Water always finds the path of least resistance, flowing in predictable routes and driven by gravity. Not so of the approach to solving the drain on the world’s water supply. Dozens of New York State’s finest colleges and universities are approaching this pressing issue from a variety of directions – some surprisingly unconventional. Cornell University, for example, is bringing together an unlikely party to work toward clean, abundant water through “whole-farm” planning. The team includes: epidemiologists, government regulators, animal scientists, civil engineers, and farmers. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute invites underwater robots into the mix, while Manhattan College lures in the larvae.
Each school of higher education in the state’s Independent Sector brings its own focus to this oceanic problem. For the students at St. Bonaventure University, it is being able to trace the pathways by which a variety of pollutants reach the Allegheny River. The University was awarded a $126,850 grant to fund a hydrology observatory – a multi-component field station that employs water sampling devices, flow gages, groundwater monitoring wells, and even weather instruments to analyze pollutants reaching the Allegheny and its tributaries from the local drainage basin.
At Cornell University, much simpler technologies help meet the challenges of developing nations. In fact, a group of students and instructors earned national recognition for their design of a drinking water treatment plant that meets the constraints faced by poor rural areas. Their task: produce clean water without using electrical power, at a cost of less than $10 per person, using locally available materials. The resulting project is “AguaClara,” clear water for Hondurans who can now receive training to build and operate these successful water treatment plants.
The focus for Manhattan College is to develop a tool that will improve the long-term survival of fish and shellfish in Long Island Sound. Presently, excess nitrogen (primarily from sewage treatment plants in New York City, Westchester, and Connecticut) stresses the oxygen levels in the Sound. Using larval species, Manhattan College graduate students will look at the different amounts of dissolved oxygen required to sustain aquatic life and protect spawning habitats. The College is one of several organizations that received grant money to fund water quality projects in Long Island Sound and Jamaica Bay – two of the state’s priority areas for ecosystem restoration.
Manhattan College is also the site of the longest continuously running environmental engineering professional course in the U.S. At last year’s 51st Institute in Water Pollution Control, engineers could enroll in such workshops as “Introduction to Eutrophication” and “Phytoplankton Dynamics.” In the Adirondack Park, Paul Smith’s College regularly hosts its own cutting-edge water quality conferences. This year’s effort helped to reach common ground between major development projects in the Park, such as the construction of a resort in North Creek and issues of water pollution, erosion, and waste-water management.
Not Your Uncle Albert
What weighs 370 pounds, travels at a speed of up to 2 miles per hour, and can dive to depths of 500 meters? A solar-powered underwater robot, of course. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are working collaboratively with other robotics experts to develop a network of distributed sensing devices and water-monitoring robots, including the first solar autonomous underwater vehicles (or SAUVs). These underwater robots can be deployed long-term by using solar power to replenish their energy. This allows chemical and biological trends in bodies of water to be detected over space and time. Ultimately, these SAUVs can help guide the management, security, and improvement of water quality.
From Troy to Staten Island
A major waterway and ecosystem for the entire state, the Hudson River stretches from the Adirondack peaks into the Atlantic Ocean through the hands of many skilled scientists. At the Upper Hudson and its estuaries, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute uses a real-time water monitoring device to network with the scientists of Columbia University at the Lower Hudson. Fiber optic cables link the monitoring sites along the river from Troy to Staten Island. The diverse and comprehensive data collected of the river’s physical, chemical, and biological systems enhances the research of a range of scientists and regulators. This ambitious project, called “Riverscope,” brings the living Hudson to the desktops of researchers, students, decision-makers, and the public who together will help shape the future of one of the state’s most important rivers.
For students of water conservation at Mount Saint Mary College, the Hudson River is also their science park. From conducting water quality studies to marking drains that could potentially pollute the Hudson, the Mount Saint Mary students apply a diverse set of skills to the muddy problem. They even engage local public school students in their “clear water” projects.
The Power of Water Institutes
A number of New York’s independent colleges and universities have founded their own institutes as an effective way to find solutions to long-growing environmental concerns. From outreach to research to bringing together local government leaders, private business, and the public, these institutes reach deep into their communities to tackle pressing issues.
At Paul Smith’s College, the Adirondack Watershed Institute was recently awarded a $286,947 grant to purchase water quality testing equipment, allowing the College to perform its own lab work. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Darrin Fresh Water Institute recently announced a gift of $1.5 million to establish new lines of senior-level research. Situated on Lake George, the Water Institute is internationally recognized for its technology aimed at assuring the preservation of the Adirondacks.
Farther west, Hobart and William Smith Colleges established the Finger Lakes Institute to promote conscious efforts of conserving water. The Institute’s reach is wide – stretching across 14 counties of 2 million residents. Among its many outreach efforts, the Finger Lakes Institute serves as a clearinghouse for information about the precious Finger Lakes, making direct connections between science, people, and our impact on water quality.
Other colleges have established water-related initiatives to address specific needs. At Skidmore College, the Saratoga Lake Watershed is the focus of their Water Resources Initiative. The reports generated by this Initiative, for example, help area residents do their homework on choosing a new drinking water source. At New York Institute of Technology, the Center for Water Resources Management looks farther a field – into the need of developing nations to improve the public health of their people. Specifically, the Center helps match emerging technologies with nations and communities in need.
Beyond Low-Flow Toilets
Perhaps the most direct actions taken by New York’s private sector campuses are in its own buildings. While installing low-flow plumbing saves hundreds of thousands of gallons of water yearly, many other “green” features make water conservation a top priority. Appropriately, renovation of the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, includes water-friendly landscaping, bathrooms, and hot water supply. The landscaping alone is a marvel of water-saving ingenuity. Its bark mulch retains moisture and avoids the need for chemical fertilizers. Its turf grass requires little water, little weeding, and no need for insecticides. Even the lawn mowers are designed with water-saving measures in mind – by recycling grass clippings into insulating soil cover.
The Cooper Union is currently building New York City’s first academic laboratory to meet gold LEED standards (see A Water Glossary). Its roof will be “green” in more ways than one. A layer of plantings on the roof’s deck surface will help reduce storm water runoff. Rainwater only will irrigate the roof as well as supply water to toilets on the lower floors.
On the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, a new geothermal central air conditioning system draws groundwater to remove heat from the air of its administration building. The water is then discharged back into the ground through two wells. The College of Saint Rose cleaned up in energy and water savings as well by replacing its standard washers and dryers with 48 high-efficiency, front-loading machines in campus dormitories. The new equipment cuts water use in half – along with energy, maintenance, and costs. At The College of New Rochelle, construction of a new Wellness Center involves a number of innovative “green” attributes. Its special heat recovery system warms the pool water and pool area without wasting warm air.