Matthew Walloch

Project Abstract

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The Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources has had problems with algal blooms in a portion of Ozorea lake, which is located in Loganville, Georgia. Ozora lake is split into two parts with a bridge, one larger and deeper section and one shallower almost backfill of the other. The algal blooms happen on the smaller side of the reservoir. The lake itself was once surrounded by land that was primarily for algaculture use but is now mostly surrounded by suburbs of the local high school. There is a small inlet in this part of the lake and much aquatic life makes their home hear including beavers as well as many fish, insects, and amphibians. The algal blooms can cause harm to these populations and are indicative of other problems in the water as well, so finding the cause and controlling the blooms is the crux of our project and what the department pitch to us. The first approach that our group did was consult a variety of perspectives and empathizing with her viewpoints to understand the issue in its entirety. Then we reached out to professionals in their field to help determine the logistics of our problem and better define out How Might We Question: With the dilemma occurring at Ozora lake, how might we remove and prevent algal blooms without harming the wildlife that surrounds the body of water? By keeping this question in mind when determining our solutions we can better benefit the community as well as the local animal population. We had the most difficulties in defining the problem because of numerous possible solutions and the amount of research in order to understand. The easiest type was prototyping because the solutions are quite straightforward once we determine what they could be. Format the research our team gathered, we prototyped many solutions that could mitigate the algal blooms and prevent future ones from occurring. Some of the prototyped solutions were cages with barley stray, flocculation, and aeration. Some of these prototypical solutions were cages for barley straw, flocculation, aerations, and agitation of the water column. In order to decide what prototype was feasible or necessary, we needed to conduct testing. We worked with the water and soil department at the University of Georgia and the drone team to remotely collect water samples from the lake. These samples were then analyzed and found that there was a lack of magnesium in the water. This means that it’s necessary to add lime to the water and that we will pursue the barley straw option to mitigate the algae. This project taught us the components of design thinking and led us through each step with enough time to be fully prepared to present a solution, so it gave us all a more introspective view on how to tackle a professional issue.