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World Water Day is Wednesday, but there are a whole week’s worth of activities focusing on water at Michigan Tech. The theme this year is Wastewater.
Throughout the week there is an impressive display in the Memorial Union Commons. A visual display consisting of 90 one-gallon jugs, each representing an average daily consumption of water by a specific task or activity (flushing the toilet, brushing teeth, bathing washing clothes and dishing, etc). The jugs are color-coded and labeled with bold icons corresponding to the activity and includes signs discussing each activity. There are also tips on reducing water consumption and ways to save money on water and sewer bills.
On Tuesday and Wednesday there will be a student poster session in the lobby of the Dow Building. Students will be available for discussions and interviews between 3 – 5 p.m. each day.
In addition, the art exhibition “Water’s Edge: Paintings by Danielle Clouse Gast,” is on display on the first and second floors of the Great Lakes Research Center through June 15.
Reuse of wastewater is the theme of Michigan Tech’s World Water Day Keynote lecture. George Tchobanoglous, professor emeritus in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Davis will present “Planned Potable Reuse: The Last Frontier.” His talk will take place at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 in Dow 641.
Tchobanoglous says, “One way to meet the increasing demand of fresh water is to augment public water supplies by means of planned potable reuse of a community’s treated wastewater.”
In this talk he will address wastewater reuse by discussing water quality, technological developments, cost, and public perception. There will be a reception following the lecture.
Making water cleaner will be the aim of the Dirty Water Competition from 4 to 5 p.m. on March 22 in the MUB commons on the Tech Campus. Teams of three or four members will attempt to clean up dirty water using only the materials provided — sand, gravel, alum and activated charcoal. Registration is free, but limited to the first 30 teams. Members of the winning team will each receive a $25 Michigan Tech gift certificate.
The latest in the Green Film Series, “Last Call of the Oasis,” will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 23 in Hesterberg Hall of Michigan Tech’s Forestry Building. A discussion will follow the film moderated by Martin Auer of Tech’s department of civil and environmental engineering.
