Capstone Project: Online Only

Final Presentation/Project Rubric and Expectations

For your capstone project for Earth 111 you will be independently investigating and assessing water issues facing a city of your choice that is experiencing water shortages/drought, water availability concerns, or dealing with water quality issues such as increased salinity or high levels of chemicals. Your assignment is to create a water plan that will best address the water problem(s) facing your selected city. The water plan should be based on, 1) your own research and assessment of the data you collect; 2) consideration for realistic and timely change (i.e., simply suggesting that millions of people should be relocated in the next 2 years to alleviate water scarcity is not 'realistic'); and 3) the needs of the city that will best address their specific water problems.

This project will build on the initial work from Module 8 on Phoenix.

Instructions

1. Pick a city from the list below or propose one: (note: if you are proposing a new city, you must check with us first).
   
   • Los Angeles, CA
   • San Diego, CA
   • San Francisco, CA
   • Las Vegas, NV
   • Tucson, AZ
   • Denver, CO
   • Flint, MI
   • Miami, FL
   • Delhi, India
   • Dubai, UAE
   • Mexico City, Mexico
   • Sao Paolo, Brazil
   • Khartoum, Sudan
   • Nairobi, Kenya
   • Beiging, China
   • Cairo, Egypt
   • London, England
   • Bangalore, India
   • Tokyo, Japan
   • Tehran, Iran
2. Develop a water plan for the future (say, next 20 years or so) that you think will solve the problem of water scarcity or water quality issues facing your city. The water plan should include the following:

• A discussion of water problems (e.g., scarcity, contamination, salinity).
• The current water plan for your city. This might include where water is currently sourced, water distribution systems, population it serves, etc.
• Your water policy plan, providing key details and rationale.
  • Discuss water source(s) available to the city and if/how you propose to change this. You may want to research regional aquifer systems, look at maps of nearby surface water, oceans, or other potential water sources.
  • Think through the risks versus benefits associated with your plan (you may consider financial, natural, environmental, political).
  • Provide an assessment of any economic considerations (key negotiations that need to be made? legislation that might be required?)
  • Roughly outline the estimated costs
  • How and why will your proposed plan succeed? And why is it superior to the current plan?
  • Discuss the pros and cons of the city's current water situation, and of your proposed policy.
  • Are there other issues (e.g. cultural, psychological, religious) you anticipate you will need to confront?
• Other questions you may address depending on the specifics of your plan:
  • How will your plan manage financing of new or existing infrastructure, delivery, management, and quality?
  • How does population and/or economic growth influence your plan?
  • How will you address the sustenance needs of your city under the new plan? Consider food production and irrigation, versus importation.
• You must include data collected from the scientific literature and/or publically accessible databases (e.g., USGS or USDA, City/County or State data)
• You should draw on material from this course (properly referenced, of course) as well as using outside sources.

Deliverables (what you should submit):

(1) A ~1000 word maximum (2-3 page) written report focused on laying out your specific water plan. Include one figure (and figure caption) that contributes to illustrating your overall plan.

You may want to use the following outline to help you organize your water plan:

Overview of problem or issue:

• Summarize relavant historical context
• Technical background and hydrological processes
• Importance/motivation

Study Location:

• Details of case study: geography, economics, description of hydrologic processes of concern (i.e. brief technical details)
• Explanation of current or proposed solutions or actions

Independent Analysis and Discussion – this will vary depending on project, but must be your own contribution and analysis of the issue. Examples may include – but not limited to:

• Evaluation of pros and cons of proposed or implemented solutions
• Quantitative analysis of water quality data to support a position or recommendation
• Water budget analysis to demonstrate or compare importance/efficacy of different courses of action
• Cost/benefit analysis of issue or solution(s)
• Comparison of multiple example systems or locations

Recommendation or position/closing argument. Again, this will vary depending on individual project or topic, but should include one of the following, and must be supported by drawing upon your analysis:

• Recommendation(s)
• Take a position for/against existing plans/solutions and explain
• Discuss the future impacts or problems - sustainability of solutions currently in play

List of References (minimum of 5; two must be from peer-reviewed sources)

(2) A 10-slide presentation (no more) focused on explaining your water plan as if you were giving the presentation to the city council of your selected city.

You may do any one of the following:
1) use the 'notes' section below the PowerPoint slide to add typed notes 'narrating' what you would say for each specific slide.
2) narrate using a voice over (directions to come on how to do this soon)
3) record yourself giving the presentation making sure video quality and sound are good

Downloads

Download this assignment sheet (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 21kB Mar28 17) to use as a guide.

Scoring and Rubric