Humans and The Water Cycle Curriculum 2023 - SP 2

HUMANS AND THE WATER CYCLE PROGRAM
Educator Curriculum- South Plant

Fall 2023
Table of Contents
Program Overview ________________________________________________________________________ 2
General Schedule _________________________________________________________________________ 3
Prep for the Day __________________________________________________________________________ 4
Activities ________________________________________________________________________________ 6
INTRODUCTION (25 - 30 minutes) _____________________________________________________________________________ 6
TREATMENT PLANT EXPLORATION (75 minutes) _________________________________________________________________ 9
WASTEWATER LAB (45 minutes) _____________________________________________________________________________ 13
CONCLUSION (15minutes)__________________________________________________________________________________16
Appendix I: General Background Information _________________________________________________ 19
Detailed Treatment Process Description _______________________________________________________________________ 19
Nitrogen Cycling in Wastewater ______________________________________________________________________________ 21
Wastewater Microbiology (Sludge Bugs) _________________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendix II: Next Generation Science Standards _______________________________________________ 23
Science and Engineering Practices ____________________________________________________________________________ 23
Crosscutting Concepts _____________________________________________________________________________________ 24
Disciplinary Core Ideas _____________________________________________________________________________________ 26
NGSS Performance Expectations _____________________________________________________________________________ 27
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1/11/2023 HUMANS AND THE WATER CYCLE CURRICULUM
Program Overview
Program Description (provided to teachers):
What happens when we “borrow” water from the water cycle? What happens to this borrowed water after we use it in
our homes, schools and businesses? In this program, students will learn how the choices they make daily impact the
water cycle. Students experience the wastewater treatment plant firsthand and see how engineers have designed a
system to clean our water and protect human and environmental health. This program is designed for classes that are
studying human impacts on the water cycle, wastewater, water use and urban infrastructure.
This program involves a tour of the Treatment Plant and is only for students aged 9 and up. Hard hats and vests will be
provided for students. Closed-toe shoes are required for this program.
OUTCOMES
Students will leave the program with the capacity to:
• Explain how personal choices impact our water systems.
• Understand the role that wastewater treatment plays in protecting human health.
• Understand the engineering design process and how to apply it to wastewater problems.
• Understand the concept of treating wastewater.
• Identify how their learning connects to their personal experience, prior content knowledge, and community.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the program students will have:
• Explored a wastewater treatment facility
• Applied the engineering design process to wastewater problems
• Identified ways that students can change their behaviors to minimize negative impacts on the water system
• Described the engineering solution involved in cleaning wastewater
• Explored wastewater issues and how they connect to human and environmental health
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General Schedule
9:00 Educators Arrive and Set up Lab
10:00 School(s) arrive

Split into Field Groups. Field Group Introductions
10:15 Whole Group introduction in the Lab
10:50 See below for flow for each field group
12 Lunch
12:30 See below for flow for each field group
1:40 Debrief/Conclusion conversation
2:00 Bus departs – wave goodbye! 2:00 Educators Clean Up
2:00 Educators Clean Up
2:30 Educators Post Program Discussion
3:00 Educators Depart
Group A Group B Group C Group D
10:15
Shared Introduction Shared Introduction
10:50
Treatment Plant Lab Work Treatment Plant Lab Work
12
Lunch Lunch
12:30
Lab work Treatment plant Lab Work Treatment plant
1:40
Conclusion/Debrief Conclusion/Debrief
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Timeline for 3.5 Hour program:
Group A Group B Group C Group D
20 mins Shared Introduction Shared Introduction
1 hour Treatment Plant Lab Work Treatment Plant Lab Work
25 mins Lunch Lunch
1 hour Lab work Treatment plant Lab Work Treatment plant
10-15 mins Conclusion/Debrief Conclusion/Debrief
Prep for the Day

Prep for each group:
• Backpack with 1st aid kit

• Laminated journal and clipboard with wet erase marker
• White hard hat, safety vest, and safety glasses
• Treatment plant radio
• Instructor visual aid packet and clipboard with wet erase marker
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To write on the white board:
• Draw Basic Water Cycle and the learning target on white board:
“If wastewater goes uncleaned it is a health issue for plants,
animals, and people.”
• Draw the Engineering Design Process
• Draw basic Water Cycle like student journal
• Criteria for Success: Clean, Volume, Time.
• List of tools: spoon, fork, extra cup, filter, sponge, cheese cloth
Classroom Prep (see list of materials)
• Large clipboards, one per student, pencils sharpened

• Set of photos, one per table (one each of historical and modern-day photos)
• Using magnets, attach science practice cards to second white board
• Field journals attached to clipboards
• Power Point on TV
• Clean Water Challenge Materials Bin:
a. 1 wash bin with dirty water ingredients:
b. large spoon, salt, soil, paper towels, mouth wash, flushable wipes,
c. 4 wastewater cups (urine cups), 4 trial 1 cups, 4 trails 2 cups, 4 large “storage bins” for lab
station
• Tools Bin:
o spoons, forks, strainers, sponges, extra cups, strainer
• Chemical Bin x2
d. Paper towel dispenser with paper towels, White board x1, Lipstick x1, Spray A, Spray B, Spray C,
Laminated instructions
Decisions to Make:
• In each classroom, one group will go to the treatment plant before lunch, and one will go after.
• Decide who will facilitate classroom instruction for the introduction
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Activities
INTRODUCTION (20-25 minutes)
Learning Target: “If wastewater goes untreated it is a health issue for plants, animals and people.”
Science & Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Cross-Cutting Concepts

