Objectives[edit | edit source]

By the end of the Water Efficient Buildings and Retrofits module, students will understand:

1. Where our water come from
2. Where our water goes after we have used it
3. The sustainable paradigms and technologies we can employ while the water cycle is in our hands
4. The careers involved in water management and sustainable use

Goals[edit | edit source]

Aerial view of the Arcata Marsh.

The following are some of the main goals for the Water Efficient Buildings and Retrofits module.

Concepts[edit | edit source]

By the end of the Water Efficient Buildings and Retrofits module, students will understand the following concepts (among others):

• Global Water Cycle
• Personal and global human use
• Watershed Management
• Water Treatment (municipal and home)
• Waste Water Treatment (municipal and home): Conventional, Marsh, Digesters, Solids Management
• Storm Water Management Systems and Design
• Sustainable Use Technologies: Greywater Systems, Rainwater Catchment, Municipal Water Reuse, Residential Technologies

Vocabulary and units[edit | edit source]

By the end of the Water Efficient Buildings and Retrofits module, students will be able to confidently use the following vocabulary and/or units (among others):

• liters, gallons, GPM, CFS, mg/l, acre-foot, liters/flush
• hydrograph, watershed, flocculation, hyporheic zone, interception, through-fall, flow, pressure, friction, BOD, Stormwater, TSS, fecal coliform, low flush, aerator

Calculations[edit | edit source]

By the end of the Water Efficient Buildings and Retrofits module, students will be able to do the following calculations (among others):

• Flow
• Water Cycle, Respiration and Photosynthesis
• N Scale
• C Scale
• Hydrostatic Pressure
• Rainwater Catchment Calculations

How to[edit | edit source]

By the end of the Water Efficient Buildings and Retrofits module, students will be comfortable doing the following (among others):

• Read a hydrograph
• Measure flowrate
• Design a simple Rainwater Catchment system
• Design a simple Greywater system
• Determine hydrostatic pressure
• Convert between flow (cfs-gpm)
• Asses a region for most appropriate: Wastewater treatment systems, Stormwater management, Water storage

Field trips[edit | edit source]

By the end of the Water Efficient Buildings and Retrofits module, students will be have gone on the following field trips (possibly among others):

• Pump station (e.g. West End Road)
• Arcata marsh
• Stormwater (e.g. Janes Creek Meadows)
• Residential greywater installation (e.g. AEF greywater)
• Residential rainwater catchment system (e.g. M Street Eureka rainwater catchment)