{"id":33677,"date":"2015-03-30T17:11:50","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T17:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=33677"},"modified":"2015-04-15T14:07:08","modified_gmt":"2015-04-15T14:07:08","slug":"acc-stem-students-to-present-water-disinfection-system-to-epa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2015\/03\/30\/acc-stem-students-to-present-water-disinfection-system-to-epa\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC STEM students to present water disinfection system to EPA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Community College (ACC) STEM students will present their design for a solar-powered water disinfection system at the National Sustainable Design Expo April 11 in Old Town Alexandria, VA.<\/p>\n

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ACC STEM students design and develop a solar-powered water disinfection system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe future depends on sustainable products,\u201d says Ben Jeffries, ACC STEM student. \u201cWe applied last year for an EPA grant to help us research and design a product that would help us find ways to reuse greywater. Amazingly, the EPA liked our idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

The low-cost, energy-efficient, and nontoxic system uses ultraviolet solar radiation to disinfect household water known as greywater for reuse in irrigation. The science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students spent the past six months designing and building five prototypes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know first-hand how precious our water supply is here in Central Texas,\u201d Kristine Lilly, ACC student and project manager of the ACC S-STEM Scholarship. \u201cWe\u2019re still in the midst of a long-sustained drought. Water conservation is a hot topic, and it always will be. We needed to develop a long-term solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“It has the potential to save the U.S. more than 60 billion gallons of water a year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The college received an initial $15,000 grant in October from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s P3 program. P3, People, Prosperity, and the Planet, is a national competition among college students to create designs and solutions for a sustainable future. The ACC students are among 43 student groups nationwide who received grants in the first phase of the program.<\/p>\n

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ACC STEM students testing their solar-powered water disinfection system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt is exciting to watch our students create sustainable solutions for our nation\u2019s everyday needs,\u201d says Trish Phelps, ACC\u00a0biology professor. “They\u2019re addressing some of the most challenging environmental issues and helping create a vibrant, growing economy.\u201dAt the National Sustainable Design Expo the student groups will present their products to a panel of experts convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The groups who receive the highest scores will receive an additional P3 grant up to $75,000 to further their design, implement it in the field, and move it to the marketplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know this product can make a difference,\u201d says Lilly. \u201cWe\u2019ve proven that water disinfection can be done on a large scale using nothing but the sun\u2019s energy. When you add up the impact, it has the potential to save the U.S. more than 60 billion gallons of water a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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