Document Type

Restricted Campus Only

Publication Date

4-26-2011

Abstract

The goal of our project is to encourage a more environmentally friendly culture at Trinity by increasing the frequency with which students refill reusable water bottles using the campus' drinking water fountains. Three approaches are used to meet this goal. First, a water fountain retrofit will be designed which will allow students to refill water bottles on campus without having to tip the water bottle. The retrofit will also include a filter which will ensure heightened water quality at retrofitted water fountains. Second, a comparison between the contaminant levels found in bottled water and tap water will be used to show that both sources of water are equally safe for ingestion. Third, the benefits of using refillable water bottles in place of plastic water bottles will be marketed to students on campus.

To test our solution to the design problem, several qualitative and quantitative tests are performed to evaluate the effectiveness our design. First, several tests are conducted on the retrofit kit to ensure that our design meets our original design criteria. Additionally, water samples are taken around campus at drinking fountains and from water bottles sold on campus. These samples are then analyzed with the aid of San Antonio Water System to ensure the qualtiy of both types of samples. Also, a promotional campaign through various media on campus will attempt to inform students of our initiative on campus and try to promote a Refill, Reduce, Recycle, Refill culture on campus. With these efforts, the success of our project will be evaluated.

After running these tests on our design, we received positive results in each sub-section of our design project. The retrofit kit successfully met all of our project objectives and provided a viable alternative to buying water bottles on campus. The water quality analysis proved that the water from the drinking fountains on campus meets all quality standards set forth by the EPA and is perfectly safe to drink. Our promotional campaign with limited means was able to reach about 16% of the student body, but with further resources will achieve greater success.

After completing this design project, we successfully designed a retrofit kit to a majority of water fountains on campus, ensured the water on campus is safe to drink, and promoted our design to the student body. We recommend further implementation of our design around campus and to continue with the promotional campaign to reduce plastic waste generated at Trinity.

Comments

ENGR - 4382

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