Ben Black- Executive Captain of Construction Workers

Kate Hallin- Scribe {Author of All Below Written Information}

David Bygel- Material Gatherer
Grace Pansze- Executive Designer
*Were all leaders here*

2-12-15
Every group member was present.
Kate Accomplished; Wrote regional overview
Grace Accomplished; Researched solutions to Ganges River pollution issue
Ben Accomplished;-

Regional Overview:
- The people in the area have a 75% literacy rate, but some in the area of Varanasi
lack basic education. Their values are placed highly on religion and tradition, seen as
they believe the river to be the physical form of a deity and deny the fact that a god can
be polluted.
- Solutions which have already been attempted are basic cloth filtration solutions.
However, the Indians which learned these practices quickly disregarded them.
- The solution, based on past failures, involves educating the people and weaving
this knowledge into their culture.
- The river contains lots of fecal matter, and hence e-coli, while it also contains
dyes, industrial waste, human and animal remains, as well as plankton growth.
- Over 400 million people rely on the Ganges for water, and its path is through one
of the most densely-populated areas in the world.
- The settlements along the Ganges which dump the first streams of waste into the
river are the ones just south of the Himalayas, the rivers origin.
- Additional Source Research; About a decade ago, when researchers from
Maryland came up with a simple solution to the issues of river-borne cholera in this
region of India, straining the water through a simple 4-folded, clean sari cloth, which they
then taught to women in 27 Bangladeshi villages. After 5 years, the group returned to
this area to find that less than 26% of the women who were originally taught the filtration
method were still instituting it. This proves that the answer to this problem lies not only
in creating an efficient solution to water filtration and pollution, but engraining this
solution into the deeply rooted culture of this region.

2-13-15
Everyone in the group was present
Kate Accomplished; Wrote evidence for possible solutions and completed research
Grace Accomplished; Considered pros and cons for each possible solution
Ben Accomplished;-

Solutions:
Due to the fact that the polluted waters of the Ganges provide water to millions of people, it is
necessary to find a solution both applicable in massive quantity, cheap price, and domestication.
The possible solutions fitting in with these criteria are listed below;
- Sari filtration system
This system involves using 4 folds of an old piece of sari cloth set over the mouth of a watercollecting jar in order to filter out most of the cholera, parasites, and algae-related diseases in
unclean water prior to consumption. This method is exceedingly cheap, uses locally available
materials, as we are focusing on India, and is found to be efficient. These materials can also be
easily obtained within our group.
- Colloidal silver-enhanced ceramic water purifier
This involves a domestic, ceramic, and affordable water purifier in which collected water can be
poured in its top. When the water flows through the natural filtration of the colloidal silver and
ceramic construction of the jar, it filters out most dirt, parasites, and diseases found in unclean
water. Although these materials may not be locally available, theses jars can be mass-produced
and sold to impoverished communities for cheap prices. A colloidal silver may also prove hard
to obtain within our small group.
- NaNo disinfection tea bag
This involves a tea-bag shaped and functioned purifier, which, when placed into a jar of
unfiltered water, collects any diseases, dirt, and parasites found within the water after a couple
minutes. This method uses materials such as carbon which may prove out of our groups grasp,
but nevertheless it is a small and efficient, although cheap, method which utilizes local materials.

12-19-15
Everyone in the group was present today.
Kate Accomplished; Chose a final solution to issue and helped construct first draft of drawn
diagram

Grace Accomplished; Drew first draft of final diagram

Ben and David together accomplished; Completed the Sketch-Up tutorial as designated digital
designers

SketchUp Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL01iW9DAEU
TUTORIAL LINK
2-20-15
Today, Ben, David, and Kate were here.
Kate Accomplished; Wrote materials list and description of testing plans
Ben Accomplished; Completed official diagram of solution
David Accomplished; Brought sheet

Rough Draft of Product Description

(Actual one on separate shared sheet titled ProductDescription)

