When the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) was planning to develop and construct Nikola Tesla STEM High School, one concern community members had was that the chosen location in unincorporated King County near Redmond is the site of an aquifer recharge zone.

In order to ensure water in the aquifer, a natural water-purification system that provides drinking water for about half of Redmond, remains as clean as possible, certain steps were taken during construction. For example, the school’s parking lot is porous to reduce stormwater runoff and a swale was constructed in the lot to manage water runoff, filter pollutants and increase rainwater infiltration.

To take things a step further, a group of STEM students have created an aquifer education program to teach others about the site’s aquifer.

The program was started by a group of students last spring and has been taken over by five juniors at the beginning of this school year — some of whom were part of the original group.

Since the fall, Vibha Vadlamani, Dinesh Parimi, Udit Ranasaria, Sonia Murthy and Sophia Tevaryan have been working together to make sure their fellow students are aware of their campus’ environmental elements and their importance.

“It was really important we take care of the aquifer health,” said Murthy.

After learning about the program, Redmond Mayor John Marchione, who is also a board member for the Cascade Water Alliance (CWA), said, “I applaud the students’ initiative to learn about their groundwater aquifer. Ensuring water supply for both current and future generations is important. I look forward to hearing about the insights they gain about the role ground aquifers play in local water systems.”

EDUCATING OTHERS

Currently, the program is tailored toward students from about third grade through middle school, although the group hopes to build up their curriculum for high schoolers as well as the greater community, said Vadlamani.

So far, the students have visited three nearby schools this school year: Louisa May Alcott and Rachel Carson elementary schools and Inglewood Middle School (IMS). While Alcott is located right next door to STEM, Carson and IMS are located further east in Sammamish.

Vadlamani said the aquifer underneath their school does not serve Sammamish, but there is an aquifer in that city, so they were able to cater their lessons to relate better to the Sammamish students.

On Friday, the five will visit Redmond Middle School (RMS) to teach during three periods.

Vadlamani said the enthusiasm they have received from teachers eager to have them visit their classes has been nice. She said RMS initially wanted them to spend the whole day at the school but that was not possible, so the teachers at that school told them they were willing to be flexible in order for the lesson to reach as many students as possible. Vadlamani said they offered to combine classes and even rearrange their schedules if needed.

She said their own teachers at STEM have also been very supportive and understanding as the five have missed a number of classes to visit other schools.

“Our teachers have been really accommodating,” Vadlamani said.

In addition to other teachers’ enthusiasm and excitement, Redmond City Council member Tom Flynn, who is also on the board for the CWA, is excited about the students’ project.

“This is a great way for the students to learn about the complexities of managing and protecting our drinking water resources,” he said. “While Lake Tapps is identified as the primary source for future additional water supply for our member cities, groundwater aquifers are a unique resource that are an important part of the ecosystem.”

REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS

In addition to their teachers’ support, Murthy said their adviser Mike Town has really motivated them on the project.

Town, who teaches Advanced Placement environmental science and environmental engineering and sustainable design, said the program is not part of any of the students’ classes. It is one of many contest-based mentorship projects at the school. He said the STEM faculty will suggest real-world problems that need solving and then point students toward contests that address these issues.

Vadlamani, Parimi, Ranasaria, Murthy and Tevaryan entered their aquifer education program into the 2014-15 Lexus Eco Challenge in the Land and Water category. The team was named one of the high school winners and they received $10,000. Town said his students will be going toward the contest’s grand prize, which could earn them an additional $15,000. He added that the prize money is not any sort of scholarship, but a personal prize and goes directly to the students.

While the recognition they have received has been great, Town said it is more significant that the group kept things close to home.

“This is an issue that affects the local community,” he said. “These kids are making a difference in an issue that is important to the community.”

Teresa Fowlkes, general manager of the Union Hill Water Association — the water service provider for the Union Hill area — agreed that the work the students are doing is important.

“Any educational program is wonderful for the community to protect our water supply and encourage conservation,” she said.

For more information about the program, visit aquifereducation.wix.com/teslastem or email stem.aquifereducation@gmail.com. The students are also working on developing a mobile application for smartphones.