This University of Miami residence hall may look typical, but students in one of the apartments are participating in research involving one of the planet's most precious commodities – water.

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), environmental engineer James Englehardt and his team created a "net zero" water system, which serves most of the residents' daily needs, including dishwashing, showering and laundry. All of the water is treated just outside the building, and reused in a sustainable loop. This system even removes common household chemicals, such as cleaning solutions and pharmaceuticals.

The research in this episode is supported by NSF award #1038257, EFRI-SEED: Design for Autonomous Net-zero Water Buildings. EFRI-SEED is short for Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation--Science in Energy and Environmental Design.

NSF Grant URL: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAw...

Miles O'Brien, Science Nation Correspondent
Marsha Walton, Science Nation Producer