Sustainable dam

Project objective, problem to be solved, and main actions

The main objective of the project was to mix waterproof technology to prevent water from passing through.

The problem was the rupture of the El Camalote estuary, which contaminated the freshwater of the lagoon with salt water. In the municipality of Altamira, in the state of Tamaulipas, the drinking water of the Champayán lagoon has high levels of salinity. Water contamination occurs when the dam on the El Camalote estuary breaks; its purpose is to separate fresh and saltwater. The wall is formed by stacked clay bags that, not resisting the pressure of the Tamesí River, caused the rupture and allowed the infiltration of salt water. This contamination caused salinized water to be distributed to homes, causing allergic reactions in some people and raising the costs of purified water; as filters and purification processes had to raise their standards to provide quality water.

Classes continued as normal and the team received after-hours video calls in which we held a discussion table about community situations. Then, the call to participate was officially presented and brainstorming continued to solve each problem raised, selecting the most viable for execution.

I presented the proposal to the students. We did the development by recognizing their skills and qualities that they could be able to develop in the classroom, focusing on the potential they had to win.

 

 

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Deepening into the issue and involvement of the school and local community

We had the support of the school (direction, teachers, and parents association) for economic help, logistics, and areas of knowledge outside of mine. Emotional support from colleagues. There was also support from employers for working students, in terms of schedules and permits.

The development of the solution

• Field visits: disaster area, lagoon, and sea. (Face to face)
• Practices: trial and error creation of the mixture, the strength of the material. (Face to face)
• Video calls to share information, research, and decision-making. (Virtual).

 

 

The construction of the prototype

We made a prototype and presented it to the student community.

 

Evaluation of the process and the developed solution

Participation in the project was part of the students’ qualification; a percentage that was reflected in the attitude, position in the culture of failure, and success of each phase; expressed emotions, and prior and developed knowledge.

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