Our CEE 398 project-based learning team recognized that the sports complex at First and Stadium does not have aapparent and plentiful supply of public water. We wanted to find the effect this problem has on the students that use the facilities on a regular basis. In order to improve our understanding of the issue: we have conducted several observations,  analyzed the site design plans, reached out to the facilities managers of several prominent, researched on the various effects of chronic dehydration and heat-related illnesses, and we have spoken with several UIUC Recreational Facilities Management Staff lending us insight into the various design aspects of our athletic facilities. It has become clear that there is a need for additional water amenities at the First and Stadium Sports Complex. Universities of the same caliber tend to have a greater access to water at their outdoor recreation facilities. Based on these comparisons, the average 785 students who attend the sports complex on a daily basis cannot be efficiently serviced by the single fountain. Additionally, we have observed that students simply do not use the water fountain present at the sports complex. Finally, we have linked chronic dehydration with a number of effects to include prolonging illness and a reduction in focus and mental capabilities. The case study finalized in various solutions. Of course more water fountains could increase the water supply, but the student body must be aided and educated to use the resources if they were implemented. Therefore, simple renovations and education could be a mitigating solution to help increase usage of the existing water fountain. 

As of 2015, the Princeton review has ranked the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign third in the nation with regards to its sports and recreational facilities. However, there is always room for improvement. Our assertion is that a more readily available supply of water by sports and recreational facilities at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign would increase the wellness and safety of our students. It appears that students are not staying hydrated while using the First and Stadium Playfield Multiplex. According to the NCAA suggests athletes need an average of eight ounces of water for every 15 minutes of exercise performed (NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook, 2013).  Currently, there is only one water fountain at the Multiplex, and only two outdoor water fountains on the entire campus. Campus Recreation Operations reports an average of 785 individuals exercise UIUC outdoor recreational facilities daily, but only 25-30 bottles of water are collected from facility trash receptacles on any given day (Terry Elmore, email correspondence, October 2015). This low number of bottles suggests that athletes are possibly not staying hydrated. There are major concerns for dehydration that are often overlooked. Chronic dehydration can impair cognitive performance, cause headaches, fatigue, weight gain, digestive problems, kidney stones, depression, and kidney cancer. Dehydration combined with inflammation impairs the immune system, contributing also to autoimmune disease (New Vision, 2013). All these factors have a negative impact on the athleticism, wellness, and academic prowess of a given student. (Kempt et al. 2010) (Ottewell, 2002) These negative effects can have a lasting cost to the University through medical care and damage the academic standards of student athletes.

Through our case study, we hope to achieve multiple goals and ultimately give a solution to bring lasting changes to the First and Stadium turf fields. The primary concern for our project is understanding and protecting student health. Any advancement in student health will reduce medical costs and improve the academic standards of the university. We want to insure that there is adequate water available publicly and students use the resources available. To accomplish this overall goal, we will determine how much students drink water when excerising and how they get the water. Based upon our findings, we then hope to add infrastructure to help and promote student usage. By adding infrastructure to the facilities, we will also promote sustainable practices by reducing the disposal of plastic bottles. Further access to water would discourage the use of disposable water bottles, lower litter and municipal waste in landfills, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint. (Schuler 2015) These improvements will improve the overall quality of sports facilities and therefore promoting healthy habits and help recruitment efforts. By improving access to water, the facilities will have more to boast of, which may become statistically available online. Additional fountains will raise UIUC athletic facility rankings on peer review services, such as the Princeton Review, a highly referenced source. (Princeton Review, 2015) 

To follow objectives of this feasibility study we wanted to complete multiple tasks.

