Team: 22
School: Las Cruces High
Area of Science: Hydrology
Interim: Team Number: 22
School Name: Las Cruces High School
Area of Science: Hydrology
Project Title: Save Water!
Problem definition
Water is a precious commodity, especially in New Mexico. Unfortunately, our constant demand for water is taking a toll on our aquifers, and our surface water. New Mexico has been on-and-off in a long-term drought. As of November 27, 2018, 41.5% of New Mexico was suffering from a moderate to an extreme drought ("Drought in New Mexico"). In addition, 28.5% of New Mexico is in imminent danger of experiencing a drought ("Drought in New Mexico"). With New Mexico’s long shortage of water, we aren't getting enough precipitation to replenish our aquifers. Furthermore, as our climate becomes warmer more surface water is evaporating. We can’t change nature, but we can easily control how much water we use in our households. The goal of our program is to inform users of their everyday household usage by making a predictive algorithm to estimate how much water is used by them and in their area.
Solution
In order to conduct a realistic stimulation of the water uses in New Mexico, research will need to be conducted. To be accurate, personal observations are combined with research conducted by others. In order to make the simulation as realistic as possible, many variables are considered. For example, the flow rate of faucets, appliances which use water, people per house, climate and natural disasters. The simulation combines all of these variables with different water usage values for all of them to replicate the unexpected events which could occur in real life.
Progress to Date
Up to this point, we have experimented with the rate of flow in faucets and the water used in flushing a toilet. We have spoken with our mentor, our parents, and our sponsoring teacher for advice on how to approach the problem. We have compiled a list of factors we will have to consider to create our simulation. We will need to do a lot more research to determine how these factors will affect water usage.
Expected Results
A simulation which can predict future occurrences in the water usage of people can be a great help with water conservation efforts. Once the simulation is completely refined, it can help cast a light on the looming prospect of New Mexico’s dwindling water supplies and offer a better view of what needs to be done in the future to conserve and spend our water resources more wisely and it might even be able to be modified to fit situations of other states or be scaled to a bigger size.
Bibliography
Drought in New Mexico. (2018, November 15). Retrieved December 5, 2018, from
https://www.drought.gov/drought/states/new-mexico
USGS. (2014, June 2). What is Ground Water? Retrieved December 5, 2018, from
https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1993/ofr93-643/
Saving Water in New Mexico. (June, 2013). Retrieved December 5, 2018, from https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-new-mexico-state-fact-sheet.pdf
D. J. (2018, October 1). Interview with Mentor [Telephone interview].
Campell, P. (2018, October 3). Interview with Phill Campell [Interview].
Team members: Hannah Himelright & Anabelle Fortin
Sponsoring Teacher: Lauren Curry
Team Members:
Anabelle Fortin
Hannah Himelright
Sponsoring Teacher: Lauren Curry