conditions.

Seismic Resilience from Unstable Ground

A critical piece of infrastructure in an earthquake-prone region,

the new headworks facility had to meet rigorous seismic

standards, including the ability to withstand a 7.8 magnitude

earthquake. Designing for seismic resilience in the San

Francisco Bay Area is challenging enough, but doing so atop

“bay mud”—deep, unstable soil near a major fault line—was a

major hurdle. An inspired structural design used piers drilled

nearly 100 feet deep to provide adequate support.

The existing pump station presented an even thornier

problem. Its aging pile foundation fell far short of seismic

codes, but replacing it was too costly. The solution was to

support the existing structure using a new concrete slab

constructed atop the existing structure and supported by

17 drilled piers up to four feet in diameter and 120 feet deep.

This approach effectively “hangs” the 50-mgd pump station

from the new slab—bringing this critical facility up to code

without the cost and disruption of replacement.

A Model of Collaboration and Sustainability

Sometimes overcoming the odds isn’t about having all the

answers upfront, but rather tapping creativity and teamwork

to find solutions along the way. The SEP headworks

team maintained a collaborative partnership, even when

circumstances demanded rapid pivots, and delivered a state-

of-the-art facility within a limited urban footprint. The project

earned a Water Environment Federation (WEF) National

Project Excellence Award and an Institute for Sustainable

Infrastructure (ISI) Envision® Gold Award—the first headworks

nationally to achieve this recognition.

SFPUC’s SEP

headworks won a

prestigious WEF

National Project

Excellence Award,

and an ISI Envision®

Gold Award.

The evocative art installation outside the SEP headworks in

San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood is a

powerful testament to SFPUC’s environmental mission and

its ongoing investment in the communities it serves.

CURRENTS / EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

NEW

DIGITAL

TOOLS

ERIC HAROLD, PE (eharold@carollo.com)

CAROLINE BURGER, PE

TIM LOPER, PE

ANDY BALDWIN

To Enhance

Infrastructure

Master Planning

A capacity tracking tool can seamlessly

monitor growth and development

without accessing the sewer model and

performing time-consuming simulations.

Historically, utility master

plans have provided project

recommendations and

expected short- and long-

term capital costs to guide

future project prioritization.

They also provide defensible

justifications for user rates and

connection fees. These efforts

often result in detailed reports

and recommendations that

remain static until revisited in

the next master plan update.

Meeting these needs requires adapting

to changing conditions and integrating

multiple data sources.

Carollo has developed several digital

tools that can dynamically manage CIPs

and allow flexible changes in planning

assumptions, financial conditions, and

development impacts over time. These

solutions can be used to modify master

plans and provide actionable data long

after the planning process is complete.

Digital Success Stories

Here, we explore just a few of the

digital tools Carollo has offered utilities

to help navigate change by planning

and prioritizing infrastructure spending,

upgrading or replacing aging facilities,

and efficiently managing system growth

and development.

Capacity Tracking for Easy

Access to Modeling Results

One of Carollo's clients was

experiencing rapid growth along the

expanded Washington DC regional

transit corridor, stressing existing

infrastructure and impacting regional

utility contractual agreements.

A detailed planning process that considers

growth dynamics and system complexity

has helped this utility's staff understand

and expand local sewer infrastructure

through a web-based GIS app. The tool

facilitates viewing model simulation

results and provides access to a variety

of evaluations, eliminating the need to

own and understand how to use existing

modeling software and complete time-

consuming simulations.

Project owners can now easily track

development and its impact on

system capacity—allowing rapid

responses to developer requests

and system model updates that

reflect ongoing growth.

A Game Changer

As modeling tools and data availability

continue to advance, many utilities

struggle to maximize the utility

of collected data and develop

effective methods to facilitate nimble

decision making.

The evolution of data systems

and the technical skill of staff with

geographic information systems (GIS),

asset management platforms, and

decision-making tools provide

agencies with the power to leverage

a variety of additional objectives

during the planning process.

Opportunities include:

Ò Dashboards to support

operational/planning decisions

and stakeholder reporting.

Ò Tools for management of

capital improvement plans

(CIPs) that allow ongoing

tracking, CIP modification,

and project reprioritization.