With regards to the scope of our project, increasing access to water resources at the turf fields, our team would begin by collecting datum from the turf fields on their capacity, use, and attendance rate. This can be accomplished by meeting with the facility coordinator, by performing a physical analysis of the guests attendance between key hours, and by researching documentation any previous work performed on the field. Data collection involves visiting the fields personally then counting both the number of people in attendance and noting the use of the water fountain. Wherein meeting with facility coordinators involves scheduling and attending meetings with those responsible for the proper functioning of the facilities which provides a platform to gain personal knowledge on the functioning of the facilities. Individuals that we would meet with include but are not limited to Mrs. Robyn Deterding, the facility coordinator for this campus; and Ms. Terry Elmor, another member of the staff responsible for student recreational activities. In an effort to broaden our knowledge of other contemporary athletic facilities we will also reach out to the recreational and facility staff through email and phone call to ascertain what level of access to drinking water other universities contain at their outdoor facilities. Finally, research involves both utilizing personal connections created in meeting with facility coordinators, and analyzing the documentation contained in the engineering library among other places to find documents detailing any past projects undertaken at the fields.

The second task would involve previous site plan review and city code review with relation to the turf fields as to identify what utilities exist, the location of various aspects of the fields, and any regulations or codes pertaining to the turf fields as to identify wether or not it is physically and legally possible to construct additional water amenities at the location. Review of these sets of data would help to determine if there are some factors affecting the way in which this project would be completed and how to work around those roadblocks should they exist. The municiple code for champaign is available online which would contain information as to the legal specifications of the addition of amenities. Both Champain and Urbana's municipal code will be utilized in our research, we also posses the capabilities to inspect the municipal code of other college towns to cross reference their standards with our own. The site plans can be found by contacting Ms. Morgan Johnston or some other member of the Facilities and Services staff here. While reviewing the First and Stadium Sports Multiplex site plans we will specifically be looking at the existing utilities there in order to find where it is impossible to place water lines due to spacing conflicts, and where water lines exist that we could possibly tie new drinking amenities into.

The last task that would need to be completed would be an analysis of the materials that would meet a given budget while remaining durable and giving the final project some longevity thus making the project possible from an economic standpoint. This would require researching the various physical object that would be required to build the addition, as well as what the market has to offer in terms of the variation in material, texture, production quality, among other things for those specific objects. This information can be gathered directly from various producers by telephone, email, or website. Compiling this information would allow for a basic estimate of the cost of undertaking such a project.

Preliminary Results and Discussion

In our project, we began by conducting several observations of the Sports Multiplex on First and Stadium. To deepen our understanding, we analyzed the site design plans for the Sports Multiplex, reached out to facilities managers of prominent Universities to gather information on their athletic facilities amenities, we have performed research on the various affects of chronic dehydration and heat related and we and spoke with several UIUC Recreational Facilities Management Staff about design aspects of UIUC athletic facilities. Finally we have performed academic research into the various effects of chronic dehydration on athletes.

Multiplex Water Fountain Use Patterns:

While conducting observations on the sports multiplex, we found that the fields are busiest on weekends and weekdays between 4:00pm and 10:00pm. Field observation shows that approximately one-hundred guests are inattendance at the fields at a time during peak hours. From 5:00-6:00pm, approximately 10% of the students used the drinking fountain. During our 9:00 to 10:00pm observations, no students were seen utilizing the drinking fountain.This could be for any number of reasons, however, though cause and effect might not be easily determined it is in our best interest to attempt to remedy the situation perhaps starting with some of the solutions offered in this feasiblitiy study. Below is an image taken from one of our 9:00 to 10:00pm observation sessions. This is the South-Western most field, the fountain is just off to the left of the picture adjacent to the soccer field.