• Asking questions and defining problems • ESS3.C: Human impacts on Earth • Cause and effect
• Developing and using models Systems • Systems and system models
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating
information
Background information for Educator:
In November 1953, James R. Ellis walked into a forum sponsored by the Municipal League at the YMCA in Seattle, carrying
a brown leather briefcase. The briefcase -- a gift from his grandfather -- would become Ellis's signature accessory, carried
everywhere, usually bulging with papers. This time, it contained a speech that called for the creation of a new kind of
government -- a federation of municipalities -- to improve water quality, garbage disposal, transportation, parks, and land-
use planning in King County. The central theme was that regional problems required regional solutions. Ellis hoped to
convince his audience that "effective answers to certain urban problems required area-wide action and that our effort as
citizens could ignite that action" (Ellis, 7).
The primary impetus was the pollution of Lake Washington. In the 1950s, more than 20 million gallons of raw and partially
treated sewage were being discharged into the lake every day. Pollution-fed algae were so thick that an eight-inch white plate
could not be seen three feet below the surface of the water. Popular beaches were posted with "No Swimming" signs. The
Municipal League and the League of Women Voters put their considerable clout behind the effort to end the discharges. Even
so, it took more than five years and one defeat at the polls before voters approved a slimmed-down Metro -- focused only on
FIELD GROUPS – 10 minutes
1. Coming off the bus, each class is split into two field groups.
o Group 1- circle up by flagpole.
o Group 2- circle up by picnic tables
2. Introductions of field group members. Each member of the group shares their name and a way that
they’ve used water today.
3. Today is about understanding how humans impact the water cycle with the decisions we make as
individuals and communities and how all our choices together as a community can have a huge
impact, either positive or negative. We’ll investigate the history of our area and how people came
together determine the causes of, and design solutions to, a big urban problem that had serious
effects on many people.
4. Have students place their backpack and lunch boxes in Group 1 and Group 2 bin by the door your
entered.
The two field groups then meet back up in the lab.
IN THE LAB (Introduction to wastewater and of history) – 25 minutes
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1. As one instructor begins the program intro, the other instructor should pull chaperones outside to give
quick chaperone orientation. Teachers can stay in the classroom if they choose.
2. Today we are going to be thinking a lot about water. To help ground us in thinking about the ways in
which humans use and interact with water, we need to focus in on how we are a part of the water
cycle. Let start with this drawing on page 1.
3. On Tv and using whiteboard show the image of the water cycle and instruct students to turn to page 1
in their journal.
4. TURN AND TALK: How does water move through this image? Have students trace with their fingers or
add arrows to show how water moves through the cycle. Review together as a class, adding arrows to
the projected image.
5. Water continuously moves through the water cycle and as it moves through the cycle, humans borrow
a lot of water to use it. It is our responsibility to clean it up before we put it back into the environment
- in this case, before it goes out to the Puget Sound. What do you think would happen if we didn’t treat
the water before we returned it to the water cycle?
6. At their tables, students turn and talk to brainstorm possible problems that could occur if untreated
water entered our lakes, rivers and oceans.
7. Instructors project 1958 picture of kids at the beach (Metro campaign poster).
8. This is a picture from 1958 when 20 million gallons of raw sewage were going into Lake Washington
every day. The lake had become so polluted that beaches and fishing were closed and it smelled
terrible.
a. How many of you have been swimming or fishing in a lake before?
b. How many of you have ever been swimming in Lake Washington? Fishing in Lake Washington?
9. Share an acknowledgement of the native history of this region and land. This is one example, you
should feel free to say this in your words. It’s not intended to be a script!
10. “Who lived here before the people in the picture? Native Americans. Do you think Lake Washington had
the same problems before European settlers arrived? Did you know that this wastewater treatment is
here today because Europeans arrived here 170 years ago? 170 years ago, seems like a long time, but
the Indigenous Tribes who the white settlers encountered had been living in this region for thousands of
years. At least 12,000 years. Imagine the incredible knowledge and deep sense of connection you would
have to the land and water if your family had been living on it for over 12,000 years.
The indigenous groups were seasonally sedentary, which means they didn’t stay in one place year-
round. They moved based on seasons and resource availability. Because of their connection and respect
for the land and water, they developed techniques and systems for harvesting resources that were
sustainable. White settlers did not respect this way of living and instead took control over the region by
displacing the indigenous communities, stealing their land, and building permanent places to live that
would eventually become our urban areas today.
This permanent approach to living resulted in intense resource extraction and pollution. As the
population grew, more pollution occurred until it reached a point where people realized, we need to
make some changes in order to keep people from getting sick. This is how the sewer system came to be.
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The settlers developed a system of pipes and eventually water treatment to manage their waste and
keep it away from where they were living.
Today we have a very extensive wastewater system that cleans water for almost 2 million people. This
system and the people it serves reside on Coast Salish Tribal land, here at Brightwater we stand on the
historical lands of the Snohomish people and their successors the Tulalip Tribes. This area is still home
to many Native Americans, who continue to be the stewards of the land and water.”
11. Before we do anything else, we need to understand what exactly the community was putting into the
lake after using the water. To understand what we mean by “wastewater”, we’ll start by brainstorming
all the things that go down drains INSIDE of buildings.
12. Students turn to page 2 of their journals.
13. Start off with a few examples or have students share a couple of examples (soap from when you wash
your hands, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc.).
14. At tables, students brainstorm all the things that go What is Wastewater?
down the toilets, sinks, and other drains inside of
schools, homes, and businesses. Page 2 of the journal is • A sewer is the underground pipes that
take wastewater or sewage from buildings
organized in columns by drains to help students think of to treatment plants.
all the various things that go into the pipes. • A stormdrain is the underground pipes
15. All of this stuff mixed together is what we call that takes rainwater or stormwater to the
“wastewater”. You may have heard the word sewage nearest body of water.
before. These words mean the same thing. • A combined sewer is an underground
16. Add “wastewater” to the word bank on the whiteboard. system of pipes that carries both
wastewater and stormwater to the
17. On the tv showing the 4 categories of substances in the treatment plant.
wastewater. Go through the 4 categories. Take student
volunteers to read the categories, one at a time and
have students share a couple of examples for each.
a. Before treatment plants were built, all of the trash, organics, chemicals, and germs were going
straight into the lake.
18. Have students read the problem statement: “If wastewater goes untreated it is a health issue for
plants, animals, and humans.”
a. We’ll look at how untreated water impacts human health and environmental health, and figure
out how we can make choices that keep our water clean and our water systems working.
19. Show a picture of Lake Washington now. What do you notice?
20. This is Lake Washington today. Local people were able to identify an urban problem and come up with
solutions to help fix the dirty water, polluted lake but it's not a perfect solution.
21. To understand how we got to here from there (the 1958 photo) we will be exploring and researching
the wastewater treatment plant and other processes to help us understand what was done and what
problems still exist that all of us can help to fix. We will split back into our field groups; one half will
head out to the treatment plant while the other half of the class is going to stay here in the classroom
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and do a wastewater challenge to see if they can build a simple system to treat some model
wastewater we will create. After lunch, we’ll switch so everyone will get to do the same activities.
22. One group leaves to explore the treatment plant while one stays behind for the wastewater lab portion
of the lesson
TREATMENT PLANT EXPLORATION, (75 minutes) Journal Page 4 and 5