Materials List;
1 laundered twin-bed size sheet [39 by 75 inches] (medium weave or about a 170 thread
count/mesh size and a mesh opening size of .088 mm.)
1 laundered twin-bed size sheet [39 by 75 inches] (finer weave or about a 200 thread
count/mesh size and a mesh opening size of .074 mm.)
After each succeeding test series, the fabric will be washed again.
1 large 5 gallon bucket
1 Aluminum Pie Tin (9 inch diameter)
About 5 cups of activated carbon
PVC Pipe about 3 inches in length (including slight bend)
About 10 feet of velcro strip
One small bungee cord measuring about two feet in length
The list should consist of mostly spare materials from around the house and thus most should
prove no cost to group members. However, if no sheets or materials of a specific kind can be
found, they must be bought;
-Twin Sheet, 200 thread count; Costs about $13.99
-Twin Sheet, 170 thread count; Costs about $9.99
-5 Gallon Bucket; Costs about $6.50
-Activated Carbon; Costs about $15.00 for about 5 cups
-PVC Pipe; Costs $4.79
-Bungee; Costs $4.49
-Aluminum Pie Tin; Costs about $1.50
Explanation of working design; http://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/4/513.full.pdf (link
to graph and images for plankton sizes)
This design had proven effective in reducing disease within poor communities in this area
by providing a mesh through which to filter out particulate matter in the water. The area mostly
contains pathogens which thrive when connected to particles such as algae, zooplankton, and
phytoplankton, which usually serve as the hosts of many of these diseases, such as cholera.
These algae particles can range in size from 0.5 um to over 50 meters in length and width. The
average sizes of these freshwater plankton range from from about 0.4 mm to 1.6 mm in length.

Our sieve holes within the fabric, at our loosest weave, is about .088 mm in length and width;
proving an opening which is too small for these host-particles to fit through. The particular
matter which is also removed by the sari from the water include parasite larvae, fecal matter, and
decomposing flesh, all about the same sizes as these plankton and algae before mentioned and all
classified as hosts of diseases which plague this community. The filtration sheet is required to be
laundered before each use to ensure that no pathogens trapped from previous uses still inhabit it.
Our design allows for this element of our filtration system as far as cloth to be replaced or
laundered as needed. This explained in the last paragraph of the explanation.
Carbon serves to filter out ammonia, one of the few substances of pollution that cloth
cannot catch. Although carbon may be hard to come by in this impoverished area, coal is a
resource common in India and should serve as a viable substitute. Our design allows this part of
the filter to also be replaced as needed.
This method should prove effective within this impoverished community because it
consists of a basic household cloth which all Indian households in Varanasi should contain, as it
is the traditional dress for women in this area and the carbon can be replaced with coal if needed.
However, educational attempts at instituting methods in the past have failed; although the
women in the area, who are the main gatherers of water, were taught how to use this simplistic
method, after five years less than 26% of the women were still utilizing it. We have concluded
that a more effective method would be to insinuate these teaches within the religious dogma
surrounding the river, possibly by propagandising it more in the area and notifying religious
leaders as to its importance.
The carbon and the bucket play a role in creating and independent entity of filtration, in
which we place the fine sheet over the mouth of the bucket, creating a slight well in the folded
fabric in order to create a place for the water to seep through, securing it with the bungee. The
carbon is placed below this on top of another sheet well which is placed on top of the pie tin,
which in this case is inserted into the bucket and secured within, this one made up of the medium
weave fabric in order to catch any carbon particles before they fall into the clean water. The
carbon must be placed so that no fabric of this medium weave is visible, ensuring that no water
escapes through the fabric without filtering first through the carbon. The pie tin is drilled with
inch bit size holes to allow the ideal flow of water through and its aluminum make ensures that it
will last long and not rust easily.The PVC pipe is attached at a perpendicular angle to the side of
the bucket, and when the clean water fills up to about an a height of an inch at the buckets base,
it flows into the pipe and into a clean receptacle. Because the water must rise in order to flow
out through the PVC pipe, it also means that it must leave behind any excess particles or
sediment. Our design is constructed so that the carbon can be changed out as well as the saris
washed. The sheets will be cut to fit the dimensions of the bucket. The large size of the filter
also indicates that it can filter out large amounts of water, hence fitting the needs of families with
many members, of which many can be found in this area.

