Water

Chng Kai Yi Kimberly, Choo Run Kang Neville, Foo Chuan Yew, Jin Jin, Nicholas Lowie

Academic Advisor: Dr. Florence Ng

The need to conserve water rises as pressure on water supplies increase due to rising demand from population and economic growth (Grafton, et al., 2013). In particular, Singapore’s water demand of 430 million gallons per day, is expected to double by 2060. Hence, there is a need to manage water consumption to ensure supply meets demand (PUB, 2019). There have been many nationwide campaigns in place to reduce water consumption. Among them, are initiatives promoting the reuse of greywater from washing machines for non-potable purposes such as toilet flushing. Lack of widespread adoption however, may be due to perceptions of health effects or belief that using recycled water represents a decreased standard of living (Bakare, et al., 2015). Our project explores the possibility of reusing greywater by assessing the quality standard of greywater in RVRC before and after treatment by simple filtration. By collecting greywater from washing machines within RVRC and the use of a simple filter with activated carbon to remove undesirable physical and chemical substances, we aim to compare the contents of the filtered greywater with raw, untreated greywater using a complete water analysis test kit to evaluate its viability for reuse. This will be analysed through the greywater quality guidelines set by PUB and parameters such as pH and total residual chlorine. The effect of treated greywater on plant growth will then be quantified to certify that it is clean enough for non-potable reuse like irrigation. Our projected findings would be that plants will be able to successfully grow when watered with the treated greywater. Through greywater recycling, less water would be wasted, reducing total water consumption within the college.

Keywords: Water, Water Filter, Greywater

Benedict Tjoeng Ruiyan, Lam Sophie, Lim Hao Xiang Sean, Low Zhen Hao Jefferson, Samuel Choy Meng Soon

Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari

Water demand in Singapore has been projected to increase, up to double of the current amount of 430 million gallons a day by 2060 (PUB). With the domestic sector being responsible for 45% of current water consumption (PUB), a reduction in household consumption is paramount to maintain our water supply. Existing literature suggests children form habits more easily and are more impressionable at the young age of 6  (Eccles, J.S., 1999). Our group aims to challenge the effectiveness of the “individual” paradigm by focusing on collaborative learning among preschoolers. Collaborative learning has led to increased efficiency in learning and higher achievement among students (Laal, 2012). We hypothesise that collaborative learning is a better pedagogical approach compared to individual learning. This would be done by measuring the degree of knowledge-retention and behavioural improvements of water conservation habits in preschoolers for both teaching methods.

To test this hypothesis, we conducted an experiment in the form of a workshop. The workshop was split into a test group and control group, focusing on collaborative learning and individual learning respectively. Pre-workshop and post-workshop data was gathered to measure the effectiveness of collaborative learning and individual learning. Results indicate a general receptivity of the target group to the activities of collaborative learning. Our data also indicated that this increased engagement was associated with better knowledge retention and development of water conservation habits. Our recommendation is for more extensive testing of this model to ascertain if collaborative learning can be implemented on a national scale for water education.

Keywords: Water, Education

Ke Yi Min, Tan Liang Chieh, Benjamin, Tan Yoke Ting, Yang Xinyi, Yong Zi Ping

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

The United Nations announces that the world is fast heading towards catastrophe on account of water scarcity due to insufficient water to satisfy growing water demands (United Nations, n.d.). In 2017, Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) reported that Singapore is expected to face tremendous water stress by 2040, with the current daily domestic consumption of 143 litres per capita. With the availability of potable water at a twist of a tap, it is no surprise that Singaporeans would hardly give any thought to conserve water. (Straits Times, 2016) Showering accounts for the biggest water guzzler in the household, accounting for 29% (MEWR, 2017), yet it is not notable that a minute less in the shower can save nine litres of water. (PUB, 2017). As such, the goal of the project is to reduce shower water consumption in Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) by incorporating audio cues placed in shower cubicle. It is hypothesized that audio cue is capable of inducing behavioural changes during showering which is similar to how background music affects shoppers’ behaviour. Water consumption is measured by means of a water meter and data will be collected over three weeks; a week with water meters only, a week with audio cues and water meter, and the third week without audio to investigate whether audio has indeed altered users’ behaviour at the shower.

Keywords: Water; Water saving’ Shower times

Pan Boyi, Tan Shuyao, Ye Chenchen, Zhang Xinran, Zhao Yiming

Academic Advisor: Mr. Lim Cheng Puay

The importance for Singapore to address the problem of water scarcity is hard to be overstated with Singapore’s restricted natural water sources and high-level water consumption, especially domestic water consumption during showering. An awareness survey within RVRC residents and experiments on water heaters in RVRC show that 722 liters of water were estimated to go down the drain without being used in RVRC every day. Our project aims to eliminate cold water waste while waiting for the water to get warm before showering. Our solution is to design an affordable and user-friendly water recirculation structure for the instant water heaters. Due to the lack of necessary certifications from PUB, only a prototype is built to test the theory. The result turns out that when the showering water is under 25℃, the water will be pumped back to the water heater to be reheated. When the water is above 45℃, the user can turn on the showering water-tap and hot water will flow out. Users can control the process with two switches. The whole cost for the system is 60 SGD. A post-survey investigating the public attitude towards the design shows that over 78.5% of respondents are willing to adopt this system. Overall, the system can eliminate cold water waiting time, and it is easy to use and affordable compared to existing households water circulating system.

Keywords: Water saving; water; showers