• Developing and using models • ETS1.A: Defining and delimiting • Systems and system models
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating engineering problems • Structure and Function
information • ETS1.B: Developing possible solutions
• Planning and Carrying out Investigations • Human Impacts on Earth Systems Connections to Engineering, Technology,
Developing Possible Solutions and Applications of Science
• Influence of Science, Engineering, and
Technology on Society and the Natural
World
Learning Target: “If wastewater goes uncleaned it is health issue for plants, animals, and people.”
A. Treatment Plant Exploration (1.25 hours)

Engineers have designed this place to take care of many different problems associated with
wastewater. The purpose of the tour is to visit several different places on the plant and figure out how
engineers have designed solutions to problems. At each spot, students will record the problem and the
solution.
1. Students will explore the treatment plant to obtain information about how engineers developed
solutions to removing, trash, germs, organics, and chemicals from the wastewater.
2. All students will need to wear three pieces of safety gear: safety glasses, yellow hard hat, and high
visibility vest. After students have geared up for the treatment plant, gather them and go over the
following safety rules.
3. Safety Gear: Set expectation and explain what is going to happen before leaving the classroom. Please
help and ask other adults to help students put on their gear. Form a line of students. One adult put
vest on students, second adult puts hard hats, glasses them immediately walk outside.
1. Noise Note: noise carries to upstairs and to the back of the office spaces where people are
working easily. Student must use indoor voices and move quickly through this zone.
After students have geared up for the treatment plant, gather them up and go over the following safety rules:
Treatment Plant Safety: Required to review with students before starting the tour.
1. This is the last chance for the next hour or so to use the restroom.
2. Hardhats, vests and safety glasses must be worn the entire time and should be held when looking
over tanks.
3. Have students in their group find a buddy and make sure they have all their safety gear on properly.
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4. Close-toed shoes are an absolute requirement for the treatment plant, no exceptions.
5. Shoes must be tied, and care must be taken when walking; there are tripping hazards.
6. Do not touch any buttons, dials, switches or levers.
7. The instructor will be the leader of the group, so everyone must stay behind him/her.
8. One chaperone will be at the end of the group to make sure everyone is together.
9. Once the tour starts, students and chaperones will not be able to leave the tour group until the tour
is over except for in emergency situations.
10. If your students need to cover their nose due to the smell, they should use their elbow or clothing, not
their bare hands.
11. This space is an industrial place, and a place where people are working. Students much keep their
hands to themselves the entire time, and any type of rough housing is not allowed.
Before entering the Treatment Plant:

1. Students turn to page 5 in journal. Students may draw and label or
write the answer to their journal.
2. Have students fill out the four categories of waste we will be
exploring.
3. During this tour we will be visiting several different places to help
you understand why wastewater is so difficult to clean and how
engineers and scientist have solved this problem.
4. If you have not already. Create Engineers Teams (small groups of 3-
4 students). Remind students that they will be working together
with their engineering teaming throughout the day.
Pink bolted tops or near here:

1. Have students stop just before the trash room on one of the large pink bolted tops
a. What students what they can feel under their feet?
b. Explain that this is where all the water is entering the treatment plant. We clean 80 million
gallons of water a day. That’s like 130 Olympic size swimming pools of water!
Safety on the Treatment Plant:
• When you leave the pink bolted top, you must cross a road, look both ways- gather group and act as a
crossing guard.
• Avoid anyone walking on the silver covered tops.
• Start Stop 1 on the sidewalk across from the trash room
Stop 1: Trash Removal

1. Before you enter the trash room: Circle the group out across from the trash room or overhanging area
if it is raining.
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2. Ask a student to read the Problem: People flush all kinds of trash that clogs pipes. How do they get
the trash out of the water? Draw and Label in the box.
3. What is the engineered solution for removing the trash?
a. Have students turn and talk with buddies with options before they see the screens. Ask
students to share out.
b. Show students a picture of the trash screen and explain how it works.
4. Students record the SOLUTION in their journal – Ex: “the trash screen removes anything larger than
the holes.” Students can draw and/or describe the screen but if drawing, should also add labels to
show how it works.
5. In the trash room: Question to ask students while in the trash room:
a. Where did all that trash come from? Who flushed all that flush? Can you identify any specific
type of trash?
6. Outside the trash room on the sidewalk: Show picture of clogged pump. Opportunity to teach students
about the 4P’s.
a. Pee, Poop, Puke, T.P are the only thing you should be flushing
Transition on sidewalk:
7. Show students the influent sample. This is what wastewater looks like- Is anyone surprised by this?
8. This is what the water looks like after the trash has been removed.
Safety on the Treatment Plant
• Remind students before entering the primary tank area to make sure their hardhats are on tight.
• When you stop at the end of primary to pass out the gravity models of wastewater arrange students
with their back to wall. Educators should stand with back to the railing and address the group.
• Stop as a group once you walk down the stairs from primary, and act as a crossing guard to cross the
road to aeration, waving your group through. Do not stop and gather the group to share information
in the road.
Stop 2: Organics (Primary Treatment)

1. Before entering the primary tanks: Ask a student to read the Problem: “The water is full of food, food,
and other small chunks. What do you observe happening in the model? “
a. Explain to students that you’re not going to give them the answer we are going to use our
observation skills to try and figure out how engineers are removing the poop and food.
2. Enter the primary tanks: Give students a minute to look at the tanks of water around them- can they
figure it out?
a. What do you observe happening in the tanks? What do you think the solution would be to get
the organics out of the water?
3. Pass out the models of wastewater (the containers with sand, water, and oil) and ask the groups to
shake the containers and then hold them still.
a. What is happening in this model as the water sits?
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b. What is collecting at the top?
c. What is collecting at the bottom?
d. Where is the cleanest water?
4. This is combination of density and gravity acting on the materials in the wastewater.
5. Show students the diagram that details the scum removal process. The same three layers should be
observable on the diagram and in the models.
6. Explain the SOLUTION: Engineers let the water sit still, the heavy materials sink and the lighter
materials float to the surface. These materials are scraped off and sent to be processed into
biosolids.
7. Students should/ draw or describe the engineer solution.

