Desert Academy (37)/Interim Report

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=37

Problem Definition
The aquifers of New Mexico are an important source of water for major cities and lots of agriculture across the state. As the population has increased and as the climate is shifting they are becoming increasingly stressed. Farmers watering their crops with water from the Elephant Butte reservoir mainly recharge the aquifers along the lower Rio Grande, but from recent litigation, farmers are now entitled to less water. This forces the farmers to have to use aquifer water to water their crops instead, causing the aquifers to become even more stressed with more pumping and less recharging.

Our goal is to model the strain of increasing population and less water available to recharge on the Mesilla aquifer. The Mesilla Aquifer has the city of Las Cruces on it which is a city that is growing at a fairly fast rate, so in our model we can model the increase of population into the future. To model this aquifer we need to include a lot of variables, including precipitation, amount of water entitled to farmers, and the amount of water in the Rio Grande.

Problem Solution
To solve this problem we are going to make our model in Groundwater Vista, a program designed to model groundwater and the variables affecting it. We are going to model the whole Mesilla Aquifer and the wells on the aquifer. We are also going to have to model the runoff from the mountains by making a border at the edge of the aquifer where the water will flow into the aquifer. Another step is programming the river to either add water to the aquifer or take water from the aquifer depending on the water level of the aquifer.

Progress to Date
So far, we have refined our project and gathered data. We have decided to use data from the Mesilla Aquifer of New Mexico, which includes Las Crucas, so that we have a city with measurable population that we can tie to the wells. This will enable a more accurate prediction of how the aquifer depletion will continue. We have collected data for the Mesilla Aquifer regarding precipitation, population, and well level. To model this trend, we have decided to use Groundwater Vista, which is a program specifically designed for modeling aquifers and wells. We have started experimenting with this program so that we are comfortable using it, and are formulating a plan for how to go about modeling it.

Expected Results
We expect to have a layout and a model of a section of New Mexico which includes the Mesilla aquifer, and the variables affecting it (population, rain fall, El Niño and La Niña weather patterns and precipitation). We will be able to roughly find out what is going happen to the aquifer and its water levels. This project will also tell us what the wells are doing in relation to population, increase or decrease, and the consumption of water at different times in the seasons. These variables will affect the aquifer by either recharging or depleting it at a hopefully realistic rate.

Interim Comments
Hello Team 37. My name is Shane Wilson and i will be reviewing your interim report. As an interim report reviewer, its my job to help you make your project better by telling you what you need to work on for both the preliminary presentations in February, and the Expo.

So just a little about me: I am a Junior in Mechanical Engineering at New Mexico Tech. I am focusing on explosives engineering, and am currently working on a project for the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Facility (EMRTC). I will be working this summer as an engineering management intern for Peabody Energy, where i will be helping organize and oversee various projects.

I understand that your team is modeling the effects of water depletion of the Mesilla aquifer. From reading your interim report i understand that the team has been mainly researching up to this point. However from reading your report it is not clear what that researched information is. Remember that no one knows your project like you do, and it is your job to give as much information as possible to judges and other people that you will be presenting to. It is crucial that you not only include this researched information in future reports, but also cite it and list your references!

Has your team found a mentor yet? Or someone that can give you information and/or help on the programming? If so, make sure to list them in your presentations and reports.

As you begin modeling, it is essential that you take time to explain the reasoning behind all of your modeling, as well as the details behind your project. Sometimes it is hard for judges to give teams good scores if the team is being very general and not specific. Therefore, make sure to explain your entire project- including your research, your model, etc, in as much depth as possible.

I hope this helps the team in the future!

Team Comments
Hi Shane, Thank you for the feedback! We will definitely apply your suggestions.

Thanks again, Team 37