Lamar King
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Research Mentor(s): Branko Kerkez
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering / Engineering
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 1 – 10am – 10:50am
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Lamar King, Ernesto Martinez
Presenter: 20
Abstract
The Drinking Water Quality project, within the Digital Water Systems Lab, is currently monitoring drinking water quality directly from household taps in Ann Arbor. The ultimate goal is to be able to have a real-time water monitoring system that alerts the water treatment plants when there is a need for adjustments. In an effort to protect public health we are leveraging the continuous advancements in technology to bridge the gap between the current labor-intensive “grab sampling” system and an automatic real-time system that uses internet-connected sensors. The seamless integration of low-cost sensors, microcontrollers, and commercial web services have paved the way for the development of next-generation infrastructure monitoring networks, which increase spatial and temporal resolution compared to traditional monitoring approaches. In the development of our water quality monitoring system we use sensor nodes that track pressure, temperature, pH, Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP), and Electrical Conductivity. These general water quality parameters are monitored regularly throughout drinking water distribution systems because of the important roles they play in the system’s and public health. With combinations of these parameters we can estimate water usage and stagnation patterns at individual taps. I came in with an interest in building the cloud infrastructure that makes the collection of data not only possible, but efficient, for this I wrote cloud functions and a script that make the sensor nodes “smart” creating a “smart” network for monitoring water quality. As a result we can track when the faucet needs to be “flushed” until the water is back to a safe quality, and in theory the more we can expand our network the more people we can ensure have safe drinking water. If expanded to every household in Ann Arbor we could provide safe water to each household at all times, and monitor water quality on a wider scale to be proactive in dealing with larger water quality issues.
Engineering, Interdisciplinary