1. At the bottom on the stair at the end of primary there is a road, be sure to look both ways before
crossing and watch to make sure everyone crosses.
2. Instruct them to keep their feet on the concrete and stay in a single file line as you walk out onto
the Microbe hot tub platform. Student’s feet must stay on concrete.
3. Students are not allowed to walk on the silver covered tops.
Stop 3: Microbe Hot Tub

1. Once the students have had a minute or two to look at the water- start a conversation with the
students.
a. What do you notice about the water? Color
b. How does it look different from the last tank of water we just saw?
c. What is moving the water around like that? Air
2. Ask a student to read: “PROBLEM: there are bacteria in the water that are harmful to people, plants
and animals. How do the microbes help? Draw the food chain in the microbe hot tub.
3. Show students the pictures of the microbe’s food chain and/ or microscope pictures. If they’ve already
done the lab, they should look familiar. If not, explain that you’ll be examining a sample back in the lab
when you return.
4. Explain the SOLUTION: We send the wastewater into the Microbe Hot Tub so that the microbes can
consume the bacteria who are consuming the remaining organics.
5. Students should draw and describe the engineering solution.
6. There is a lot of bacteria in the water. Do you think we can send them back to Puget Sound with the
water? No- we need to remove them.
b. If bacteria need air and a warm environment to survive what would happen when we take
those things away? They become doormat and sink the bottom where we collect them and can
reuses them.
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1. Multiple road crossing around clarifiers. Continue to keep your group close and act as a crossing guard.
Stop 4: Back to the Water Cycle

1. Ask a student to read: PROBLEM: The microbes need to be removed from the water because they
could cause health problems in the ocean. How do we separate them from the water?
2. Have students look over the railing of the clarifier tank, what do they notice?
3. Explain the SOLUTION: Engineers have taken the air away from the microbes. When they don’t a lot
of air, they get sleep and clump together in flocks and sink to the bottom of the tank.
4. Show students image of the bottom of the tank and the Chemicals. For Educator Knowledge:
flocs of sleepy bacteria.
5. Students should draw and describe the engineering Wastewater treatment plant were not
solution. designed to remove all the chemicals in our
water. Everyday there are trace levels of
6. Show students the sample of water leave the plant
chemicals that make it back to the Puget
compared to the other two samples (influents, effluent,
Sound. Specifically things like complex
and primary)
chemicals, like pharmaceuticals are hard for
a. Which category is still in here that we cannot see? us to remove. The permits that require
b. Which category didn’t we talk about yet? wastewater treatment plants to clean their
c. Where does this water go again? Puget Sound. water to specific standard to not include
d. Is this water leaving this plant drinking water? No chemicals.
Nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients are

Stop 5: Recycled Water and Poop
intentionally left in the water as the water
1. Arrange your group in a comfortable place in the
that leaves the plant can be diverted into
demonstration garden. recycled water pipes which helps support
2. Ask a student to read: What two resources are recycled plant growth in the places that purchase the
during the treatment process. water. Trace levels of other chemicals do
1. Talk to your engineering team about what two make it through.
resources we have created. Students share out outside testers check for pharmaceuticals.
their answers. Water and Biosolids. Our permits do not require treatment of
3. Remember all the stuff that went to the bottom of the chemicals as they were not designed to do
tank. so.
1. Show settling model. Point out the bottom layer. 50% of nitrates in puget sound come from
4. All of that stuff gets cooked in a giant oven wastewater treatment plants and the rest
1. Show picture of Digestor. come from non-point sources---EPA and
2. All that materials become Biosolid, show sample. new permit as of Jan 2023, reason for
5. Give students a small handful of compost made with construction project at BW
biosolid to observe.
6. We make a fertilizer out of it. What might that fertilizer be used for?
a. Growing plants and growing food
b. What kind of food? Apples, wheat, trees, canola
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7. What else could we use this water used for? Recycled Water.
1. Purple is the color for recycled water. Looking at your journal what else do we use that water
for? Answer: Watering plants, watering soccer fields, golf courses, cleaning streets, flushing
toilets.
WASTEWATER LAB (75 minutes) Pages 3, and 7

