Picacho Middle School (95)

The Picacho Middle School team (#95) is from Las Cruces. This year they've submitted a project titled Conserving Rainfall.

Proposal
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_proposal1112.php?team_id=95

Team: 95

School: Picacho Mid

Area of Science: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Proposal: OUR HYPOTHESIS IS THAT IF WE RECYCLE AND REUSE RAINFALL WATER FOR HEALTHIER PURPOSES SUCH AS LOCAL CROPS, HOUSEHOLD AND GARDEN CHORES WE WOULD INCREASE EFFECTIVELY THE EFFICIENCY OF THE USE OF WATER IN THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO.

Having a drought in the state of New Mexico causes problems such as failing crops, water shortage, and less spending money for the city. We are using our money to help with water saving ideas and experiments. We would like to help our state because in the future, we would like to not have problems as adults.

We are going to use StarLogo to model our project/experiment. We’ll probably have bigger problems with the economy, pay reduction, and even job losses. We would like to help the state of New Mexico by showing our ideas to scientists who might promote going to help and give back to the state of New Mexico.

Team Members:
1) Alex Barrera 2) Tianna Ortega 3) Ryan Cardona 4) Arturo Dominguez 5) Brandon Woodword

Our Sponsors:

 * Mrs. Bischof
 * Mrs. Hagaman
 * Mrs. Kindig
 * Mrs. Stout

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=95

Interim: Team number: 95 School Name: Picacho Middle School Area of Science: Environmental Project Title: Conserving Rainfall

Problem Definition:
The state of New Mexico is in a drought. We are low on water sources in all of the state. We don’t have enough water to go around all of the state of New Mexico. This is a problem because we need water to drink, use for household uses, for crops, and for washing our cars, swimming at a pool, etc.

Problem Solution:
If we save rainfall water we can use it towards our crops, actual necessities at home, to drink, and for trees. We can save rainwater by putting buckets or collection containers outside when it rains and then purifying it to drink or using it as it is. People can collect rainfall water monthly and store it so it doesn’t evaporate. They can then give it to a local farmer during a drought who needs help.

Progress to Date:
So far we have created StarLogo models showing rainfall onto crops. We have also created a pre-presentation to see how everything looks and have a plan for how we are going to present our project. We researched online about 1,000 ways to conserve water in the house and outside. We also participated in a water sharing activity which gave us better perspective about how much water we use and how limited water is.

Expected Results:
Our expected results will be to create a model that some people can see, agree with, and then take our advice to collect rainfall. We hope to achieve that by having a model that shows how saving rainwater actually works. If people follow this the state of New Mexico could have a better chance and hopefully not be at a shortage of water.

=Interim Review=

Hello friends,

I am Reffat Sharmeen, a graduate student at University of New Mexico. I worked three years in Bangladesh as a software developer. Here at UNM, I have been working two years as a programmer and web designer, also with database support. I got into touch with Supercomputing Challenge activities and Project GUTS last summer 2011 and feel honored to be a UNM cadre mentor now. I am supposed to write a review of your project’s interim report which drove me to explore your ideas and share my ideas too.

Based on your interim report problem definition, it seems that you are concerned about water usage in New Mexico and wish to model how rainfall water can be beneficial. I am shedding some lights into another direction that you may find useful for your project completion.

New Mexico has less water resources to be utilized in agriculture, household or industry. To fulfill the need, you suggest using rainfall which is indeed a great idea. But I feel you can think of other alternates also. Reason behind this is, if you analyze weather pattern in New Mexico for the last few decades, you will see that the state has abundant sunshine, low relative humidity, and a relatively large annual temperature range. Average rainfall is 13.9 inches here which is pretty low. What if you do not have sufficient rainfall in a year? Would it still be convenient to use the model?

As the state’s topography consists mainly of high plateaus, with numerous mountain ranges, canyons, valleys, and normally dry arroyos, it seems that you may consider using the river water such as Rio Grande or Gila River. You may model using partial river water for irrigation or purify them for sensitive industrial purpose.

There are several types of systems to accumulate and store rain water for reuse. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses and local institutions can be available as drinking water. It can supplement the subsoil water level and increase urban greenery. But you should keep into mind that roof rainwater may not be potable and may require treatment before consumption as it may carry pollutants. It can be useful in flushing toilets, washing clothes, watering the garden, in a word, for household works;

You can give a try to use sumps where rooftop rainwater is collected and stored in. It is a kind of basin or low space to reserve liquid. As rainwater may be contaminated due to pollutants, it is harmful to use without treatment. So you should consider how to use rainfall water to be beneficial for urban areas and also for all other purposes.

Do you have a mentor for your project? I could help you with your StarLogo program. We could talk online on how to improve it? We could use Skype or Google Hangout.

Here is some information on where water comes from in Las Cruces.: http://www.las-cruces.org/Departments/Utilities/Services/Water%20Conservation/Water%20Sources.aspx http://www.las-cruces.org/Departments/Utilities/Services/Water%20Conservation/Education%20Programs.aspx

You could call (575) 528-3549 and ask them to help you with your project.

You have a face to face presentation on Saturday, February 11th at NMSU. Best of luck with that. I do appreciate your research on water conserve and the StarLogo model you made, also your water sharing activities would be helpful to model your project.

At the end, I would say, you chose a very practical topic but you should accelerate your work in a definite direction to be successful in April challenge.

=Team Comments=