Innovations in Technology Challenge 2 (Moving Water)
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Open to Primary & Secondary Students

This challenge for Moving Water is to create a water cycle catchment model. The main aim is to represent a typical Australian catchment. The model should show pollutants entering the stormwater system as the water moves along and down the river. Our best-case scenario would be for teams to remove all pollutants from the streams prior to entering the sea (this may be carried out through an osmosis process).

A further challenge is to move WATER from one side of a mountain to the other on your water cycle catchment model. In doing this the following criteria apply:

•     Teams cannot drill or tunnel through the mountain.

•     Hot, dry summers in the area mean that the rate of evaporation is very high. Therefore teams must minimise the amount of water lost along the way.

•     As well as providing irrigation water, the force of the moving water is to power at least two (2) devices along the way.

Show how the problem can be solved by constructing a scale model according to the following guidelines:

•     As far as possible, the power of moving water must be used. One other power source may be used, but it must be an alternative to fossil fuel. Is it possible to use water as the only power source?

•     No more than 10 litres of water will be supplied for use in demonstrating how the model works.

•     Pipes, tunnels, tubes, whirligigs, turbines, waterwheels, etc can be incorporated into the model.

•     The model must be no larger than one metre cubed.

•     Virtually all of the water used by the model must be retrieved/recycled.

•     The model should have ‘real world’ appearance, be colourful and full of action.

•     Consider: a) how to use the water at the sea/ocean to generate power; b) the use of dams for potential of stored energy.

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