• Planning and carrying out investigations • ESS3.C: Human impacts on Earth Systems • Cause and effect
• Engaging in argument from evidence •
• Analyzing and interpreting data
Problem Statement: If wastewater goes uncleaned it is a health issue for plants, animals, and people.
1. Have students take a seat or rearrange in the center of the room if needed.
2. Remind students of the learning target for the day and how this lab activity connects to it. a. We are going
to use the engineering design process and practice the same skills engineers do everyday. Refer to the
Engineering Design process (EDP) as needed.
3. Next, have students stand-up and leave their journals at the table and gather around the table. We are
going to make a model of wastewater.
4. With the students, revisit and review what kind of stuff ends up in our sewers. There are four main
groups of substances that are typically found in sewage:
5. Mix the following items:
a. Trash: Paper towels or Flushable wipes
b. Organics: Potting soil
c. Germs: Salt
d. Chemicals: Mouth wash
6. Students go back to their assigned tables.
7. Remind students of the learning target. Your goal today is to get this wastewater as clean as possible
with your engineering team. (Hold up a wastewater sample cup of water)
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8. What are our criteria for success? What should our sample
cup look like if we were successful? What do Engineers, What does it mean to be “clean”?
Operators, and you have to think about when you clean -Even if our water is clear, it does not mean
wastewater? Add a brainstormed list to the whiteboard. that it is clean. Some things that can be
harmful to people, plants, and animals are
9. Guide students to the following three criteria for success:
too small to see like germs and chemicals.
a. CLEAR - you need to have the clearest water -Water sanitation looks different or may not
possible. accessible around the world. Many countries
b. VOLUME - you need to clean all the water. If you drink, bathe and play in water that is not up
to the same water quality standards
spill the water on your station, that is like spilling
wastewater into Lake Washington.
10. Based on what we’ve learned so far today, your job as a group is to think of ways that we can solve
some of the wastewater problems. When engineers come up with solutions to problems, there are
limits to what they can do. We call these limitations or constraints. These are things like money and
time that we must consider when thinking of a solution.
a. Some examples of constraints or limitations include:
i. Money - how much will it cost to build or operate this?
ii. Tools – what tools and knowledge do you have access to?
iii. Time – how much time do you have to clean the water?
iv. Realistic – we want to find solutions that may be possible in the real world. Send
wastewater in a rocket to the moon wouldn’t be very realistic (for example)!
11. Guide students to the following constraints:
1. TIME - 4 minutes. Water never stops coming to the treatment plant. You need to be able to
treat clean the water quickly. Students will have 4 minutes to use the tools to get the water as
clean as possible.
2. TOOLS – you will be able to choose 3 tools from the following.
1. Spoon, fork, extra cup, sponge, strainer (write on board)
12. Groups are given 5-6 minutes (depending on time) to work together to pick which 3 tools they would
like to use to develop a solution. Record plan in journal on page 3.
a. Note docking station on each table and the role they play.
13. Educator begins to fill up the wastewater sample cup from the wastewater model for each group while
students make a plan.
14. The educator is in charge of passing out the 3 tools. Each group must agree and explain to the educator
or chaperone how they are going to use the tool before the educator will give the tools to the group.
a. Remind students they are not allowed to start until the timer has been started.
15. After Trail #1:
a. Ask students to bring trial #1 cup back to their table and record their results in their journal.
b. Whole class discussion: How did it go? Ask one representative to share/ present out to class.
What tools worked? Which tools didn’t work?
c. Are you happy with how the water looks? Do you have any idea about how you could do better
next time?
d. Set Trail #1 cup aside.
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16. The educator collects the dirty tools and empty wastewater Sample cups. The Wastewater sample
cups need to be refilled with dirty water.
a. Note this can be started as soon as students start recording in the journals
17. We have an opportunity to try this again and do a redesign. Reference the EDP. You can pick 3 tools;
they can be the same tools used with a different method or a different combination of tools.
18. Groups are given 4 minutes to work together to pick which 3 tools they would like to use to develop a
redesign. Record plan in journal on page 3.
19. After Trail #2
a. Ask students to being trial #2 cup back to their table and record the result in their journal.
b. Whole class discussion: How does the result of trial 2 compare to trial 1? Have groups share/
present out.
c. Which category of the four were the easiest to remove? What might still be left in the water?
20. The educator collects the dirty tools and empty Wastewater Sample cups.
a. Note this can be started as soon as students start recording in the journals.
21. Trial #3 (if time)
a. Depending on time, you can give the student a
opportunity to do this a third time. CLEAN UP REMINDER-
22. Clean up/ Transition: Ask other adults for support
a. The educator will need to lead the rinsing and resetting This must be done before the
educators can take lunch. The
on the trail cups at the sink.
other half of the group need to use
b. Ask one group at a time to come up to the sink and dumb
all these materials after lunch so it
out their sample cups. is in your best interested to have
c. This clean/ re-set can be done once the students start the students, and chaperones help
their lab station in the next section. you!
Wastewater Lab stations: (20 mins)

1. Have students take a seat and turn to page 7 in their journal. Refocus the class on the next activity.
2. Connect the lab activities to the learning target.
a. Now we are going to work together on a lab stations to understand more about other common
wastewater problems. We will learn how to make choices we can make to help solve these
problems.
3. After the students have completed both stations, bring them back to their tables.
Lab Station Details:
Page | 16
1. Chemicals- How do we choose the chemicals we put
Water lab tips:
down the drain and why?
a. Students will plan and/or carry out an  If possible, place at least one adult at
investigation to test three different cleaners, each lab station to remain there for each
a “natural, biodegradable” cleaner, a rotation.
standard chemical cleaner, and a homemade  The lipstick can be messy!
cleaner. Writing with lipstick on a Demonstrating how big of a letter to
write and making it clear not to press too
whiteboard, they’ll follow a (or if students are
hard can make cleanup easier and will
in middle school, develop their own) simple help our materials last longer.
procedure to test the efficacy of these
cleaners by analyzing their data and engaging in arguments about which type of cleaner is right
for their school.
CONCLUSION (15 - 30 minutes)
Learning Target: “If wastewater goes uncleaned it is a health issue for plants, animals and people.”

• Developing and using models • ESS3.C: Human impacts on Earth systems • Cause and effect
• Constructing Explanations and designing • ETS1.B: Developing possible solutions
solutions • ETS1.C: Optimizing the design solution
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating
information
*The conclusion can take place with both groups together or can be in a separate location (for example, it
could happen in the classroom or in an outdoor space, like the Demonstration Garden or picnic pavilion if
weather permits). While it’s important to have a debrief conversation of the day, the amount of time available
will dictate what form it takes. We’re presenting a couple of different options here that can, of course, be
modified to fit.
(15 minutes or less)
1. Gather the group in a comfortable location.

2. Revisit the problem statement: “If wastewater goes uncleaned it is a health issue for plants, animals,
and people.”
3. Turn and talk
1. What is one thing that you learned today that you’d like to share with someone else?
Page | 17
4. Share out with the larger group
5. Turn and talk - What is one thing that you can do to help keep our water clean?
6. If time, have student find blank page in journal and compete a water pledge or write what they learned
on field trip today.
Page | 18
Appendix I: General Background Information
South Plant Detailed Treatment Process Description
Check out this video to learn more about the basics of wastewater and see the South Plant system:
Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour
Detailed Treatment Process Description
South Treatment Plant in Renton was completed in 1968. It services residential, commercial, and industrial
areas of South King County, including Renton, Kent, Auburn, Black Diamond, South Seattle, West Seattle,
Bellevue, and Issaquah. South Plant has the capacity to treat 210 million gallons of wastewater per day
(MGD). On average South Plant Treats 80 million gallons per day. South Plant treats the water moving
through the facility and the solids removed from the water.
Treating the Water

