Sparked by a chance backyard conversation, EWB-USA has become a global engineering movement. In 2000, University of Colorado Civil Engineering Professor Bernard Amadei happened to connect with a landscaper working in his backyard.

The man, Angel Tzec, invited Dr. Amadei to visit his village in San Pablo, Belize, which was desperately in need of clean water.
 
He flew to San Pablo, which had no running water, electricity or sanitation. Dr. Amadei was also stunned to see little children carrying water all day long from a nearby river. “I knew that, as a civil engineer, there had to be something I could do.”
 
Dr. Amadei returned in May, 2001 with eight CU engineering students and, working with the local community, installed a clean water system powered by a local waterfall. Simple, sustainable and low-cost, the entire project was completed for $14,000.
 
As he harnessed the power of water, Dr. Amadei decided to harness the power of professional and student engineers to complete similar low-tech, high-impact projects in other developing countries. The result: Engineers Without Borders-USA.
 
“The world doesn’t need any more big dams. The world needs clean water, energy and basic services for the billions struggling just to stay alive at the end of each day,” Dr. Amadei says.

EWB-USA was officially incorporated in June 2002.