Project title: Study and analysis of Water Quality due to the effect of Climate Change

Team: Llaranes Cimate Detectives

Llaranes Public School   Avilés   Spain   8 Student’s age: 10-11 years old

Can climate change affect the quality of the city’s water?

Our research project deals with the factors that contribute to water quality, we investigate what and how they can affect it.
For this study we have used water and PH analyzers. By teams, we measure tap water and rainwater (if any). Precisely this winter in the Principality has been dry and very low in rainfall according to the average of recent years.
The data is recorded in log books where we indicate: the observer, the date, time and values ​​of the water sample for both TDS and PH levels.
We have created the corresponding tables and graphs in a spreadsheet.
In the data collection procedure, we analyze the level of reservoir water according to dates and access data from the SENTINEL 2 satellite to consult the humidity index and the vegetation index as indicators of the amount of water available.

Due to the lack of rain in the period studied, it does not offer us a quantity of relevant data for the study, although we can intuit several things:
Regarding tap water, coinciding with World Water Day, we visited the city’s water treatment plant (ETAP), there they explained to us where the water that we use in the houses comes from and the treatments and tests that are carried out to ensure the quality of supply.
For this reason, we do not appreciate variations in the quality of levels of dissolved particles or the PH of the tap water, perhaps some minimal variation after detecting rainfall, although there are not enough data to draw conclusions.
Regarding rainwater, we do detect more variations, not so much in the PH as in the levels of dissolved particles. For example, and very clearly, the rain we had after the haze episode with dust particles in suspension from the Sahara desert, increased the levels measured not only in March, but also throughout the study, due to the so-called « mud rain«.

Water is a limited resource and its consumption must be responsible. Therefore, all information relevant to the proper use of this resource is highly recommended. Let us think that with climate change, water will be more valued and it will not always be possible to access it whenever we want.
It is good that all pipes, channels and water tanks are perfectly maintained to avoid losses and that once used they are returned to nature in conditions that ensure the water cycle. Avoiding the discharge of toxic substances into riverbeds is very important in order not to contaminate it. We must bear in mind that there are many ecosystems and biodiversity that depend totally on this good, as much as our own lives. We have to avoid producing greenhouse gases and pollutants that cause climate change or else we will have more problems with our water.

https://spaceastur.es/resultados-detectives-climaticos-calidad-del-agua/

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