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== Project Video: ==
== Project Video: ==
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==Team==
==Team==

Revision as of 04:04, 15 May 2019

Template:305inprogress

Abstract

To recapture water and protect seedlings a water reclamation system was outfitted onto a greenhouse bench at the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (CCAT).

Background

The Four Peppers: Harry Jones, Lauren Virzi, Mario Kaluhiokalani, and Amanda Madden are four spicy Humboldt State University students and creators of CCAT's greenhouse water reclamation system. CCAT recognized the possibility to recycle water used on the seedling tables within it's greenhouse by appropriately installing a reclamation system using knowledge and materials that are locally available through CCAT and the surrounding community. As CCAT strives to use sustainable practices, the need to re-purpose runoff water from the greenhouse's plants instead of letting it seep into the ground was clear. So, we set out to put this water back to use! Our proposed project will be in progress for the duration of 13 weeks spanning over the Spring 2019 academic semester.

Problem statement

The objective of this project is to implement a water reclamation system that recycles water used to hydrate plants in the CCAT greenhouse, as an effort to increase the environmental sustainability of CCAT's practices by re-purposing runoff water. There is also an issue of seedling degradation. The high velocity of water droplets that fall down to the seedling beds from the plants above can damage them. Our job is to find a way to divert and catch that water to protect the integrity of the seedlings.

Criteria

The following Criteria are used to assess the success of this project. These criteria were chosen based on suggestions from the project coordinator and input from the students who worked on this reclamation system. The scale (1-10) represents the importance level of meeting the constraint of each listed criteria.

Criteria Constraints Weight
(1-10)
Efficiency The reclamation system will retain 90% or more of all run-off water from watered plants
5
Maintenance Must be easy to clean the tubing and remove debris, no more than 2 hours maintenance per month
6
Capacity Must be able to hold around 5 gallons or more of run-off water per day
6
Reproducibility The structure could be reproduced by CCAT volunteers
7
Usability Water is clean enough for plant uptake
9
Cost Does not exceed budget of $250
5
Functionality Successfully captures and stores water run-off
8
Maintain Seedling Integrity Water is successfully diverted away from seedling bed under the platform
10

Literature Review

This is a review of the available literature pertinent to water reclamation systems.

Basics

The reclamation of water from sources such as wastewater, groundwater, and rainfall is a critical relief to water needs across the globe. [1] Water reclamation is a system that recycles or reclaims water. The implementation of such a system could take many shapes and forms, which is why so many different forms of this system exist. Whether the system collects rainwater, runoff, or excess water from gardens they will share many qualities within their design and construction.

Concerns

There are a number of different concerns involving water reclamation. For starters, it is important to understand the path that the water has taken to ensure it maintains cleanliness. Another issue that can arise is when one may not be comfortable reusing the water as is and would prefer to have a filtration system as well. A filter, of course, means money. Money is a luxury that a lot of people do not have, such as those who would most benefit from a system like this. Other concerns include the transport of water and whether or not a pump is needed. Not only is this another expense, but also spatially can be a challenge.

Sources of Reclamation

Sources of water for reclamation are: rainwater, wastewater, industrial groundwater, urban stormwater, desalinized seawater, and irrigation return water. [1]

Types

As mentioned above, water reclamation can take many forms. Below I will elaborate on the three main types. It is important to note that there are many sub categories of system types within each of these types.

Potable Reuse

For water to be considered potable it needs to go through an extensive filtration process to ensure that contaminates are at a minimum. Drinkable water has very little contaminants. One can make their own filter out of a variety of natural materials, such as sand. [2] The gravity sand filter is effective in detoxifying water.It is an opened topped and partially filled with gradient sand and gravel sizes. The water travels with downward flow. The downside of this mechanism is that it is slower and requires a large area. A gravity sand filter is also inexpensive to build.

Nonpotable Reuse

Nonpotable water is much more simple to come by, as well as to reuse. A system like this required a dual distribution system so that potable and not potable water can be transported separately. This water can be used for residential and professional. The extent to which we would filter this water is to separate debris with a screen.This water would most likely be used to re hydrate plants.[3] Separation of debris by flotation is another mechanism. That would be our main goal as to make re watering plants less intensive. Most sediment sinks to the bottom. Using that condition to our advantage, debris free water can be transported to the storage container by diverting water through an overflow. [4]. PVC Piping is one of the most common uses to transport water in water reclamation systems.[5]

De Facto Reuse

De facto reuse is when water is directed from a natural source, into the towns use, then the wastewater is returned. This is a common method amongst dry area.

