Group 068-01: Enviornmental Engineering Project: Design Proposal

ENGR 103 - Spring 2014
Freshman Engineering Design Lab

“A Brief Study of Drexel Drinking Water”

Project Design Proposal

Group Members Jenny Fretta (jlf357@drexel.edu)

Alex Greiner (acg68@drexel.edu)

Joe Quaid (jpq28@drexel.edu)

Technical Advisor Michael Ryan (michael.o.ryan@drexel.edu)

Abstract:

At Drexel University, students are promised safe and clean drinking water. This will be either proven or disproven once the necessary data has been collected. The data will be collected from two different sources in three of the freshman dorms. One water sample will be taken from the kitchen sink and the other sample will be taken from the drinking fountain. The dorms that the water samples will be collected from are Van Rensselaer Hall, Kelly Hall, and Towers Hall. The parameters that are being tested are the total chlorine levels, pH levels, water hardness, conductivity and alkalinity. The total chlorine levels, water hardness, and alkalinity will be tested by administering test strips to the water samples. Conductivity and pH levels will be tested through two separate probing devices, supplied by Drexel University. The conclusive data from these samples will then be compared to the Philadelphia Water Department’s estimated numbers for the entire city and the values collected from distilled water. The data regarding the levels of such parameters in the entire city of Philadelphia can be found online and are included at the end of this brief. From the comparison of data, a general conclusion of whether the water quality on Drexel’s campus is clean or not can be made.

Introduction

Cup sized samples of water will be taken from the kitchen sinks and drinking fountains once a week for five weeks from three of the freshman dorms: Van Rensselaer Hall, Kelly Hall, and Towers Hall. After all the samples have been taken and the data has been recorded, it will be averaged and analyzed by comparing it to the data given by the Philadelphia Water Company and the data tested in distilled water. Each sample will be tested for its alkalinity level, pH level, conductivity, chlorine content, and hardness. Each member of the group will be given ten test strips and two probes will to find the levels of each parameter in the water samples. At the end of the five weeks, there will be thirty data points collected.

Deliverables

There will be a data table in an excel document containing the data of the collected parameters (pH levels, conductivity, alkalinity, chlorine concentration, and hardness). There will be a side-by-side comparison of the parameters for both distilled water and the estimated values that the Philadelphia Water Company released to the public. Based on these results, a suggestion of what Drexel University can do to improve its water conditions can be made.

Expertise

We do not foresee any need for previous experience for the experiment.

The information posted at the bottom is directly from the values of the Philadelphia Water Department's 2014 Report. The link is below:

http://www.phila.gov/water/wu/Water%20Quality%20Reports/2014WaterQuality.pdf