Freedom (49)

abqThe Freedom High team (#49) is from Albuquerque. This year they've submitted a project titled Water, Water Everywhere.

Proposal
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_proposal1112.php?team_id=49

In a state with limited water resources, how can these resources be divided equitably? How does one person’s water consumption affect their neighbors, and what can be done to ensure that everyone enjoys access to this valuable, and literally life-giving commodity?

For our project, our group has chosen to research well water depletion and model the effects that larger and/or deeper wells have on their smaller neighbors. This project has as its genus the, at times contentious, relationship between the people of Corrales and their larger, deeper neighbor Intel. Using Net Logo, we will attempt to model the Intel/Corrales water consumption conflict, and more importantly create a paradigm that will foster equitable water usage that fulfills the needs of all parties involved.

Team Members

 * Brieann Miller
 * Ebony Mitchell
 * Jake Wright
 * Christopher Marroquin
 * Shanrequa Joe
 * Seth Morgan

Note: There are some discrepancies about the members of this team. Please update!

Sponsoring Teacher
Richard Foust

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=49

Problem Definition
The level of the Corrales aquifer has decreased steadily from the everyday consumption of the general populous. The addition of the fact that Intel draws 1.5 billion gallons of water, per year, from this aquifer significantly increases the strain on the ecological resources. Our group is attempting to model the effect of Intel's well on other smaller residential wells, to help answer the question of whether Intel's water consumption is effecting the available resources for individual residents of the Corrales community.

Problem Solution
We are investigating whether fewer larger well affects the Corrales aquifer more than multiple smaller wells pumping the same amount of water with the same ending destination would. If we can determine which form of well is less destructive to the symbiotic relationship of the amount of water being drawn from the aquifer, and the amount that is replenished, then we will be able to deny the claims that Intel has to whether or not it is detrimental to the aquifer of Corrales.

Progress to Date
We are in the midst of research, and in our research we are looking up different models that might be helpful to our project. One example of such a model is the Percolation model, which we found in the model library and will aid us in modeling the replenishment of the aquifer, based on porosity of the soil in the area. With the aid of Joe Vertrees we will construct a model showing the effects of the water depletion in the soil of the aquifer in Corrales, and we hope to create a model that generates a more efficient to distribute the water through the population.

Expected Results
We expect to find that larger wells are more detrimental to the replenishment of the aquifer than multiple smaller wells would be. We also expect to find the amount of water that Intel draws through this larger well is not sustainable in the long term.

Interim Comments
David Rogers Lead of the Scalable Analysis and Visualization Group at Sandia National Labs

Hi. Looks like an interesting problem that computer models can definitely have an impact on.

There's plenty to research here, so it's good that you're learning about the context for this project. I'd caution you that you can spend all your time doing research, and not get to the computing part :) Perhaps it would be a useful way forward to settle on a very simple model first, and compute some results that can be used to evaluate the impact that Intel's actions have.  You can always refine the model again, if you have time.

I think it's important to get code running - whether or not you use an existing one, or create it from scratch yourself - and look at the results.

Also, it's a good idea to get some citations into your reports, so the judges can understand the foundations of your work.

Good luck!

[[Category:Maybe Not]