Meet the S’19 Team: Oliver Silberstein

I’m Oliver Silberstein, a Division II student at Hampshire studying Environmental Studies, Psychology and Linguistics. This semester, as part of the R.W. Kern Center internship, I am conducting a study of rainwater-to-potable water systems.

Right now, the RWKC’s system is not in working order- in fact, there are no public buildings that serve potable water from rainwater-to-potable water systems without using chemical treatment (learn more about our water system here). We’re wondering if that is actually because the water is unsafe to drink or if it is because the regulations are not appropriate for non-chemically treated water. To find out, I am surveying a number of buildings, both public and private, in order to fully understand the state of rainwater-to-potable water systems here in the U.S. Hopefully, by conducting this study, we can pave the way for a working potable water system in the R.W. Kern Center.