Testing Plans:

With these materials, we plan to begin our next test focusing on removing particulate
matter from the water. We believe this applies because in our region because materials such as
bacteria and waste matter within the water are the main causes of disease. In order to test this,
we will take one clean and laundered sheet off of our list and test it successive times, each time
increasing the number of folds in the sheet over the mouth of the jar, beginning the tests with a
twofold filter and ending with a fivefold filter. We will test a certain number of folds up to two
times using the same sheet. We will repeat this process with all the listed, different weave
variables, in order to ensure that most kinds of sari fabric can withstand the filtration test. The
most likely fabric for a sari to be made up of is cotton fabric when traditional weaving
techniques are used and we want our solution to be applicable to both this and most weaves of
fabric.

2-24-15
Today David, Ben, and Kate were here.
Kate Accomplished; Tested fabric filter to ensure effectiveness, researched alterations for more
effective plan, and brought sheet
Ben Accomplished; Tested fabric filter to ensure effectiveness, collected water
David Accomplished; Tested fabric filter to ensure effectiveness, collected water
Our filtration test, on the medium weave fabric, worked; the fabric proved that it had the
capacity for water to seep through it, and also proved that it reduced the amount of particulate
matter within the collected water. We were specifically testing for the effectiveness in the
removal of particulate matter from the water and this method did reduce the cloudiness of the
water. Potential next steps could include testing two methods together including introducing the
already sari-filtered water to a simple solution which involves washing and folding the sari.
Our next steps will include testing a laundered piece of cloth and folding it before
collecting water through it. This information was found on
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/health/27sari.html?_r=0
and has been proven to filter out diseases such as cholera which specifically plague this area.

We have come to the conclusion that we will now test our fabric after it is
laundered in order to find its ideal number of filtration folds. This laundering
method is the only one effective enough to remove pathogens from the water.
2-25-15

Everyone in the group was present today.

Kate Accomplished; Wrote area description
Grace Accomplished; Collected maps for display on group page
Ben Accomplished; Helped other groups move materials
David Accomplished; Helped other groups move materials

Rough Draft Area Description/Field Report

(Actual one on separate shared page titled AreaDescription)
The area in which we secure our focus upon the Ganges River is the area of Varanasi,
India, which is located in the province of Uttar Pradesh. This area around Varanasi is incredibly
densely populated, but the town itself contains about l million 500 people living in the
immediate urban area of the river. The literacy rate is about 77%, although most people in the
area do not have a basic education aside from this. The culture is extremely religious, and the
people who make up the majority of the demographic are of the hindu religion and culture, and
most use the river for religious rituals such as cremations, offerings, and bathing as they view the
river as the physical embodiment of a fertility god. Cremations, which dont always leave bodies
completely burned, especially add an excess of rotting flesh to the river, but are abundant at
Varanasi because the hindu religion believes that when a body is laid to rest in the Ganges then it
will achieve heaven and not be re-incarnated. The people in this area literally believe that the
river is an indestructible god, and that no matter its level of pollution, it will always prevail. In
the past, these religious beliefs of this culture have complicated matters in situations of foreign
aid due to the fact that many of this hindu religion are unwilling to believe that they can harm the
river. Because of these beliefs, Varanasi also receives many religious pilgrims to the area who
seek the holy place of the river. The population has nearly a 40% rate of poverty. Many citizens
in this cycle of poverty belong to what is known as the Indian caste system, which designates
unchanging roles to each and every individual, and enforces the system of an unchanging
ignorance which follows a poor education system and a heavy influence on tradition. The river
provides drinking water to about 40% of Indias population, (or about 500 million people).
Varanasi falls under the political regime of Indias prime ministerial government.
Although this government is a democracy and has in the past attempted to rid its people of their
squalor as well as the Ganges of ts pollution, it has limited resources and money and is often

