Port of Portland, City Target TIGER Grants

The Portland Chapter of Engineers Without Borders is working on a new water system in Africa.

Port Partners with City To Win Tiger Grant

Portland - The port and city of Portland are partnering on a request for $35.49 million in federal grant funds for the Terminal 4 Multimodal Green Port Project.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has made available $1.5 billion in TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) discretionary grants for capital investment in surface transportation projects that must be fully constructed by Feb. 17, 2012.

If the grant application is successful, the Port will work with the city on projects that will improve Terminal 4 and related transportation infrastructure around the terminal. The Terminal 4 Multimodal Green Port Project will leverage more than $80 million worth of investment from a variety of public and private sources, while contributing to the completion of a 5-year redevelopment effort at Terminal 4. The U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to announce the winners of the federal stimulus grants by February 2010.

Oregon Universities Work To Meet Climate Challenge

Portland - McKinstry Co., Portland, and the The Oregon University System (OUS), formed a consortium of the seven public universities in Oregon, to create a climate action plan that will put them on the road to eventual carbon neutrality. McKinstry performed an integrated analysis of energy consumption across all seven OUS campuses which included engineering, financial, operation, and sustainability assessments. It then developed a climate action plan complete with target dates and metrics to achieve the eventual goal of a carbon-neutral OUS.

For nearly a decade, the OUS has worked continuously on sustainability initiatives to support Governor Kulongoski’s aggressive goals to mitigate the impacts of global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. After signing The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment or AUCPCC (www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org), the OUS set out to develop a coordinated plan to address this issue.

EWB Works on Water Project in Tanzania

Portland - Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania (IEFT), a non-profit grassroots organization that provides quality, affordable secondary education to underserved indigenous children in rural Tanzania, is partnering with the Portland Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA) to ensure the staff and students of Orkeeswa Secondary School in Lashaine Village, Tanzania have a water supply system that is safe and dependable.

Until recently, due to the absence of groundwater or surface water sources in and around Lashaine Village, rainwater was collected from the classroom roofs, stored in small prefabricated plastic tanks and boiled prior to use. The storage volume in the plastic tanks was insufficient to last through the dry season and for several months each year, water had to be trucked in from neighboring areas, diverting significant funds from the school budget. By September 2009, construction of the first 60,000-liter rainwater harvesting storage tank was complete. Biamp Systems and Tetra Tech donated funds to the project, and EWB-USA covered half of the total cost.

The EWB-USA Tanzania Team plans to return in 2010 to construct a second tank in order to provide sufficient volume for the anticipated 2011 enrollment.