Published December 16, 2016 | San Antonio, TX
Culligan Southwest of San Antonio, Texas recently made a $2,500 contribution to help support the work of the Loma de Luz mission in northern Honduras, a facility which includes a 50 bed hospital and surgery center, as well as a bilingual school and foster care facility to serve the poor in that part of Honduras.
Culligan of San Antonio’s connection to this mission originates with Matt Byers of the Zoeller Company, a distributor of pumps, aerobic septic systems, and other related products. Matt was deeply involved with the WQA Water Softener - Septic issue as a very active member of NOWRA (the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association). His focus on pursuing this issue and finding scientific truth was inspirational to the Water Quality Association’s Septic Issues co-chairs, Bob Boerner and D.J. Shannahan, and ultimately led WQA to setting up a jointly supported study.
WQA and NOWRA conducted a number of educational and fact-finding seminars on the interaction between septic systems and water softeners starting in 2004 and culminating in the jointly overseen Water Quality Research Foundation (WQRF) Septic study at Virginia Tech in 2011. The study, overseen by the well-respected Environmental Engineering Professor Dr. John T. Novak, came to the conclusion that properly operated water softeners, especially the Demand Initiated Regeneration (DIR) type, caused no harm to septic systems, and in fact revealed that it is better to discharge softener waste into a septic than outside it.
“We learned about the Loma de Luz mission in Honduras through Matt Byers who has travelled there a number of times to help them in various ways. We wanted to somehow thank Matt for his good positive work with us at WQA, and helping to support this mission in Honduras seemed the most appropriate way,” said Bob Boerner, owner of Culligan San Antonio.
“We targeted our contribution to their project to secure a dependable water source from springs in the hills above the hospital, which needed both property procurement and a pipeline, plus water storage tanks down the line. The fund to purchase the springs’ property, which we specifically supported, is now 100% funded and purchase negotiations are ongoing . . . however, the other infrastructure upgrade phases of the project are still ongoing. The foundation will no doubt need ongoing support to continue to be able to serve the poor effectively as they have been” said Boerner. More information on the Foundation and mission can be found at www.crstone.org.
