Ripple
To confront flooding in Detroit, my team and I developed Ripple, a take-home water filtration experiment that aims to teach high school students about flooding and water filtration.
By:
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University of Michigan partners: Rachel Safir, Miles Macklin, Shaquim Lowe, Hannah Mutz
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Detroit Community High School partners: Shakira Lee, Zahnyah Williams-Weston, Kevin (Bev) Redman, Jhaquon Sherill
Rain waters frequently flood streets all across Detroit.
Photo by Nick Tobier
Heavy rains cause severe street flooding.
Photo published by the Detroit News
Flooding causes property damage. This man is helping his cousin fix her home after her basement flooded.
Photo by Andy Morrison, The Detroit News
Research Findings
Since 2012, about 43% of households in Detroit have reported flooding.
This image (left) shows where flooding is the most concentrated.
Map published by the Detroit Free Press: "What's your home's flood risk? New study measures it for every parcel nationwide"
Why does Detroit flood?
Detroit's infrastructure has not been well-maintained.
Funding for the city's infrastructure fell drastically between 1970 and 2014. Without proper maintenance, Detroit's water system has become prone to breakdowns and malfunctions.
Why does it matter?
Flooding cases water contamination.
When city water systems get overwhelmed by flood water they cannot filter water effectively. This means the water entering people’s homes may be contaminated with sewage, dirt, chemicals from agricultural runoff, viruses and bacteria.
So what can we do about it?
Educate - Empower - Offer practical solutions
We set out to educate high school students about water filtration via experimentation.
Education and experimentation give students the opportunity to practice creative problem solving and empower them as inventors and problem-solvers (solution-creators).
Water filtration is a practical solution that can help students mitigate problems related to flooding and water contamination in their homes and communities.
Final Design
Ripple is a water filtration experiment in a box.
First, users assemble Ripple using the enclosed materials and instructions. Once assembled, users can pour water through Ripple and watch as the water is filtered, run through the water wheel, and collected.
The water filtered through Ripple is not safe to drink because potable water must first be filtered and purified (not just filtered). But, the collected water can be used for:
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Watering plants
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Laundry
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Cleaning surfaces that do not come into contact with food (i.e. floors, walls)
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For fun! You may run the water through Ripple multiple times to watch it filter through.
This is water before and after being filtered through Ripple twice:
Ripple contains 4 water filtration materials: pebbles, sponge, cotton balls, and coffee filters.
These materials were chosen because they have a variety of porosity levels. They are also not messy like many filtration materials, like sand and activated charcoal, are.
Ripple also contains a Lifestraw.
The Lifestraw is a straw that contains a membrane microfilter. As the user drinks from the straw, it filters out bacteria, parasites, microplastics, dirt, sand, and cloudiness. The water that reaches the drinkers mouth is 100% safe.
This is how Ripple is packaged. Students assemble the experiment with guidance from the instructions below:
*Ripple's instructions are in a brochure format. Below, it's original format (designed for printing) has been re-ordered so that the pages of the digital copy appear in the order in which they're meant to be read.
Many Detroiters struggle with frequent flooding that disrupts their everyday lives and contaminates their water. Taking action on climate change and investing in the city’s water infrastructure system are required to stop this problem at its cause. However, while lobbying for climate solutions and infrastructure maintenance is important, Ripple’s goal is instead to meet the people of Detroit where they are now.
We set out to educate Detroit high school students about water filtration and get them involved in experimentation. Ripple is a water filtration experiment that teaches students how to filter water at home. Our hope is that this will not only teach students about water filtration, but also get them interested in experimentation, empower them as inventors, and allow them to practice creative problem-solving and making skills. When education is presented in an engaging and accessible way, all students have the opportunity to discover and explore their interests. Ripple also offers a practical solution to help students deal with water contamination in their communities. They can filter water themselves with the DIY water filter included, or use the LifeStraw. LifeStraw is a straw that contains a filter so that as someone drinks from the straw, contaminants are filtered out and only clean, potable water reaches the drinker.
With Ripple and the LifeStraw it contains, students can practice creative experimentation, learn more about an issue relevant to them, and make dirty water potable.