Image of the South-Western most soccer field in the complex.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Comparison to Other Universities:

In reaching out to the facilities management of other universities we have discovered that though most other universities have lower attendance they tend to have a similar amount or greater number of drinking fountains per recreational facility. Most facilities were within the range of 350-1000 users a day. This range of values is number is similar to UIUC's 765 person a day attendance. (Elmore, email correspondance, October 2015) The water supply of these universities were varying, but all of the answers we received had approximately the same if not more than what we offer at the First and Stadium turf fields in terms of drinking fountains. Indiana Unversity has two bottle fillers and restrooms that provide ammendities for one of their outdoor facilities. The other outdoor facilitiy only has one water fountain, but it is directly adjacent to their primary recreational facility. The University of Maryland and Wisconsin have greater access to drinking water than the University of Illinois (Mayer, Lax, and Whittaker, email correspondence, November 2015). See the figure below for a graphic of the compiled respnses pertaining to the number of drinking amenities present at various universitie facilities. Both have areas where water is not directly provide by means of drinking fountains, but these facilities are adjacent to dormitories that can provide resources to these fields. The closest common student area that offers these ammenity to the First and Stadium facilities would be Ikenberry Commons. It is too far to be convinent at all. In assesing all of this information, it is clear that some measures must be taken to stay competitive with other Universities in regards to the care and well being of recreational sport athletes.

Compiled Responses Compairing Water Availability on Various Campuses

 We determined that approximaetly 765 participants a day attend the outdoor fields on campus while they are open by speaking with the Recreational Facilities Management Staff here at Illinois. Through staff here we have also learned that 25-30 plastic water bottles are recycled from the field every night (Elmore, email correspondence, October 2015). This information combined with our observations moves us to believe that students are simply not drinking the NCAA recommended eight ounces of water per 15 minutes of exercise or are leaving from the fields early due to water being the limiting factor of their exercise. Also, from correspondance with Robyn Deterding, Director of Campus Recreational Facilities, we have learned that steps were taken in the past by to assess where drinking fountains could be placed with regards to our outdoor facilities. The student government was heavily involved in this process, however, progress halted sometime in the preliminary stages of the process.

Installation Location:

In evaluating the site design plans collected from Facilities and Services, we have discovered that there are several factors limiting the possible locations for additional fountains. The most prevalent of those is the location of underground facilities at the First and Stadium Sports Multiplex. Two large stormwater reservoirs (storm water sewer infrastructure is dsiplayed in green on the map below) exist under the play fields on the north side of the multiplex these greatly reduce the physical space available to install new water lines (displayed in blue) that could possibly supply any fountains installed there. In the southernmost fields, there exists a single water line extending from the west directly to the center of the fields there, this limits the possibilty of reducing cost by tying into existing water lines. In speaking with facilities services and management we have concluded that the least labor and cost intensive location to include a new drinking fountain would be adjacent to the eastern side of the Campus Recreation Outdoor Center, this location is indicated by a yellow cirlce on the map below. Placing the fountain at this location avoids storm sewer interferance while remaining close to an existing water line (Deterding, email correspondence, November 2015). The red circle on the map below indicates the location of the existing fountain.

Storm Sewer and Water Main Locations First and Stadium Sports Multiplex

Dehydration Concerns:

In the short term, at just about about 1.1% dehydration, researchers observed increased neural effort when performing common cognitive tasks, effecting short term memory, long term memory recall, arithmetic and general problem solving. (Thortz.com) Dehydration causes brain shrinkage and a decrease in cognitive ability, although it is easily reversed by immediate hydration. (Kempt et al. 2010) (Ottewell, 2002). Replacing fluids lost through exercise is easier said than done, as seen in our study. Should students fail to meet daily water needs at the Multiplex they risk experiencing chronic dehydration. Chronic dehydration not only impairs cognitive performance but can lead to other problems including constant headaches, fatigue, weight gain, digestive problems, kidney stones, depression, and cancer of the bladder, prostate and kidney. (Thortz.com) Another concern is immune system impairment and autoimmune diease, when a person's immune system will attack their own healthy cells. Being chronically dehydrated increases suscetibility to and prolongs the recovery of many illnesses such as the common cold. Incresae rates of illness can have a negative chain effect on the college campus. 

