This year, SWaTH celebrates the World Water Day by organizing a field trip to the wastewater treatment facility at the Clemenceau Medical Center (CMC) in Beirut on March 22, 2022. The visit targeted students from different Lebanese partner institutions, namely the University of Balamand (UOB), the Lebanese University (LU), the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), and the Notre Dame University–Louaize (NDU). The great interest, high engagement, and quest for learning were easily noticeable and clearly remarkable in the questions of students of the faculty of engineering at UOB.
Mr. Rabih Salem, the biomedical and facility engineering manager at CMC, welcomed the participants and started the tour by introducing the hospital's waste and supply water treatment processes. He pointed out that tap water is purified before entering the dialysis rooms and the automated lab. He added that the wastewater received from chemotherapy rooms through special channels is treated before dumping it in the municipal sewage line. The participants walked into the pumping room and the wastewater treatment areas. The visit ended with a brainstorming session about the reverse osmosis process, filters, membrane separators, softeners, etc., between Mr. Salem, the representatives of the Universities, and the students in the hospital’s auditorium.
This trip was also a good opportunity for students from various institutions and educational backgrounds to strengthen their social bonds and express their appreciation for future site visits.
