Cheah Cayyin (FASS), Hsien Li Wen Cheryl (FoE), Ng Hao Yuan (FoE), Wong Ching Pou Paul (FASS), Wu Diyuan (FoS)
Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin
Industry Advisor: Ms. Karen Ho Lye Ying (UCI, NUS)
Our project focuses on rain harvesting due to the increasingly scarce water supply and rising water prices. Singapore’s water treatment process is also high in cost and energy. Rainwater harvesting and direct usage can thus help to conserve potable water and reduce the cost for treating potable water. Although the Singapore government has lifted the ban on rainwater collection, rain harvesting is still uncommon locally, the Changi Airport being one of the few examples. Our group believe that there is potential in rain harvesting and wish to implement it in RVRC, to test the feasibility of the system in reducing water use in a small-scale setting. We also aim to educate and demonstrate to the wider RVRC community that rainwater harvesting is a viable method to supplement the existing water supply. This will be done through improving and customizing the current rainwater collection methods for specific usage. For our project, we positioned the water harvesting system at Block C and will use the water collected to water the RVRC edible garden. We will also be measuring the amount of rainwater collected using a water meter in order to quantify water inputs and outputs. To prevent debris and mosquito breeding, we installed mosquito nets at all the openings of our tank. We also plan to put up infographics and posters about our system around the college compounds in hopes of drawing attention to the rain harvesting system from the RVRC student population. Our setup will serve as a first prototype for subsequent rain harvesting systems in RVRC.
Keywords: water conservation, Natural Environment and Ecosystem, rainwater harvest, watering, water tank