Water Fountain Design and Materials:

In our ideal design, we wanted to construct a water fountain that would be durable in outdoor conditions, provide easy access for multiple water fountain users, and also boost overall aesthetics of the Multiplex. The best pre-fabricated design we came across during our research was a "Barrier-Free Tri-Level Concrete Square Pedestal Drinking Fountain." Its features include freeze resistance, in-ground anchor plate, sanitary products. It is made of concrete with a stainless steel bowl. Users would access the water by pushing on an activation button. This is the most logical type of unit to install as it is primarily designed for stand-alone outdoor use, in searching through various catologues on the subject only minor changes in cost and design were noted in outdoor features.

University Facilities and Services can begin installation of at least 2 fountains (replacing the existing fountain and placing an additional fountain) for each of the 6 outdoor playfields. Acorn sells tri-level, pedestal, concrete aggregate, sqaure fountains for $5,492. The cost of the prefabricated unit is only a fraction of the price however as labor will require the most funding. Labor and any installation cost can fluctuate greatly but as was previously mentioned a substantial portion of the fields can be serviced while minimizing costs by installing the fountain at the location indicated by the yellow circle in the previous image (Deterding, email correspondance, November 2015).

Final Discussion:

In conclusion, we suggest that the university install a minimum of one, but no more than two (preferably two) additional drinking fountains at the First and Stadium Sports Multiplex as the addition of any more fountains would be sepurfluous and unecessary. One of these fountains would replace the existing fountain while the second fountain would service the northern fields. We suggest that these fountains are separated such that they can service the entire facility easily, (I.E. no recreational sport athlete would have to walk to far from any given field to access a fountain). This meets all of our objectives and has a reasonable cost for the derived benefit. Of course this is dependant upon on the level of construction management and prior planning placed into the design and positioning of the additional fixtures. Should these additional fixtures be installed the facility will be capable of supplying water to any guest that might attend which would ensure that athletes and fans alike stay well hydrated. In adding these fixtures provide another avenue through which to combat chronic dehydration and its deterimental affects to both health and intelect. Finally the addition of these fountains will reduce the usage of bottles at the complex while adding some form of aesthetic element to the fields.

Alternative Solutions Under Consideration (Similar Projects)

Several other simple alternatives have been suggested to meet the goals of both: encouraging students to stay active by making the First and Stadium Sports Multiplex better able to accomodate student needs; and ensuring the wellness of those students while they exercise through increased acces to drinking water. The first alternative is to advertise the existing fountain there more thouroughly by word of mouth and pamphlet. As our observations show students tend to avoid the single fountain present at the sports complex perhaps because they are unaware of it's existance. Proper advertisement could alert students to the existance of the fountain thus nulifying the need for additional fixtures. However, should this endevour be highly succesful the single fountain might not be able to adequately support the daily average of 765 students that attend the fields. Another form of advertisement that could be utilized is to add sinage to the facility indicating the existance of the water fountain, however, this also similarly fails to improve the existing fountain should the increase in traffic to the fixture be large.

A second alternative which increases the supply of readily avalible water at the First and Stadium Sports Multiplex would be to retrofit the existing fountain with a bottle filler. Bottle fillers are considered a cheaper alternative because they do not necessarily require the addition of any new amenities, rather, they require the modification of the existing fountain. This removes much of the cost of adding additional fountains as it removes most of the labor associated with placing the new fountain or demolishing the existing fountain. There is, however, the issue of addressing students who might not carry water bottles with them as they would not be able to effectively use a bottle filler.

It is the opinion of this team that the most effective alternative solution would be to combine the solutions listed above as well as to incorporate an additional fountain. To do so would not only increase access to water but also raise public awareness of these amenities presence at the fields.

We would like to thank the various staff members from the universities that we have contacted as well as our own campus recreational and facilities and services staff for offering their time in furtherance of this feasability study.

Robyn Deterding - Director of Campus Recreation UIUC

Terry Elmore - Associate Director of Operations with Campus Recreation UIUC

Peter Smith - Facilities and Campus Recreation Director Kenyon College

Dennis Mayer - Facilities and Recreation Michigan State University

Ashley Lax - Assistant Director of Competitive Sports University of Wisconsin Madison

Brad Whittaker - Program Director, Intramural Sports and Club Sportis University of Indiana

Morgan Johsnton - Facilities and Services UIUC

2013-2014 NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook. <https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2013-14%20Sports%20Medicine%20Handbook.pdf> (2013). NCAA, US.