Reclaimed Water Uses

After water is reclaimed from the sources above, it may be used for applications that do not require high quality water such as: toilet flushing, irrigation, vehicle washing. Augmentation of this water can be used for current or future needs, protecting aquatic ecosystem flows, and recharging groundwater. [6] In 2009, use of reclaimed water substituted for more than 127 billion gallons of drinking water while serving to add more than 79 billion gallons back to available groundwater supplies. Using reclaimed water for non-drinking purposes extends our freshwater supplies and ensures sustainable use of a vital natural resource. [7]

CCAT GHouse Table.JPG

                 Plant nursery trays are irrigated on the top and bottom of these tables in the greenhouse behind.

Prototyping

To prototype the project we continuously searched for and compared how various materials available at CCAT could be used to create the general design ideas we had in mind when attempting to build a system on the nursery bench in the greenhouse.

Construction

Construction began by fitting wooden pieces into the width space between the bench's legs on either end of it to create a fixed surface for the catchment trays to rest on. Two rectangular cuts were made to one long side of each wooden piece using a circular saw, so that a lip protrudes beyond the inside edge of the tables legs and extended shelf space is created between the table legs.

Very complete description of how final project is made. This large section should have lots of pictures.

Timeline

March 6

  • Meet with CCAT

March 10

  • Identify need
  • Have Proposed components complete, initial prototype complete

March 13

  • Meet with CCAT

March 17

  • Refine prototype with Gardeners/ CCAT

March 27

  • Meet with CCAT

March 30

  • Obtain all materials
  • Double check with Gardeners/ CCAT

April 3

  • Meet with CCAT

April 6

  • Present Blueprints to Gardners
  • Begin construction

April 27

  • Complete construction
  • Install Project

May 4

  • Refine project
  • Work on writeup

May 10

  • Finish writeup
  • Submit writeup

May 14

  • Present project

Costs

The costs listed on the below link are primarily materials intially for the construction of the system. Of course this chart does not account for the cost of our time, and the time of the CCAT team in assisting us. But when budgeting financial matters, it can be very helpful to see the numbers visually on a spreadsheet. Since spreadsheets are fun, I decided to attach a link to our proposed budget on google sheets. It is, of course, important to recognize that this is only a proposed budget and it is subject to change as our plans progress. Another note I would like to point out, is that on this proposed budget, a range of financial options are available. The range in numbers comes from the fact that we do not know if CCAT wants to invest more money now into the system, than the same amount over time. For example, whether or not to invest in sturdier, and more reliable valves now, or to decide to replace less expensive valves more often. I hope this explanation proves to be helpful while looking at the budget. CCAT has a budget of about $250 and we have a goal to get below that number, however, like I mentioned earlier, it depends on what the clients are ready for and able to maintain.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/120IId4vSYX8rsmDYQhCGD5kzPei7LuQbpHg3CDIQoQY/edit#gid=0

Update of Costs 5/12/2019 By the end of our project the only materials that were purchased was the 1020 plastic trays for catchment ($1.95) and the water container oil drum ($15.99)

Operation

The reclamation system operates by channeling runoff water from the upper shelf of the greenhouse table along a row of inclined gardening trays that are fixed under the upper shelf, which then feeds water directly into an inclined gutter that leads to an automotive oil tray catchment.

This is how to operate. It should have a brief introduction and very useful images with labels.

System Maintenance

To reduce the accumulation of particulate matter within a water reclamation system it is recommended to flush out the material using an increased flow rate or pressure, which should be done regularly to maintain a functioning system. The injection of chemicals like chlorine and acid into an irrigation system are often used to flush out material, however such applications go beyond the scope of CCAT's operational interests. Conducting water quality tests of irrigation water captured for criteria such as pH, biological and chemical oxygen demand, transparency, etc. would be an effective way to determine the presence of contamination and the viability of using reclaimed water for irrigation within the greenhouse. However, since the system is just a demonstration size, most of the maintenance concern is being able to clean out the debris. The mechanism that we designed can be removed from under the table to be wiped down. The water channels from the catchment surface are large enough to where most of it will have fallen into the screen at the end of the gutter.

Schedule

The system should be maintained using the following procedures at each given timeframe.

