ENVS 350A: STEP Water

STEP: Water engages students with learning opportunities presented by a multidisciplinary group of faculty and on-the-ground experts. Students study historical and current water resource issues at multiple scales. They design and implement projects on campus or in the community to help solve water-related challenges.

Spring 2017 STEP: Water Syllabus

Some lecture topics:

• water sanitation,
• issues in the Great Lakes,
• water policy,
• public health and water-related infectious diseases,
• spiritual implications of water,
• history of water infrastructure in Chicago,
• water and agriculture,
• water and ecosystems,
• dam and dam removal,
• water and climate change adaptation,
• stormwater management, and
• social justice and water access.

Readings:

Readings include scientific studies, government reports and book excerpts highlighting historical and contemporary challenges in water resource management.

Examples of labs, field trips and film discussions:

• mapping water resources using GIS,
• Chicago Metropolitan Water Reclamation District,
• Evanston Water Treatment Plant, and
• stream quality assessment with Friends of the Chicago River.

Here are some examples of student projects. Students:

• Developed an Aquaponics system for sustainable fish farming.
• Piloted a living machine for waste nutrient removal.
• Studied emerging contaminants in drinking water and aquatic ecosystems.
• Studied irrigation and rainwater collection.
• Studied water conservation on campus.
• Studied stormwater management and sustainable landscaping.
• Audited water fixtures in Loyola residence halls to identify which to upgrade to conserve water.
• Created a stormwater educational video for use by an after school program.
• Investigated microfiber plastic pollution in waterways and produced a white paper summarizing potential policy, manufacturing, and consumer-based solutions.

For more information, contact STEP Coordinator Tania Schusler.