Ò Digital master plans to replace

paper reports with GIS-based

apps to track development,

understand supply and demand,

and access model results.

Ò Asset management tools that

integrate condition assessments,

forecasting, rehabilitation

and replacement plans, and

capital costs.

Ò Field data collection solutions

to eliminate paper and reduce

typical data collection errors.

Monitoring the budget and schedule of a CIP's top water and wastewater

projects over time allows clients to allocate resources and make necessary

adjustments to optimize their investment.

StoryMaps to Empower

Smart Decisions

A Texas neighborhood was struggling with

chronic nuisance flooding, as well as more

severe flooding from larger storm events.

The client's goal was to reduce the overall

flood risk in the area through development

of a comprehensive stormwater master

plan that identifies and prioritizes short- and

long-term flood mitigation solutions.

Rather than deliver a standard set of

master plan binders and wall maps, Carollo

developed an ArcGIS StoryMap to share plan

results with stakeholders. StoryMaps are

user-friendly, web-based data visualization

tools combining geographic maps, photos,

videos, and text. They are interactive, can be

personalized and accessed on the go, and

enable users to share real-time dashboards,

identify potential trends, and make timely,

informed decisions.

CIP Management at

Your Fingertips

A Carollo client in British Columbia

provides water and wastewater services to

13 municipalities and three electoral areas in

the southern portion of Vancouver Island and

a few surrounding Gulf islands. Its service

area includes 460,000 customers and the

territories of several First Nations.

The client's goal was an easy-to-use

method to dynamically track and manage

the implementation of its water and

wastewater CIP for treatment and conveyance

infrastructure. Carollo developed web-based

tools that integrate mapping and tabular

information to enable visualization of the CIP

over time, assess the effect of changes to

project timing, and assess and modify capital

spending over the CIP’s lifetime.

Online StoryMaps provide easy access to complex master

plan details and use data visualization to illustrate results

and recommendations in a compelling, user-friendly format.

Looking to the Future

Digital tools enable more detailed analyses, meaningful stakeholder communication

at all levels, improved visualization, and better decision-making. Their continued

evolution will strengthen their capabilities and increase their ease of use.

Future developments will likely incorporate AI and machine learning, and

move beyond planning support to actively enhance facility design and

operations activities.

The principal goal of Carollo’s Digital Water Group is to continue advancing the

state of the practice. This will involve helping utilities better understand customer

demands and patterns, manage and integrate critical data, and deliver a growing

host of smart solutions that help clients save time and money.

REBECCA POOLE, PE rpoole@carollo.com)

CORA LEMAR, PE

Water For People

Impacting Everyone Forever

Water For People works internationally

in 10 countries across Central America,

South America, East Africa, India, and

since 2024, the United States.

Unlike other water and sanitation

organizations that focus on short-term

wins, Water For People’s model is

Everyone Forever.

Ò Everyone. Every household,

health clinic, and school in a

district has access to water

and sanitation services.

Ò Forever. Services are sustainable

and governments and communities

can maintain them for generations.

Water For People focuses on protecting

water supplies at the source and tap,

training mechanics, teaching proper

disposal and hygiene practices, and

establishing supply chains for parts and

repairs. It also assists with advocating

for long-term water policies and creating

local water and sanitation utilities.

MAKING

AN IMPACT

When we think about our impact

on the world, we may look to our

families, our work achievements, or

even our social or charity activities.

Sometimes that impact may seem

rather small, until we step back and

consider the combined efforts of

everyone involved.

Water Crisis

From safe drinking water to a working

toilet, access to clean water and

sanitation is a fundamental human right,

yet it’s something many of us take for

granted every day.

Ò One in four people—over

2.2 billion globally—lack access to

safely managed drinking water or

basic hand-washing facilities.

Ò Nearly one in two people—

3.5 billion globally—lack access

to safely managed sanitation.

In-country staff are crucial—making a

viable, impactful, and lasting change.

Water For People measures Everyone

Forever annually and doesn't call its

work finished until it's confident water

will flow long after it leaves a district.

