Health Sciences

The Health in the City Class Tours the Fairmount Water Works

Students taking Dr. Catherine van de Ruit’s Health in the City class recently visited the Fairmount Water Works.

There are many issues surrounding clean water, including natural scarcity of drinking water in specific areas, flooding, and waterway contamination. To help students better understand city water systems and their connection to local waterways, Ursinus students in HEP 360.P recently toured the Fairmount Water Works

Accompanied by Dr. Catherine van deRuit, students were introduced to the Philadelphia water system to gain insight on the total urban water use cycle, which requires both infrastructure and processes.  A highlight of the tour was a visit to the mussel hatchery. The hatchery was created to raise awareness about mussels specific place within a waterway ecosystem and the vital need for revitalizing and protecting our freshwater systems for the health of all living things. The Health in the City class is a recent class offering through the Ursinus Philadelphia Experience, where students can live, study, and work in Philadelphia.   

~by Christine Angermeier

Mussels Photo of Mussels from the mussel hatchery.