Modular Lake Water Sampler
Problem statement
Situated on an Isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona, Madison is deeply tied to the lakes that give it such a unique geography. The health of these lakes is essential to the residents of Madison, surrounding communities, and wildlife in the area. In charge of managing these complicated waterways is the Public Health of Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). As a part of their efforts, these organizations sample water in the Yahara lakes weekly, looking for contaminants, elevated nutrients levels, and bacteria/algae growth [1]. This data is crucial, because elevated levels of nutrients like phosphorus can lead to problems such as an abundance of toxic algae, fish deaths, and limited recreational activities [2]. Unfortunately, water sampling efforts are currently labor intensive and expensive for these organizations. Employees must be paid to travel around these massive lakes to specific areas to take samples. Although manually sampling the water does work, current systems do not sample these critical waterways enough. We intend to design an autonomous water sampling mechanism that can automatically and consistently produce the necessary water samples to allow these organizations to focus solely on solving the issues plaguing these lakes. It can be argued that creating an autonomous system may be more complicated than current sampling methods because individuals would have to be trained to use the equipment. However, our design would only require the current employee to set locations on the lake for sampling and then pick up the samples everyday after they have been collected. This would allow the employee’s efforts to be focused on more meaningful tasks such as analyzing the sample and processing the data. Time, money, and resources would certainly be saved if the current water sampling procedures were automated. Ultimately, our project will bolster the capabilities of the PHMDC and the DNR, while also helping to preserve and improve the lakes that are vital to the health of communities in and around Madison. [1] How We Monitor Beach Water Quality. Public Health Madison & Dane County. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2021, from https://www.publichealthmdc.com/environmental-health/beaches-lakes-pools/how-we-monitor-beach-water-quality. [2]“Water quality,” Water Sustainability and Climate, Nov. 07, 2016. https://wsc.limnology.wisc.edu/research/water-quality (accessed Oct. 01, 2021).
Team members 
Christina Josefina Rivas – leader
Jack Robert Valenti – communicator
Lucas Quinn – accountant
JungWoo(Jun) Choi – admin
Client
Mike Cheadle