Partnership Built

on Shared Values

Carollo has partnered with Water For

People for more than 19 years, enabling

access to safe and sustainable drinking

water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)

services to meet the needs of people

across 10 countries.

Over the past eight years, Carollo has

sent our staff on Water For People

Impact Exchange trips to countries in

South and Central America, Africa,

and India.

CURRENTS / COMMUNITY OUTREACH

People with hygiene

education

520,000

People with new/improved

water services

480,000+

* As of 2024

Health clinics with improved

access to WASH services

233

630,000+

People with new/improved

sanitation services

Schools with improved

access to WASH services

Water For People

GLOBAL IMPACTS*

Carollo and Water For People

in Malawi, Africa

Scan to learn more

about Water For People

or make a donation.

From Small Steps

to Big Rewards

Each year, through our workplace giving

campaign, Carollo offices—as well as

clients and friends of Carollo—contribute

to Water For People.

Carollo’s staff and management

donations over the past 19 years

have totaled more than $1.2 million.

When these funds are leveraged with

co-investment from local communities

and governments and combined with

the time saved when women and

children no longer need to collect water,

the impact increases seven fold.

Carollo’s 2025 contribution of $173,000

is actually worth more than $1.8 million

to the communities served.

Ò Community fund managers

responsible for collecting

resources needed to maintain

projects in perpetuity.

Ò Micro-finance institutions

leveraged to help fund sanitation

projects—allowing access to

beneficial solutions that lead

to empowerment.

Ò Sanitation engineering products

and services used in a fit-for-

purpose manner with different

types of latrine options based

on age or ability.

Water For People's comprehensive,

connected, and integrated approach

is transforming communities. Its

contributions have reduced long water

queues by installing additional taps to

safe water sources, curbed disease

with in-home latrines, and enabled

girls to attend school year-round by

providing menstrual hygiene products.

The organization ensures project

sustainability every step of the way

through implementation of:

Ò Engineers and plumbers

within each community well-

versed in system management

and maintenance.

A Comprehensive, Connected Approach

CAROLLO'S 2025 WATER FOR PEOPLE

IMPACT CALCULATOR

Initial

investment

To create a

$265,555

investment

in water and

sanitation

$173,000 results

in $1.8M+ from

the powerful

effect water has

on communities

$173,000

$265,555 $1.8M +

$173,000 is

leveraged with

co-investment

from local

communities and

governments

Women save time

and children stay

in school,

which generates

7X the impact

TYPICAL COSTS IN MALAWI KWACHA (MK)

VS. US DOLLARS

Water Connection Fee

50,000 MK / $29 USD

Monthly Water Service Fee

5,000 MK / $2.90 USD

New Latrine

800,000 MK / $457 USD

Latrine Emptying Fee

(every two to three years)

90,000 MK / $51 USD

Data from the 2025 Malawi Impact Exchange shows

how a few dollars can go a long way.

2025 IMPACT EXCHANGE

In 2025, the adventure took place in Malawi, Africa. The week-long trip was filled

with meetings with the Malawi Water For People staff, a sanitation entrepreneur,

a micro-financing institution, tribal villages, homes, and schools that have been

impacted by the organization.

Malawi is known as the “Warm Heart of Africa” and the people lived up to that

name in abundance. Everyone—from Water For People staff to the rural and peri-

urban communities that Carollo staff visited—was welcoming and eager to share

how WASH access has improved their daily lives.

A solar-powered water service in Malawi’s

Chikwawa Community is one of the many

benefits provided by its association with

Water For People.

CAROLLO ENGINEERS VOLUME 4 2025

800.523.5826 / carollo.com

Real-time monitoring

to optimize aeration and

measure greenhouse gases?

Introducing I-FLOAT, Carollo’s Inﬂatable Fast and

Lightweight O-gas Analysis Technology. Developed at

Carollo’s Water Applied Research Center (Water ARC®),

I-FLOAT is portable, easy to install, and covers a large

surface area for accurate results. Plus, it delivers

real-time data on greenhouse gases like methane and

nitrous oxide—enabling decision-making that aligns with

your sustainability goals. With I-FLOAT, you can monitor

readings remotely and optimize aeration like never before.

That’s Carollo innovation.