Fundraisers: Darwin Day and the Chapel Hill Public Library!

Our team decided to hold our first fundraiser on Darwin Day at the Raleigh Museum of Natural Sciences. Darwin Day is meant for children and adults of all ages to learn about the way Darwin’s ideas, such as the theory of natural selection and the theory of evolution impact scientific research. Our team thought it would be a great idea to hold our first fundraiser at this venue considering that many of those in attendance would be interested in science and the scientific method. We were allowed to set up a booth at the museum and explain our project to passerby as a way to garner donations. In preparation, our team worked together to design a tri-fold display board explaining the logistics of the iGEM competition, our idea, and the research behind it. We raised awareness about the dangers of excess fluoride in third world water systems, introduced the novel riboswitch mechanism, sparked the curiosity of some middle schoolers interested in competing/starting their own iGEM team in the near future, all while raising funds! Additionally our team held multiple fundraisers during school lunches and at the Chapel Hill Public Library on weekends using our handy tri-fold display board, baked goods, and even frozen yogurt! These were great ways to gain practice in presenting our project and raising awareness about iGEM to the public.

Attached is a picture of our poster board:

Orange County Water and Sewer Association Interview and Documentary:

On June 12th, 2017, our team went to visit the Orange County Water and Sewer Association (OWASA) to ask some questions pertaining to our project background. We met with Ken Loflin, the Water Treatment Manager at OWASA who was kind enough to give us a tour of the facility; outlining where our water comes from, what “treatment” entails, and where it goes when we are done with it!

• Anything that goes down the drain eventually enters the pipe network. Pumps, with a little help from gravity, move our used water to a treatment center. Never dump things like cooking oil or grease down the drain because they can clog up these pipes. Recycling oil and throwing fat and grease in the trash are important responsibilities to your community.
• In a short while, the water arrives at OWASA’s Mason Farm Water Treatment Plant.The dirty water goes through a rigorous treatment process, outlined below:

• Anything that goes down the drain eventually enters the pipe network. Pumps, with a little help from gravity, move our used water to a treatment center. Never dump things like cooking oil or grease down the drain because they can clog up these pipes. Recycling oil and throwing fat and grease in the trash are important responsibilities to your community.
• In a short while, the water arrives at OWASA’s Mason Farm Water Treatment Plant.The dirty water goes through a rigorous treatment process, outlined below:
1. HEADWORKS: Here, really bulky debris are caught by a series of screens.
2. GRIT AND SAND REMOVAL: Any heavy grit and sand are removed and are taken straight to the landfill.
3. PRIMARY CLARIFICATION: The water still isn’t clean yet, it must now go through through a series of large tanks where some of the solids are removed via the settling process.
4. AERATION BASIN: Next, the water moves into tanks where good bacteria nibble away on any remaining waste. These bacteria are extremely important because they can help remove nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus which could otherwise be harmful when the water is returned to the environment.
5. SECONDARY CLARIFICATION: Once the waste has been devoured, the water moves into another tank where the leftover solids settle to the bottom and clean water rises to the top.
6. AERATION BASIN: Shortly afterwards, the bacteria that have settled to the bottom of the tank are ready for their second meal. They rise back to the top and eat more incoming waste. It’s like a never ending buffet for the bacteria. The surplus of food contributes to an environment well suited for bacterial reproduction. In fact, often times OWASA ends up with way more bacteria than they actually need!
7. ANAEROBIC DIGESTION: To combat excess bacteria and keep the system in balance, some of the bacteria is removed and placed into large tanks called digesters. Here the excess bacteria are put to work, turning solids into biosolids.
8. BIOSOLIDS: The biosolids provide valuable nutrients and improve soil quality, making them very useful on local farmlands.
9. FILTRATION: An additional filtration step catches any remaining solids trying to sneak through.
10. DISINFECTION: In this step, ultraviolet lights beam down and disinfect that water, killing any harmful bacteria.
11. POST-AERATION: After that, the water is treated chemically, which includes adding a fluoride concentration of no more that 1 part per million (1 ppm) and one last boost of oxygen before being returned to the environment where it is used and consumed by people and wildlife. The water is so clean that “OWASA pumps a growing portion of it back to the University of North Carolina campus to cool buildings, irrigate athletic fields, and flush toilets!” (OWASA 2017).
12. OWASA NEEDS YOUR HELP:
    Here is a good rule of thumb: If clean water comes out of it, ONLY clean water goes back in it! Solids, oils, or grease will clog pipes, either in your house or in our community network. With the exception of human waste, everything else should go straight in the trash. Things like unneeded or expired medication should be taken to the local police or sheriff's department rather than dumped down the drain. We all have a right to clean and safe water, but we also have a responsibility to care for the systems that keep it that way!