This Catalyst article is about a micro-hydroelectric power station on a river in Yorkshire. As oil prices soar and global warming threatens, the need for affordable green solutions to the energy crisis is ever increasing. Giant hydroelectric power stations, such as the Three Gorges Dam in China, will help to fulfil...

In this activity students consider the questions:

• How can the purity of swimming water be tested?
• What exactly is the Blue Flag award?
• How reliable are the measurements and the criteria for the Blue Flag award?
• What is the status of the quality of fresh and salt water for swimming...

In this activity students consider the questions:

• What are the main sources that cause severe water shortage in Europe?
• How different harmful elements (e.g. fertilizers, gasoline, sulphuric acid) pollute freshwater?
• What methods / strategies can be used to save water?
• What methods...

This resource pack can be used to highlight issues such as global water scarcity, the challenges people face when sourcing water and maintaining a water supply in developing countries and the role of the engineers in solving these problems. Following a quick quiz, a presentation introduces the scale of local and...

In this practical activity, students investigate the salinity of three different water samples using a multimeter. Students first calibrate their salination probe and test the salinity of their solutions. Students can be asked to suggest how errors might have appeared...

These technical briefs focus on low cost approaches to accessing clean water and sanitation. This is vital to health and well being and low costs are particularly important to poorer communities in the developing world.

Technical briefs are documents produced by Practical Action which are freely available to...

A selection of images related to water and sanitation.

Practical Action helps local communities in the developing world gain access to services such as water and sanitation, vital for a decent quality of life. Some examples of how they go about doing this and the technologies involved are demonstrated in these videos:

• Dying for a drink - solar powered...

Water for Everyone Everywhere is a workshop designed to encourage pupils to explore the global challenges associated with access to safe and clean drinking water around the world. Pupils learn about the importance of water to people’s everyday lives and the role that engineering infrastructure plays in the...

Water for the World was developed jointly by Engineers Without Borders UK (EWB) and Arup, a global firm of engineering consultants and specialists. There are three resources, investigating issues of water scarcity, sourcing and supply and showing how engineers can help to solve problems. Although initially designed...

This Catalyst article describes how the salty water in the oceans has some consequences for how the ocean water mixes – or does not mix. There are distinct bodies of water in the oceans which mix only very slowly. The experiments detailed in the article will explain why this is.

The article is from Catalyst...

In this resource from the European Space Agency, students design and develop an entire space mission to Mars. The objective of the mission is to send a programmed LEGO rover to the surface of the Red Planet to study changes in state of water. Students take temperature measurements and interpret the data collected...

The spacecraft that have orbited around Mars and landed on its surface have shown us (via images and data) that there is no liquid water on the surface of Mars. However, these satellite images have also revealed to us features that appear to have been created or carved out by flowing water. In fact, scientists feel...

Scientists must design and evaluate many ways of extracting water from the lunar permafrost before planning lunar colonies and manned missions using the moon as a base.

In this activity students will construct a solar water collector. Using the collector, students will collect and calculate the amount of...