A localized solution to unsafe swimming practices
After it rains, all the beaches in my hometown are under a no swimming and no direct water contact advisory for 48 hours due to predicted elevated bacteria levels. There was no quick and simple way test and indicate whether river water meets EPA standards and was safe to swim in - a problem myself and some friends sought to tackle our senior year of high school.
The solution consisted of three components:
1. Water sampler that significantly undercut market options in price, ease of use, durability, while still collecting reliable samples from within the water column
2. Bacteria testing strips to detect levels of enterococci, E.coli, and other harmful bacteria
3. High visibility signage to indicate water safety to potential swimmers
Aside from the technical challenges associated with solving the issue at hand, this project familiarized me with the engineering design process in a collaborative setting. I started with effective needfinding, gaining insights from local residents, country officials, and more. I spearheaded the use of SCRUM and Agile methodologies to stay organized and move fast while still creating a holistic solution. I conducted market research to evaluate the economic viability of our solution, and ran pilot tests in my community.
The video to the left documents our presentation to industry professionals to gauge the viability of out system. It was conducted over Zoom, given COVID restrictions at the time of presentation. The video to the right is a short demonstration of our system in use.