Hidralia and its Aquae foundation organize in Spain this contest for young people from 16 to 21 years old

The project 'Nunca choveu que non escampara', which designs and implements a flood detection system to prevent its effects, has been the winning project of the 2022 edition of the national competition of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP), considered the 'Nobel Prize for Water' for young people. The work has been carried out by Esther Suárez and Diego Castro, students of the Isidro Parga Pondal Scientific-Technological Classrooms center (A Coruña), under the tutorship of Professor David Ballesteros Álvarez. The students have designed and built a device that allows monitoring the level of the river at different points of the basin, so that from the variations recorded a flood can be anticipated in its lower part. The aim of the work is to prevent the side effects of floods.

This device is based on a system programmed with Arduino, which incorporates an ultrasound sensor, used to measure the distance to water, and a DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor. With them, we determine when the most favorable conditions for flooding will occur.

This international award was founded in 1997 by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and aims to promote research on water and environmental issues among young people. Hidralia and its AQUAE Foundation have once again organized this edition of the Prize among Spanish students.

The winning project was selected during the national final in which three other research works were also defended: 'Microbial electrolysis cells and their potential use in the generation of hydrogen', carried out by Juan de Marco, student of 2nd year of Baccalaureate of the IES El Clot (Valencia), under the tutorship of Professor Julia Romero Ortolà; 'Las Norias de Abarán: the turn of physics for energy saving', made by Fernando Piñera, student of the IES Los Albares, of Cieza (Murcia), under the tutorship of professors Joaquín Gómez Bastida and Pedro Peinado Rocamora, and 'Every drop counts. Study of the efficiency of irrigation in Cerdanya' project by Anna Esteve, from the INS Pere Borrell Educational Center, in Puigcerdá (Girona), directed by Professor Jordi Antiñolo Franquesa.