Summary:

This will be the first annual Rocky Mountain Water Treatment Competition, a competition designed by and for environmental engineering students. For the past few years there has been a void of a competition that environmental engineers participate it in the Rocky Mountain Region. Well know competitions such as Steel Bridge and Concrete Cannoe have been more focused towards Civil Engineers. This competition will challege students to work together to devise a working water treatment system for a developing country. Students will have to consider Feasibility, Sustainability and Water Quality in this competition. Students are given a situation, (Rules can be downloaded below) and will have to work together to construct a working treatment system. At the competition teams will present their treatment systems and test them during the competition. Teams will be judged on Water Quality, Sustainability and other categories. We hope this will be a fun opportunity for all Engineering students. If you're interested please download the rules below and sign up! We hope to see you in the competition!

2008 1st Annual Rocky Mountain Water Treatment Competition Rules Hosted By Colorado State University Click Here!

FAQ For 2008 Competition

Q:"Are we allowed to actively work our systems in the hour of filtration?"

A: The answer is yes but you will lose points for the Ease of Use category. The goal of this is to design a filter that is easy to use and requires the least amount of human interaction.

Q "Is the presentation given to the judges before they judge feasibility, truth to context, sustainability, etc. so that we can explain our systems in context to the prompt?"

A: As seen in the schedule of events the presentations will be right after the water treatment and collection so your team must prepare a presentation about your filter and so it is highly recommended that you test your filter first.

Q: "What is the min. max. number of students per team?"

A: There is no min or max number of students per team, there are benefits and detriments of having a large team or a small team. So it is your choice about the size of your group.

Q: "Are we allowed to prepare things before we arrive, just the natives to the problem would have their filter components pre-made before they actually filter the water?"

A: Yes! You should have a working filter ready to go. You will be given one hour to set up so some pre-constructed components will be allowed.

Q: "Are we supposed to arrive with our disassembled system packed into a 4'x4'x6' container?"

A: Your system does not need to be packed into a 4'x 4' x 6' container when you arrive you just have to show the judges before hand that it would fit in such a container. We might have a box with those dimensions to check if needed.

Q: Will we be provided with an electrical power source?

A: you will not be supplied with an electrical power source. In the spirit of sustainability we would want to stay away from an electrical power source but you could request one if you feel like you need it or bring your own.

Q: How exactly is the sample water going to be mixed
(For how long before we receive the water, in what order the contaminantsare going to be added to the water, and how well the contaminants are going to be mixed).

A: The contaminants will be mixed in order that is listed and for the competition, the wastewater will be mixed approximately 24 hours before the competition starts. Right before the competition each water sample will be stirred to homogenize the sample

Q:Regarding the collection of the filtrate, can teams
use any container or does it have to be a "localized"
one like a clay jar or something? I don't even know
what people would use over there? Would they have
access to empty glass or plastic bottles to collect
water even in a time of disaster?

A:To answer that you may have a container that could "simulate" a clay jar or something they might have in bangladesh. More points to you if you can find the real thing but we understand considering the ease of transport and supplies for this competition a fully authentic model is very hard to obtain.

Q:I believe I have
a filter that would fit all of the criteria except
one: it needs to be pre-fabricated and brought to the
competition. It is made of pervious concrete and as
concrete is a globally manufactured material (even in
Bangladesh).

A: you can have a prefabricated filter to the competition, only constraint is this concrete has to be obtainable by the local people in bangladesh.

Transportation & Hotel Information

Hotels:

Fort Collins Hilton " Home of the Rams" 425 W. Prospect
970-482-2626
http://www.hiltonfortcollins.com/
Distance to Marriott: 2.5 miles
Discounts: AAA, AARP, Govt, and long term stays.
 
Best Western University Inn
914 S. College Ave.
970-484-1984
Toll Free: (800) 528-1234
http://www.bestwestern.com/universityinnftcollins
Distance to Marriott: 2.5 miles 
Discounts: AAA, AARP, Govt, Corp

Directions to: CSU Oval: From Interstate 25, exit at Prospect Road (#268). Travel west on Prospect approximately 4 miles to College Avenue (passing major intersections at Timberline Road and Lemay Avenue). At College Avenue, turn right (north). Continue north approximately three-quarters of a mile to Laurel Street, turn left (west), and travel west one-quarter mile to Howes Street (the first stop light). The CSU Oval is south of the intersection of Laurel and Howes . For parking, continue to the next intersection, Meldrum Street, and turn left into the Lory Student Center parking lot.

New Belgium Field Trip 06

New Belgium Trip 07

National Renewable Energy Lab

Solider Cayon Water Treatment Facility

2007 Water Treatment Competition Rules for Reference

2007 Team 4th Place!

2007 Competition gallery

2006 Competition Gallery

2006 Team 3rd Place Winners!

Previous Rules for Reference