ineffective. The lands around Varanasi and the Ganges in this area are flat and fertile, with
farmland flanking the urban center.
In the collection of water for daily use in this area, women are traditionally the collectors
who complete the domestic chores and hence gather water from the polluted Ganges. Education
has been attempted centering around these women, most of them impoverished, and provided
them with lessons as far as how to gather water effectively and safely through simple and
accessible methods, but the traditions and religious beliefs ingrained within these individuals
have prevented them for utilizing these teachings regularly.
The pollutants which plague the river mainly come from poor communities such as
Varanasi. Waste is dumped into the river as well as cremated remains, dead animals, and
chemical and dye runoff from factories farther upstream. These influxes of trash also decrease
the amount of oxygen in the river and hence the life it can support. Dams along the river,
although not contributors to waste matter, do affect the erosion of river banks and the amounts of
silt in the river. Pollutants not only include dangerous chemicals such as chromium from
tanneries and mercury, but disease contained in unfiltered domestic and medical waste and
rotting carcasses such as giardia, cholera, fecal coliform, and e-coli. The area mostly contains
pathogens which thrive when connected to particles such as algae, zooplankton, and
phytoplankton, which usually serve as the hosts of many of these diseases, such as cholera.
These algae particles can range in size from 0.5 um to over 50 meters in length and width. The
average sizes of these freshwater plankton range from from about 0.4 mm to 1.6 mm in length.
Environmental issues stemming off from bacterial overload and dangerous chemicals include the
decay of the rivers marine life, including the already endangered Ganges River dolphin, as well
as massive trash pile-ups within the water, sludge, and overall toxicity of the rivers water. Algae
populations deplete the rivers oxygen concentration as well as provide hosts to diseases in this
environment. This toxicity is the reason for such decreased biodiversity as well as the numerous
disease acquired by poor populations who rely on the water for drinking and washing.
Below; A map of Varanasi, India, in relation to global geography and a view of Varanasi
as it is situated on the Ganges River.

2-

26-15
Everyone in the group was present today.
Kate Accomplished; Made edits to product description and wrote design explanation (although
this is labeled as being completed on 2-20-15), finished area description
Grace Accomplished; Led Ben and David in their testing of the fine sheet
David Accomplished; Tested fine sheet.
Ben Accomplished; Tested fine sheet.
The fine sheet proved just as effective as the medium weave in removing particulate
matter from the water. Next steps we may take include testing the final loose weave of fabric for
its effectiveness in this arena as well as beginning to test the number of fabric folds which may
prove ideal for water filtration.

3-3-15
BENS

B D A Y AND MORE REFINEMENT AND RESEARCH

Everyone in the group was present today.

Kate Accomplished; Revised area description and product description
Grace Accomplished; Researched additional information for revisions
Ben Accomplished; Drew Sketchup model of method, helped Will and Trey
David Accomplished; Helped Ben draw Sketch-Up model of method, took home sheets for
laundering
Sketchup Diagram;

3-4-15
Everyone in the group was present today.
Kate Accomplished; Made final edits to product description and area description and turned
these in digitally, tested fine sheet for microorganisms
Grace Accomplished; Tested fine sheet for microorganisms, recorded information
Ben Accomplished; David Accomplished; Took another sheet home for laundering

We came to the conclusion that the fine-weave sheet effectively filters microorganisms
out of water. This will be our primary filter of these components within our final filter. On the
first scan of unfiltered water beneath a microscope, we found microorganisms such as
cosmarium, closterium, and volvox. Although this may not account for all organisms within the
slide of unfiltered water, we found, in the slides of filtered water which had been through our
cloth filter, no microorganisms. There was no movement whatsoever. We also noticed that in
our test of unfiltered water, the microorganisms tended to be found amongst clumps of algae or
particular food matter. We believe that because our filter caught these within its mesh, we
succeeded in eliminating most of the microorganisms in the water.
3-5-15
David, Kate, and Ben were present today.
Kate Accomplished; Finished making changes to product design, description, area description,
and constructed entire final product at home
David Accomplished; Conducted turbidity testing on the fine sheet and medium sheet
Ben Accomplished; Conducted turbidity testing on the fine sheet and medium sheet
The turbidity test exemplified that (rest on product description separate sheet)
3-6-15
Everyone in the group was present today.
Kate Accomplished; Completed write-ups for tests conducted on previous days
Grace Accomplished; Completed ammonia test
David Accomplished; Added ammonia to water for test
Ben Accomplished; The ammonia test exemplified (rest on product description separate sheet)
3-9-15
Everyone in the group was present today.
Kate Accomplished; Filled out group rubric, prepared filter for test

Grace Accomplished; Tested for heavy metals, led test

Ben Accomplished; Drew revised Sketchup diagram
David Accomplished; Tested for heavy metals
The heavy metals test exemplified (rest on product description separate sheet)
Our revised diagram can be seen below;