Daily
  • Lightly flush resting debris off catchment trays using water
  • Pass by visual inspection to check proper system functionality
Weekly
  • Remove screen at end of gutter and clear it of debris
Monthly
  • Remove catchment trays and rinse away debris over plants needing water
Yearly
  • Assess catchment trays and reservoir that may need replacement

Instructions

This is how to maintain the system.

File: Wooded Platform Brackets
How to Maintain The Water Reclamation System

Conclusion

Testing results

During Testing, our project went through about 3 big changes. The Initial change happened at the hardware store when we went to find our catchment material. The proposed catchment surface was going to run long-ways on the bottom level of the table with a drainage portion on the end of this one long piece. What we found was that sizing a catchment tray was difficult given the constraints of the table. The adaptation that took place was replacing the single, long tray for 6 horizontally running trays that transport water to a long-way gutter system then to the catchment reservoir. The second change occurred when we were trying put a seedling surface that was above the catchment surface. Our logic of having the catchment surface on the bottom would increase the amount of yield for water falling off the table to be reclaimed. The CCAT advisor that we were originally talking to gave us the green light for this rendition. However, another CCAT advisor had less confidence about this design, feeling that the drop distance would still be harmful to the seedlings. Our edit to this hiccup integrated our same horizontal design but wedged up under the bottom of the first (top) shelf of the table. The third change came as a response to the previous changes listed above. Original design included a sub ducted catchment reservoir to allow enough head for water to flow into the catchment from a low entry point (6 inches). Because the system has been raised to near the top of the table, there was no need to subduct the catchment reservoir.

Discussion

The results of testing and change were produced through table watering tests where 5 cups of water was poured over the planted table and over two catchment trays. The yield of this test was about 2 cups. Because of how much the plants and table retain water, we were expecting to get lower output than input. The testing process of the physical system was the most challenging part of this project. Due to design alterations and feedback from CCAT coordinators, the testing process took the most time to get done. This took us by surprise as our group had confidence in our first designs of the system.

Lessons learned

This project introduced changes that were not always expected. From brainstorming to implementation, the process showed that smooth sailing is almost never the case. Mostly towards the end sections of the project, the team learned that communication and cooperation were the key factors to success. We also learned that we didn't give ourselves enough time for the testing process. An extra 10 hours of testing would have been ideal for this project, as the final portions were rushed and some things were overlooked. Group meetings and CCAT meetings were not as prioritized as they should have been and also would have been more beneficial to the project. The learning curve of having a whole project was a process that taught our group many lessons along the way.

Next steps

Following the completion of our project, the next steps will be to continue learning about appropriate technology and renewable resources as well as incorporate these techniques into our own lives. Teaching others about our project and the importance of a place like CCAT will also be next steps that anyone with a project should take part of. Another important step that should be taken is to continue research and supporting appropriate technology projects in our own communities.

Troubleshooting

Problem Suggestion
Lack of flow out of catchment trays Clear large debris from trays and flush smaller debris towards the drainage area
Clogged trays, not draining Re poke the drainage holes with a nail or screwdriver

Widen tray drainage holes if necessary to increase flow

Pooling on catchment reservoir Clean off debris and reset the inflow valve to allow flow

Project Video:

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Team

Humboldt State University spring semester 2019. The Four Peppers:

References

Template:Reflist

  1. 1.0 1.1 Novotny, Vladimir, Ahern, Jack, and Brown, Paul. 2010. Water Centric Sustainable Communities : Planning, Retrofitting and Building the Next Urban Environment. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Accessed February 20, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central.
  2. Huisman, L., and W. E. Wood. World Health Organization." Slow Sand Filtration, 1974. Accessed February 20, 2019.
  3. Grafman, Lonny. To Catch the Rain: Inspiring Stories of Communities Coming Together to Catch Their Own Rain, and How You Can Do It Too. Arcata, CA: Humboldt State University Press, 2017.
  4. Aulenbach D., Shammas N.K., Selke W., Wang L. (eds) Wastewater Renovation by Flotation. In: Flotation Technology. Handbook of Environmental Engineering, vol 12. Humana Press, 2010
  5. "Vinyl in Building and Construction." Building With Chemistry. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://buildingwithchemistry.org/chemistry-in-bc/vinyl-in-building-and-construction/.
  6. Asano, Takashi, Franklin Burton, and Metcalf & Eddy. Water Reuse: Issues, Technologies, and Applications. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.
  7. Lusk, Mary. "Reclaimed Water: Frequently Asked Questions." UF/IFAS Extension Flagler County. June 29, 2017. Accessed February 21, 2019.
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