Arcosanti is a small experimental self-sustained community (labeled as an urban laboratory), which funds itself through its bronze bell casting business, tourism, donations, and grants. An idea they would like to try out in their community would be the reclamation of grey water specifically, without black water. Upon researching this online, the team found no existing examples of this, which makes this a new area of study. Arcosanti does not have a water storage, so we are not filling a need for them, but instead we are exploring a new area to see if it can be used to lower net water expenditure, both in water required to be brought into a community, and waste water flowing out of the community. The end goal of the water purity is for it be pure enough to be used to grow crops for human consumption. Currently, there are no crops specifically in mind (Arcosanti does not know yet), however the leading idea is to use the water in a small orchard. To clarify, a small orchard does not refer to the size of the orchard, but instead the size of the plants in the orchards (i.e. no large apple trees). The project goal is to reclaim gray water, deliver it to an orchard, and grow crops for human consumption.

Team Members:

Samuel Greenberg, Junior, Chemical Engineering

Edward Apraku, Sophomore, Civil Engineering

Jeremy Guerrero, Sophomore, Environmental Engineering

Matthew Kupres, Senior, Chemical Engineering

Community Partner: Arcosanti

Others Involved: Support from grants and sponsors, some of which include the U.S. government and even the Chinese government.