Dr Carolina Montoya Pachongo

Profile

I am a sanitary engineer from the Universidad del Valle (2005), masters on sanitary and environmental engineering from the Universidad del Valle (2012) and PhD on civil engineering from the University of Leeds (2018). I am currently working as a research fellow at the School of Civil Engineering on the Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub, funded by the Global Challenges and Research Fund and UK Research and Innovation. My work is specifically related to water-related risk integration and mapping at basin scale.

Since 2005, I have worked as a researcher or consultant on water supply for human consumption, sanitation, and monitoring of surface water quality. My research has been carried out at the frontier between academia and the water industry, working closely with a local water utility. Research and consultancy activities include CFD modelling, laboratory tests, field sampling, statistical analysis of historical data, producing operational recommendations for water supply systems, technological prospecting, guiding development and implementation of water safety plans, giving advice on the control of drinking water quality from catchment to the distribution network, and developing methodologies to locate sampling points for monitoring drinking water quality in open and sectorised networks based on hazard maps.

I am also interested in advocacy of gender equity in STEAM and sharpen skills in science communication to non specialised audiences. I am also learning how to be an entrepreneur.

Research interests

My research interests are related to water security:

• Public health
• Systemic risks
• Risk assessment
• Risk integration and mapping
• Risk communication and trust
• Monitoring water quality at sources
• Drinking water production
• Drinking water distribution
• Water Safety Plans
• Modelling of components of drinking water distribution networks
• Control of drinking water quality at treatment plants, distribution networks, and consumers
• Storage of drinking water
• Operation and maintenance of water supply systems for human consumption

Current research projects:

GCRF Water Hub: Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub. 

Qualifications

• BEng Sanitary Engineering, Universidad del Valle - Colombia
• MSc Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Universidad del Valle - Colombia
• PhD Civil Engineering, University of Leeds - UK

Professional memberships

• ​Society for Risk Analysis
• Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World