“Best Athletic Facilities.” (2015). Best Athletic Facilities, Princeton Review, <http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=best-athletic-facilities> (2015).

“Dehydration a leading cause of diseases.” (2013). Dehydration a leading cause of diseases, New Vision Uganda's Leading Daily, <http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/647040-dehydration-a-leading-cause-of-diseases.html> (2015).

“Facilites and Services, Facilities Standards.” (2013). Plumbing Standards, Facilities and Services, <http://fs.illinois.edu/docs/default-source/facility-standards/technical-sections/division-22---plumbing/22-40-00---plumbing-fixtures168e65148e69.pdf?sfvrsn=2> (Oct. 2015).

"Could Chronic Dehydration be Shrinking Your Brain." (2015). <http://thorzt.com/could-chronic-dehydration-be-shrinking-your-brain/#.VjvkjLerTIU>

"Water Coolers and Drinking Fountains Price Guide." (2013).<http://www.acorneng.com/uploads/filelibrary/water_coolers_and_drinking_fountains%20price%20guide.pdf>

Kempton, M. J. (2010). “Dehydration affects brain structure and function in healthy adolescents.” Human Brain Mapping.

Ottewell, J. E. (2002). “THINK TO DRINK: The Effects of Adequate Hydration on Student Performance.”

“Plumbing Fixtures.” (2013). Facilities Standards, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, US.

Schuler, T. (2015). “ PUBLIC SPACE HAS A DRINKING PROBLEM.” Landscape Architects Magazine.

Cut Paragraph of INTRO: We believe that it is imperative that the University install more water foutains at the First and Stadium Sports Multiplex or further advertise the existance of the single fountain there to ensure that students stay adequately hydrated. Water must be convenient and readily available. Should additional water fountains be created, participants will be less apt to rely on water brought from home. This is important as personal water bottles can not hold enough water to sustain prolonged periods of exercise without being refilled; an activity that has not been observed with high frequency at the First and Stadium Sports Multiplex. Based on the evidence provided in this feasability study our team also recomends that a minimum of one drinking fountain should be added to the sports complex, however, we feel that the addition of fountains should be limited to a maximum of two fountains. Furthermore, these fountains would be best utilized by includinig them in seperate locations from the first. To clarify it would be most pudent to include one additional fountain at the northern most fields of the complex and possibly another on the southern end of the complex near the existing drinking fountain there instead of placing all additional fountains in the same location.

Throughout the course of the project, our group was continuousl learning new methods and strategies on how to improve our data collection, group skills, and project in general. There are some lessons learned later down the line that we never got a chance to implement. 

Given more time, it would have been beneficial for our group to have distributed a survey to the Multiplex users. The survey would help us assess the necessity of renovating and/or creating water fountains. Adding a survey would provide a more well-rounded, and likely, more convincing study. On our survey, we would include questions such as: "Would you use a new water fountain were it to be built at the Multiplex?", "Do you feel well hydrated during exercise?", "Have you ever experienced/witnessed dehydration related symptoms or accidents at the Multiplex?", and more.

Another modification we would make is to extend our project idea so that it is campus wide. The original inspiration for our project came from Nick Bolander, a project member who regularly plays soccer at the Multiplex. His personally was familiar how the Multiplex was lacking in water resources. However, the lack of water issue actually applies to the entire campus. As stated in our report, there are only two outdoor water fountains in the entire campus. One can imagine that health and wellness of the university would be improved if there would be water availibity outdoors, especially in areas far away from building such as the Arboretum, Idea Garden, Multiplex Sports Complex, and the Track/Soccer Fields on the South Quad. People like runners/walkers would greatly benefit from outdoor water fountains in these areas.