Professor, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, USFQ
Dr. Ochoa-Herrera has worked to assess the water quality on San Cristobal Island. The water quality of a variety of water sources, including drinking water treatment plants, the water distribution system, two beaches, and the wastewater treatment plant at San Cristobal, Galapagos has been analyzed since 2014 within a Participatory Pilot Program. This Program has been run by academics and students from Galapagos Science Center (GSC) in collaboration with local community, the Galapagos National Park and the Municipality of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Water samples have been analyzed based on physical-chemical and microbiological parameters at the Water Quality Laboratory built for this purpose at the GSC. The establishment of this Participatory Program represents a tangible contribution to the long-term sustainability of water resources in San Cristobal, and can serve as a model of collaboration between academia, community and local institutions towards the conservation of natural resources in the Galapagos Islands.
Research Projects
- Lessons from the Environmental Resistome in Galápagos: A One Health Perspective
- Water Quality Assessments on San Cristobal Island, Ecuador
Publications
- Grube AM, Stewart JR, Ochoa-Herrera V. (2020). The challenge of achieving safely managed drinking water supply on San Cristobal island, Galápagos. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 228:113547.