Water entering the treatment facility is called influent. It contains trash, grit, organic solids (food from
garbage disposals, fecal matter, etc.), microorganisms, and some chemicals. These contaminants are removed
in order of largest to smallest, heaviest to lightest. The water takes about 12 hours to go through the entire
treatment process. Once the water is treated it is called effluent and SOME of the water is used as reclaimed
water at industrial and commercial sites. Surplus effluent is transported through a 13 miles long pipe to the
Puget Sound.
Preliminary Treatment:
Trash Removal: Things such as ‘flushable’ wipes, paper towels, band-aids, hair, tissues, and floss are often
inappropriately flushed and enter the wastewater. Trash is problematic in the wastewater system because it
does not break down in the sewer pipes and can cause clogs in pipes or damage pumps and cause overflows
to streets or lakes. Trash is removed by perforated steel plates that act as filters. This trash is then loaded into
Page | 19
trucks and hauled to a landfill in Eastern Oregon. South Plant produces about two truckload of trash per
week.
Grit Removal: Dirt and grit enter wastewater through cracks in the sewer pipes. Grit is problematic in the
treatment plant because it can damage the machinery. Wastewater is aerated to help grit settle to the bottom
where it is removed and hauled to the landfill. This process is like a hot tub: air and turbulence keep organic
waste suspended in the water and gravity causes the heaviest particles (rocks, dirt, sand, etc.) to fall to the
bottom.
Primary Treatment: Settling Tanks

Primary treatment is the process during which most of the suspended solids settle out of the wastewater.
Gravity causes the larger, denser, solids to settle to the bottom while the lighter greases and oils float to the
top, leaving the cleanest water in the middle. Scum skimmers scrape off the top layer of grease and oil while
scrapers remove the solids that have settled to the bottom. These materials are sent to the beginning of the
solids treatment process, in which the organic material is converted into methane and fertilizer. (Please
review ‘Treating the Solids’ section in this document.) After the water goes through primary treatment, 60% of
the solids have been removed. Up until the 1950s, this is all that was done to treat most wastewater. This
caused problems in our aquatic ecosystems because the wastewater was discharged into nearby Lake
Washington and Puget Sound. When wastewater is discharged into the surrounding waterways, it overloads
them with organic material and nutrients. These nutrients act like fertilizer and cause algae and other aquatic
microorganisms to grow very rapidly. When those organisms complete their life cycle and die, the natural
process of decomposition begins. Decomposition requires oxygen, and because there is so much organic
material decomposing, all the oxygen in the water gets used up. As a result, many of the living things in the
water do not have enough oxygen to survive, and the lake experiences a population crash. Once this has
occurred, it is very difficult to restore the balance to the aquatic ecosystem.
Secondary Treatment:
Aeration: Secondary treatment is the process where soluble substances and fine particles not already removed
at primary treatment are removed. This is a two-step process. First, the wastewater is aerated with warm air,
which encourages aerobic bacteria growth. The bacteria-rich water is called ‘activated sludge.’ The bacteria,
which naturally exist in freshwater systems, are given an optimal environment for growth. They eat and
metabolize the soluble organic material back down into its basic components: nitrogen compounds, carbon
dioxide and water, and cause the fine particles of insoluble material to clump. No solids are removed in the
aeration process. The aeration process mimics the same decomposition process that is occurring in natural
systems, but it is accelerated and magnified by the introduction of massive amounts of oxygen. In the natural
world, the rate of decomposition is limited by the amount of oxygen in the water, and ultimately the amount
of waste in the water exceeds the amount of oxygen available to help break it down, creating an imbalance in
the system. In addition to decomposition, the bacteria also help the remaining fine particles clump together,
making them easier to filter out in the next step of secondary treatment.
Secondary Clarifiers: Once the activated water leaves the aeration tank, it enters the clarifier basins. There is
no longer warm air being pumped through this water. This allows the heavier and large particles to settle to
the bottom of the clarifier. The growth of the bacteria in the previous step is stopped due to the lack of
air. Bacteria begin to clump together in flocks and sink to the bottom. This sludge is recycled back into the
aeration basin or wasted to the anerobic digestors (see treatment of solids for more information).
Disinfection: The final step of the water treatment is to kill enough of the remaining pathogens in the effluent
to comply with water quality discharge permits. Sodium hypochlorite, a chemical similar to bleach, is used to
Page | 20
disinfect the water. Effluent is highly regulated and tested on a regular basis. Fecal coliforms are monitored
and used as an indicator to signal the possible presence of other bacteria and pathogens in the effluent.
Recycled Water:
A portion of the water at South Plant goes through final step of treatment, called Sand filtration. Sand
Filtration is a process in which the treatment of the water is realized by the 'porous' nature of a sand layer
which traps particles present in water. 100 million gallons of Recycled water are produced each year at South
Plant.
Treating the Solids

Organic solids are removed from wastewater during primary and secondary treatment. These solids are mixed
with polymer, an additive that helps the solids clump together and congeal, then sent into Dissolved Air
Floatation tanks (DAF tanks). Fine bubbles are pumped into DAF tanks and solid attach to those bubbles and
float to the surface. Those thickened solids are then scrapped off the top of the tank and sent to the digester.
processes to break down pathogens and organic material. This same anaerobic decomposition process
happens in the natural world at the bottoms of lakes where oxygen is in short supply. At South Plant, the
process is accelerated by adding heat to the system, allowing the bacteria to remain active. During this process
methane gas is released. At South Plant, this gas is combusted to produce heat for the digester and can be
sold to Puget Sound Energy as a natural gas to heat homes. Solids are constantly being added and removed,
but on average they remain in the digester for 30 days.
Once the solids leave the digester, they are sent through a centrifuge which removes most of the remaining
water. Polymer is added once again to help thicken and congeal the solids. The final product is called biosolids,
or cake. Biosolids are rich in nutrients that plants need to grow. Some of the biosolids are loaded into a truck
and sent to eastern Washington to be used in agriculture as fertilizer by farmers, some are applied to tree
farms or restoration projects in western Washington, and the rest is turned into a compost product called
GroCo that can be used for home landscapes and gardens. On average we product 600,000 wet tons of
biosolids each year.
Nitrogen Cycling in Wastewater

About 80% of the nitrogen that leaves the human body is in the form of urea. Urea is produced exclusively in
the liver. In wastewater, urea reacts with an enzyme called urease that is produced by certain species of
bacteria present in the water. This reaction produces carbamic acid that quickly decomposes to form ammonia
(NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Now we have to begin to worry about the nitrogen in the water since excess nitrogen is essentially fertilizer
and fertilizing the Puget Sound is a terrible idea. Basically, we want to create ideal conditions for the nitrogen
cycle to function so that the N in our ammonia can reenter the air as inert and harmless nitrogen gas (N2).
Step-by-step:
1. Ammonia + bacteria + oxygen = nitrite

