Executive Summary
The Construction Materials Laboratory at More Hall is an instruction laboratory where undergraduate students of the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the College of Built Environments (CBE) study different construction materials and gain hands-on experience with mixing portland cement concrete. In order to achieve the desired strength and durability of the concrete, the concrete structures are cured in a fog room adjacent to the CML. Curing is a process of providing adequate moisture, temperature, and time to allow the concrete to achieve the desired strength and durability. The fog room produces ultra-fine water droplets in the air that is closely monitored by a programmable system that controls the humidity and temperature setting. Currently, the prescribed relative humidity condition in the fog room is ensured by continuously sprinkling potable water to the room via two sprinkler heads with an average rate of 1200 gallons/day. By proposing to install a rainwater collection and purification system in and adjacent to the laboratory space, we seek to provide CML with a supplementary, sustainable source of water for fog room use. This will result in reducing the laboratory’s tap water consumption by an average of 600 gallons/day. The quantifiable economic benefit equals $1,800.00 per year in water consumption. In addition to the economic benefits, the proposed project will serve as a campus wide educational tool and give University of Washington students, faculty and staff the possibility to learn more about innovative use of sustainable water management practices.