Project 2: Water to a Village

Description of the Problem

Running water is very common in the United States. Turn
on the faucet on your sink and water will flow freely.
While we may not consider this a luxury, many places
around the world do. In many countries, people from
villages travel long distances to nearby lakes or rivers to
fill large jugs of water that they then have to carry back
home. Once home, whatever they were able to carry back
serves as their water for the day or, sometimes, for the
whole week.
Another issue that these people often face is that the only
available water is dirty. Villagers often end up drinking
water that is contaminated with disease, is muddy, or is
salty, if it is not a source of fresh water.
As an engineer, youve been hired by a local village leader
in Nicaragua to construct a water transport system
capable of moving water from a nearby lake to a spigot in
the middle of the town. This will save many people from
having to walk nearly a mile to the lake and back each
day.

Materials/Constraints
Since you are working in a very poor country, you will
have a modest budget, and materials will be limited to
materials that can be easily obtained by them. This
project contains three distinct parts, as follows:
1. Water pump
a. You will need to build a pump capable of
moving large quantities of water
b. The pump must be powered by a generator,
as there will not be electricity by the lake
2. Transport
a. You must provide a way for the water to move
from the pump to the town
b. You will need to decide how much water to
move
i. Your pump has a fixed amount of power
ii. If you want to move water faster, your
pipe will be narrower and you will not be
able to move the same volume
3. Filter
a. The water from the lake is very muddy
b. You will need a filtering system of some kind
that can remove dirt and grime from the water
to make it drinkable
At the conclusion of this project, we will test our devices.

Group member names:

_____________________________________

DUE DATE:

____________________________ ____________________________
____________________________
ASK

Understanding of
the challenge
presented

0No Effort
No summary
written

Research
Quality of
background
research

Brainstorm
Generation of
ideas and
possible design
solutions

No notes taken

Prototyping
Design and
construction of
models capable
of testing
Solution

Presentation and
demonstration of
final product

No list of ideas
present in notes

No physical
prototype/s
accounted for

Final product
unfinished
Final product

1Not Yet
Summary is less
than 3 sentences
Summary indicates
partial
understanding of the
challenge
Summary only
accounts for one of
either constraints OR
explanation of
problem
Some notes taken
Poorly organized, no
headings
Notes describe only
one of either
materials OR design
features
1-2 design ideas
presented
Ideas presented are
generic with no
description of
possible
implementation
Prototype is partially
assembled

_____________________________ _____________________________

Final product is
finished on time

2Developing
Summary is exactly 3
sentences
Summary indicates
understanding of the
problem
Summary accounts for
constraints AND
explanation of problem,
but briefly

3Mastery
Summary is more than 3
sentences
Summary indicates thorough
understanding of the problem
Summary includes a thorough
description of BOTH constraints
AND an explanation of the
problem
Summary includes possible
obstacles to success not
accounted for by constraints
Notes are clearly organized and
easy for a third party to follow
Notes describe 3 or more uses for
materials AND design features
group would like to use

Notes are somewhat

organized, but hard for
third party to follow
Notes describe 1-2 uses
for materials AND
design features

At least 3 design ideas

presented
Ideas presented have
some detail
Ideas present only
minor changes, not
significantly separate
ideas
Prototype is fully
assembled
Prototyped does not
function correctly

Prototype is fully assembled

Prototype functions correctly

Final product is
aesthetically pleasing
Final product meets the

Final product is able to undergo

multiple trials without repair of
any kind

At least 3 design ideas presented

Ideas presented include clearly
detailed descriptions
Each idea presents clearly
distinctive approaches to the
challenge presented

Report
Communication
of results

unavailable for
testing by due
date.
No results
recorded

Results are present

but cannot be clearly

related to testing
situations

challenge originally
presented

Results are clearly

related to testing of
prototypes
Results are organized

Final product includes set of

instructions for use by a third
party
Results clearly related to testing
of prototypes
Results are presented in an
organized, aesthetically pleasing
manner

Final Score (Average of all Sections)______/3