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CENTENNIAL HONORS COLLEGE Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day 2016 PosterPresentation TheEffectivenessofaHomemadeWaterFilterComparedtoaStoreBoughtFilter JodyBeckman,DarionScanlan,DarbyShaw,BridgetWilliams,&KylieWilson FacultyMentors:BrianDavies,BrianPeer,&KayTsai Biology Contaminant-freewaterisanimportanthealthissueandhasbeeninthespotlightrecently.Wewanted todeterminewhetherwecouldcreateourownwaterfilteroutofeasilyobtainedmaterialsthatcould rival the efficiency of store-bought filters. We tested three different filters, one was store bought and the other two made from household materials. We obtained water samples from Spring Lake and CurrensHallatWIU.Weranthesesamplesthroughallthreefilterstodeterminetheireffectivenessat removingnitrates,totalandsuspendedsolids,andbacteriaandcomparedtheseresultstotheunfiltered control samples. Nitrate levels increased after filtration, but remained below 10 ppm in all samples. Water samples were also plated on agar gel and bacterial colonies were counted after 48 hours. Our resultssuggestthatnosinglefilterconsistentlyperformedbetterthantheothers.Additionaltestingis requiredtomakeanyconclusivedeterminations.