Water Filtration Systems Why is this important and needed for safe drinking water?

Water and You – The Water treatment process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMP9-49I1U4

Engineered Filtration systems Have impacted the availability of drinking water. Filtration systems are important in providing safe drinking water; separating harmful materials, bacterium's, and wastes. Panning for gold is an example of a type of filter. Prospectors hold pans with holes punched in the bottom, or fitted with a screen and pan through riverbeds to look for gold nuggets. Today, we commonly know filtration systems used in treating waste from our water. Waste treatment facilities have settling tanks which allows for waste separation.

What is filtration ? The concept of filtration is found all around us, in community services and in everyday items in our own homes. An example is a coffee filter used in a coffee maker. The filter prevents the coffee grounds from reaching a coffee cup, but allows for smaller materials and particles of the coffee to pass through, resulting in a cup of coffee with no coffee grounds.

Importance of Filtration systems The provision of a safe, sustainable supply of water has been a challenge for millenniums. It remains the most pressing environmental problem in much of the developing world and is increasingly difficult in the developed world. Emerging pathogens, bacterium's, chemical contaminants, changing climates and population growth all lead to pressures that will require innovative scientific responses. Providing safe drinking water is one of the greatest engineering feats of all time.

Why is filtration important? Some countries, especially Nicaragua lack water regulation and have poor infrastructures. The inhabitants are continuously exposed to pathogens in their water supply. By measuring pH, temperature, nitrate, chlorine and fecal coliforms in the water, as well as installing water filters we can improve overall health conditions in underdeveloped parts of our world.

Water sources

Pathogens & Bacterium's found in unsafe water

Every country and continent has to deal with various pathogens found in drinking water. This map is an overview of the distribution of pathogens in everyday drinking water.

Your Objective Planning and constructing your own water filtration system Engineering design Problem solving

Procedure Steps You have already discussed the pressing issues of unsafe and unfiltered water in a specific location – Nicaragua in Spanish class You were given materials in math class that will be used in your engineering design. The materials you were provided with was used to plan a “blue print” of your model. As a class, you have discussed putting your ideas and models to scale. Today we discussed what a filtration system is and the importance of them in our developing world for our safety.

Let’s Build ! You will now build your filtration system. During this stage you may decide you need additional items or you design may need some “tweaking.”

Testing Time You will be given two cups of “muddy” water. Once your filtration system is built, your group will use “muddy” water provided to you to evaluate the clarity of the “filtered” water based on the “grade clarity” scale.

Grade Clarity Scale About a quarter of the dirt remains Completely clear(as drinking water might appear) About a quarter of the dirt remains About half of the dirt remains About three quarters of the dirt remains Completely muddy (as original source water appeared) 1 2 3 4

Student Evaluation Form Did you succeed in creating a filtration system that passed the source water? What “grade of clarity” did you achieve? What aspect of your design do you think worked best? Why? What aspect of your design would you have revised if given more time? Why? What was unique about the design of the filtration system in your class that had the best results? How did it work better than yours, if it did, and what would you have done differently if you had seen this design prior to developing your own? Did you decide to revise your original design while in the construction phase? Why? how?

Do you think that engineers have to adapt their original plans during the construction of systems or products? Why might they? Do you think your filter would have been able to withstand water running through it for an hour? Why? Do you think you would have been able to complete this project easier if you were working alone? Why? What was your favorite part of the challenge? Design phase? Building phase? Testing phase? Why?