In 1981, George and Molly Greene, the founders of Water Missions International, began a small environmental consulting company in Charleston, South Carolina which they called General Engineering Laboratories. Through God's grace this company grew to become one of the top ten environmental testing laboratories in the US, and one of the largest environmental engineering consulting firms in South Carolina.
In 1998, under the direction of George and Molly Greene, General Engineering Laboratories responded to the devastation in Honduras caused by Hurricane Mitch. They designed, constructed and delivered six drinking water treatment units, each capable of producing safe drinking water at the rate of 10 gallons per minute. Within three weeks of the hurricane, sixteen volunteers from the company were in remote locations of Honduras setting up these water treatment units. This initial effort was called "Project Living Water" and the water treatment unit became known as the Living WaterT Treatment System (LWTST).
Over the next three years, the design of the LWTS
was modified to eliminate replaceable components,
make it more reliable to operate over extended periods
of time, and reduce operating costs. Additional systems
were placed in rural communities in Eastern Europe,
Africa and Central America, some in response to natural
disasters and some in support of ongoing development
projects. A project called "The Model Village" was
undertaken with Episcopal Relief and Development (the
Episcopal Church USA) to design infrastructure systems
for drinking water treatment, wastewater management
and storm water control in a rural community near
San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
During this time, the Greenes developed a growing awareness of the overwhelming need for safe drinking water throughout the developing countries of the world. In order to better focus their attention on these needs, the Greenes sold General Engineering Laboratories in March 2001 and used a substantial portion of the proceeds of that sale to found Water Missions International.
For a more detailed look at our beginnings,
please click here.
In 1998, under the direction of George and Molly Greene, General Engineering Laboratories responded to the devastation in Honduras caused by Hurricane Mitch. They designed, constructed and delivered six drinking water treatment units, each capable of producing safe drinking water at the rate of 10 gallons per minute. Within three weeks of the hurricane, sixteen volunteers from the company were in remote locations of Honduras setting up these water treatment units. This initial effort was called "Project Living Water" and the water treatment unit became known as the Living WaterT Treatment System (LWTST).
During this time, the Greenes developed a growing awareness of the overwhelming need for safe drinking water throughout the developing countries of the world. In order to better focus their attention on these needs, the Greenes sold General Engineering Laboratories in March 2001 and used a substantial portion of the proceeds of that sale to found Water Missions International. 
