A team of B´ÎÔª students took first place in the WEF Wastewater category at the Central States Water Environmental Association (CSWEA) Student Design Competition. They beat two other teams in their category and were among 13 teams competing in three categories. The team consisted of senior civil engineering students Alexis Countryman, Grace Cushing, Jack Ferrante, Brandon Garrido, Bennett Harris and Josh Kleinschmidt.

Their project involved designing a sanitary sewer system that spans six miles through the Village of Raymond in Racine County. The village does not currently have any sort of centralized wastewater system.

“Our project works to create the best design while considering the constraints that come with providing for a rural municipality such as Raymond,” explained Cushing. “The goal of the sanitary sewer system is to allow for more development in the area, as they are one of the few areas that is still using on-site treatment systems (i.e., septic tanks) within Southeastern Wisconsin. We presented on different alternatives we had developed as well as our decision process. The team has just started on the technical design this quarter, and we were able to share our progress at this competition.”

The competition required the team to provide a 20-minute presentation on their project as well as answer questions during at Q&A session. They were scored based on technical content and presentation skills. “It was challenging but rewarding to answer the questions that were posed by the judges who were industry professionals,” said Cushing.

As winners of the CSWEA Student Design Competition, their project will be published in the Central States Magazine and the team will compete in the national competition in New Orleans. Their work is not done yet, however. They plan to complete the design of their project this quarter and present it to a panel of jurors at the end of the spring term. They are also hoping to present the final design to the Village Board of Raymond.

Although this was not a requirement for their senior design project, it was a valuable event for the team. “It was a super rewarding experience. It was a great opportunity to present to industry professionals and represent B´ÎÔª in the Central States Water Environment Association. We worked really hard to make these projects successful, so it was great to know that the judges recognized that hard work,” said Cushing.