Last week, six students from our Year 5 First Lego League Team from Primary welcomed visiting experts from the Water Corporation. Having researched this year’s Lego challenge topic ‘Hydro Dynamics’, the team had identified a need for homeowners and businesses to have more information about their water use. Students were surprised to find that currently bills were only provided every two months and that water meters did not have Smart Digital technology.
Emma Williams, Steve Lofthouse and Kel Medbury from different departments of the Water Corporation provided the students with background research and activities to calculate and compare the amount of water used in homes. Did you know it that running a shower for one minute is equivalent to one bucket of water?
Kel Medbury introduced the students to a Smart Meter device and explained the practical design, pulse sensor and sim card functionality. Our team watched and asked many questions as Kel fitted the device to our School water meter. We have since been able to monitor the daily water use of our School and are using this information to encourage School community awareness of how water can be used more efficiently at home and at School. Towards the Lego project, students are keen to develop a conceptual design for a linked ‘Smart Flow’ App that could be further developed by the Water Corporation for home and business owners. Students envisage the application would provide notifications about daily water use and calculated costs, as well as alarms and information to support long term, efficient use of water.