2. Nitrite + oxygen + bacteria = nitrate (note that these two steps require oxygen)
3. Nitrate + organics in the wastewater + bacteria = nitrogen gas + oxygen
Page | 21
a. In this final step, the water passes into an anoxic zone, or an area of the plant with no oxygen.
This forces the bacteria to use the oxygen in the Nitrate (NO3), releasing the nitrogen as a gas.
Some additional resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment#Nitrogen_removal
http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org/nitrogen-metabolism.php (see the section on the Urea Cycle)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonia_volatilization_from_urea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_cycle
http://water.me.vccs.edu/courses/ENV211/lesson21_print.htm
Page | 22
Appendix II: Next Generation Science Standards
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are made up of Performance Expectations that incorporate three
dimensions: the science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. For more in-
depth information on the NGSS, visit the Equip or NSTA websites.
All three dimensions are used during the course of this program. To help educators recognize where we are using them,
the relevant dimensions are listed at the beginning of each lesson. In addition, the dimensions are color coded when
they show up in the text of the lesson. To keep it simple, full descriptions are not provided during the lesson, but below
you can find specifics for each category including where it is used. We do not list all the parts of each dimension; just
the specific grade 3-5 and/or 6-8 bullets relevant to this lesson.
The program also supports specific NGSS performance standards. These can be found listed at the end of this section.
Science and Engineering Practices

There are eight key “practices” that are essential to the work of scientists and engineers. They are not used in any
specific sequence, being applied as needed to build understanding (science) or solve problems (engineering). By
reinforcing these practices and making our use of them explicit during this program we help students see that THEY can
be scientists and that practices can be applied towards building understanding the real world.
Science and Engineering Practices Where is it used in our program?
Only the bullets for each practice that are relevant to this program are shown
Asking Questions and Defining Problems • The day begins with the defining of a problem
• Define a simple design problem that can be solved through the development related to urban water pollution in a lake.
of an object, tool, process, or system and includes several criteria for success • While we’re not developing investigable
and constraints on materials, time, or cost. questions as part of this program, students
• Ask questions that can be investigated and predict reasonable outcomes may develop their own questions that could
based on patterns such as cause and effect relationships. be investigated further back at school.
Developing and Using Models • Models are used to describe systems on the
• Develop and/or use models to describe and/or predict phenomena. treatment plant. Specifically, the membrane
• Develop a diagram or simple physical prototype to convey a proposed object, filter (stop 4) and the primary treatment
tool, or process. process (stop 2). A trash screen model is used
• Develop a model to generate data to test ideas about designed systems, during the Fatbergs! Lab station to observe
including those representing inputs and outputs. how the trash screen in the treatment plant
removes different types of trash.
• A community model (diagram) is used to help
understand the urban water pollution
problems that are being addressed.
• Inputs and outputs are identified on the
community model.
Planning and Carrying Out Investigations • In the wastewater lab, students carry out (or
• Make observations and/or measurements to produce data to serve as the plan and carry out) an investigation of
basis for evidence for an explanation of a phenomenon or test a design different chemical cleaners and also carry out
solution. an investigation of what happens to different
types of trash in wastewater.
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

• Use evidence (e.g., measurements, observations, patterns) to construct or • Students explain the impact that fatbergs
support an explanation. have on their community and the impact that
certain microbes have on human health.
Page | 23
• Apply scientific ideas to solve design problems. • Students apply their understanding of what
• Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well the treatment plant can and can’t do as they
they meet the criteria and constraints of the design solution. think about what problems they need to
solve.
• Students design multiple solutions to a
number of urban water quality issues using
their community models.
Engaging in Argument from Evidence • While deciding on possible solutions,
• Respectfully provide and receive critiques from peers about a proposed students argue within their groups about
procedure, explanation, or model by citing relevant evidence and posing which solutions will meet the criteria for
specific questions. success and decide on a solution or solutions
that will work for their community. Students
argue which chemical cleaner they would
choose to use in their school using evidence
from their investigation of each cleaner’s
efficacy.
Analyzing and Interpreting Data • Data is analyzed and interpreted during the
• Represent data in tables and/or various graphical displays (bar graphs, wastewater lab at the chemical cleaner and
pictographs, and/or pie charts) to reveal patterns that indicate relationships. fatberg stations.
• Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena, using logical • Graphical displays are analyzed in the exhibit
reasoning, mathematics, and/or computation. hall.
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information • Information is gathered by looking at current

[6-8] Integrate qualitative and/or quantitative scientific and/or technical information in and historical documents (the 1958 Metro
written text with that contained in media and visual displays to clarify claims and campaign poster and the current photo of
findings. Lake Washington.
• Information is obtained and evaluated during
the exhibit hall scavenger hunt from various
visual displays.
• The National Geographic Fatberg video
during the lab station is an example of
information gathered from video media.
• Students communicate information to each
other during lab debrief, exhibit hall debrief,
and discussions of community models and
designed solutions.
Crosscutting Concepts
“Crosscutting concepts have value because they provide students with connections and intellectual tools that are
related across the differing areas of disciplinary content and can enrich their application of practices and their
understanding of core ideas.” — Framework p. 233
Crosscutting Concepts Where is it used in our program?
Structure and Function

• [3-5] Substructures have shapes and parts that serve functions. • Students examine and interact with models of
• [6-8] Complex and Microscopic structures and systems can be different structures from the treatment plant to
visualized, modeled, and used to describe how their function understand how they function.
depends on the shapes, composition, and relationships among its • Students examine and illustrate the structure of
parts, therefore complex natural structures/systems can be microbial life that is in the wastewater.
analyzed to determine how they function.
Page | 24
Systems and System Models • At the end of the program, students use a
• [6-8] Models can be used to represent systems and their diagrammatic model of an urban system to
interactions—such as inputs, processes and outputs—and energy describe the different interactions within water
and matter flows within systems. systems, including inputs, outputs, and
• [3-5] A system can be described in terms of its components and outcomes.
their interactions. • Sub-systems of the treatment plant are explored
• [6-8] Systems may interact with other systems; they may have and described.
sub-systems and be a part of larger complex systems. [3-5] A • The treatment plant is put into context of the
system is a group of related parts that make up a whole and can larger treatment system and the functions it
carry out functions its individual parts cannot. serves.
Cause and Effect • Students examine causal relationships between

Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. the historical water quality issues in Lake
Deciphering causal relationships, and the mechanisms by which Washington and human water use.
they are mediated, is a major activity of science and engineering.
• [3-5] Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified,
tested, and used to explain change.
Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of
Science • Technologies within the treatment system are
examined as well as the limitations of the entire
Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and system in its ability to address urban water
the Natural World pollution. The economic realities of wastewater
• The uses of technologies and any limitations on their use are treatment are discussed and compared to the
driven by individual or societal needs, desires, and values; by the state of sanitation systems in other countries (in
findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors the exhibit hall).
as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions. • The consequences of human water use in an
• All human activity draws on natural resources and has both short urban system are a central topic to the program.
and long-term consequences, positive as well as negative, for the Impacts of human actions on water systems as
health of people and the natural environment. well as positive and negative impacts and their
effect on the health of people and the
environment are also central.
Page | 25
Disciplinary Core Ideas
This program benefits from knowledge the students come to the program with, but does not spend as much teaching
the knowledge as it does applying it. The examples in bold are the material we teach.
Disciplinary Core Ideas Where are these ideas used in our program?
ESS2.C The Roles of Water in the Earth’s Surface Processes

• The water cycle is the larger context that
• [6-8] Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via wastewater and stormwater systems are a part
transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and of.
precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land. (MS-ESS2-4).
ESS3.C Human impacts on Earth systems:

Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had major effects on
the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer space. But individuals and
communities are doing things to help protect Earth’s resources and environments. (5-
ESS3-1)
• [3-5] Human activities in agriculture, industry, and everyday life have had • Pollution of wastewater and stormwater is from
major effects on the land, vegetation, streams, ocean, air, and even outer human activities and cleaning them up are
space. But individuals and communities are doing things to help protect something we do to help protect water as a
Earth’s resources and environments. resource.
• [6-8] Typically as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural • The idea that increased consumption has
resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities
negative impacts is explored in the exhibit hall
and technologies involved are engineered otherwise.
scavenger hunt and is a part of why we have the
treatment plant at Brightwater.
Engineering Design Process:
ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems
• [3-5] Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and
resources (constraints). The success of a designed solution is determined by • Criteria and constraints on possible additional
considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals solutions (beyond the wastewater treatment
for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the
plant) are defined in the final activity of the day.
specified criteria for success or how well each takes the constraints into
account. (3-5-ETS1-1) [Treatment plant, chemical engineer lab portion]
• Students understanding of wastewater
• [6-8] The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be
treatment help them define the criteria for what
defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. else needs to be solved.
Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and
other relevant knowledge that is likely to limit possible solutions. (MS-ETS1-1)
[Treatment plant]
ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions • Their criteria and constraints are important in
• There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how helping students consider which possible
well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem. solutions they would propose (at the end of the
• Sometimes parts of different solutions can be combined to create a solution program)
that is better than any of its predecessors.
• Students can combine various solutions that
students come up with to meet multiple needs.
Page | 26
NGSS Performance Expectations
The following Next Generation Science Standards are supported by this lesson. This lesson reinforces the material in
these standards but does not replace the need for them to be learned and practiced more deeply in a larger curriculum.
Supported Performance Expectation How it is supported

3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes Students have an opportunity at the end of
specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. the program to define the problems that
are not solved by the Brightwater
MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient
Treatment Plant.
precision to ensure a successful solution, considering relevant scientific
principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment
that may limit possible solutions.
3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based Students have an opportunity to consider
on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the various ideas for solutions in the context of
problem. their criteria and constraints.
MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to A systematic process to consider criteria
determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. and constraints is not taught during the
lesson but students could use one if they
have previously learned it.
5-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use Treatment plants are a solution used by
science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment. many different communities trying to clean
up their wastewater.
MS-ESS3-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in Students do not construct this specific
human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact argument, but wastewater problems are a
Earth's systems. direct result of increases in human
population and per-capita consumption of
water.
Page | 27

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HUMANS AND THE WATER CYCLE PROGRAM

Educator Curriculum- South Plant

9:00 Educators Arrive and Set up Lab

10:00 School(s) arrive

10:15 Whole Group introduction in the Lab

10:50 See below for flow for each field group

12:30 See below for flow for each field group

1:40 Debrief/Conclusion conversation

2:00 Bus departs – wave goodbye! 2:00 Educators Clean Up

2:00 Educators Clean Up

2:30 Educators Post Program Discussion

3:00 Educators Depart

Group A Group B Group C Group D

Treatment Plant Lab Work Treatment Plant Lab Work

Lab work Treatment plant Lab Work Treatment plant

Group A Group B Group C Group D

20 mins Shared Introduction Shared Introduction

1 hour Treatment Plant Lab Work Treatment Plant Lab Work

25 mins Lunch Lunch

1 hour Lab work Treatment plant Lab Work Treatment plant

10-15 mins Conclusion/Debrief Conclusion/Debrief

Prep for the Day

• Backpack with 1st aid kit

Classroom Prep (see list of materials)

• Large clipboards, one per student, pencils sharpened

Science & Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Cross-Cutting Concepts

Background information for Educator:

FIELD GROUPS – 10 minutes

The two field groups then meet back up in the lab.

IN THE LAB (Introduction to wastewater and of history) – 25 minutes

TREATMENT PLANT EXPLORATION, (75 minutes) Journal Page 4 and 5

Science & Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Cross-Cutting Concepts

A. Treatment Plant Exploration (1.25 hours)

Before entering the Treatment Plant:

Pink bolted tops or near here:

Safety on the Treatment Plant:

Stop 1: Trash Removal

Safety on the Treatment Plant

Stop 2: Organics (Primary Treatment)

Safety on the Treatment Plant

Stop 3: Microbe Hot Tub

Stop 4: Back to the Water Cycle

Nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients are

WASTEWATER LAB (75 minutes) Pages 3, and 7

Science & Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Cross-Cutting Concepts

Wastewater Lab stations: (20 mins)

CONCLUSION (15 - 30 minutes)

Science & Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Cross-Cutting Concepts

(15 minutes or less)

1. Gather the group in a comfortable location.

Detailed Treatment Process Description

Treating the Water

Primary Treatment: Settling Tanks

Treating the Solids

Nitrogen Cycling in Wastewater

1. Ammonia + bacteria + oxygen = nitrite

Some additional resources:

http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org/nitrogen-metabolism.php (see the section on the Urea Cycle)

Science and Engineering Practices