Start Date
17-4-2023 3:45 PM
End Date
17-4-2023 5:00 PM
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
The largest Native American tribe in the U.S., the Navajo Nation, faces a humanitarian crisis due to lack of access to clean and safe water resources. Although access to clean water is not a privilege but it is a human right, thirty percent of Navajo residents do not have access to clean running water. Native American households are 19 times more likely than other U.S. households to live without running water. Solutions to water infrastructure that can address this gap are complicated in the arid Southwest where poor groundwater quality, including high salinity, microbial contaminants and metal contaminants, limit available water development options. This talk will demonstrate the reasons behind the poor water quality in the Navajo Nation, its impact on adverse health implications of Navajo communities, and how it has contributed to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the reservation. Finally, this talk will demonstrate what it takes to successfully implement an engineered technology to address environmental issues in a Native American community.
Biography
Dr. RoyChowdhury is an alumni of the Environmental Management Doctoral Program. He has recently (April 2023) been promoted to an Associate Professor of Environmental Science & Natural Resources at Navajo Technical University. Dr. RoyChowdhury’s research expertise lies in the field of environmental clean-up with special emphasis on abandoned mine site remediation, water and wastewater treatment, and development of environmental-friendly “green” approaches for treatment of heavy metals from contaminated soil and water. Dr. RoyChowdhury received over $5M in grants from several federal and non-federal sources since 2020. He is the elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Geology and Health Division of GSA. He is also serving as an Associate Editor of IJEST, and as an Academic Editor of PLOS Water. Dr. RoyChowdhury is the recipient of multiple recognition including ASRS 2022 Early Career Award, AAEES 2022 40Under40 Rising Star Award, and ABF 2022 40Under40 Award for the State of New Mexico, among others.
Additional Links
ORCID
Weaving Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to address pressing environmental issues in the Navajo Nation
The largest Native American tribe in the U.S., the Navajo Nation, faces a humanitarian crisis due to lack of access to clean and safe water resources. Although access to clean water is not a privilege but it is a human right, thirty percent of Navajo residents do not have access to clean running water. Native American households are 19 times more likely than other U.S. households to live without running water. Solutions to water infrastructure that can address this gap are complicated in the arid Southwest where poor groundwater quality, including high salinity, microbial contaminants and metal contaminants, limit available water development options. This talk will demonstrate the reasons behind the poor water quality in the Navajo Nation, its impact on adverse health implications of Navajo communities, and how it has contributed to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the reservation. Finally, this talk will demonstrate what it takes to successfully implement an engineered technology to address environmental issues in a Native American community.