Module 3 – Human Impacts to Flood Risk

In this module, students will learn how human development influences flood risk. Students will use online tools to visualize how different land uses alter the amount of rainfall that runs off the surface and therefore contribute to flooding. This tool can be customized to the students’ local watershed, tying the physical understanding to places they are familiar with. This computer-based activity will be coupled with an outdoor activity on each school’s campus where students will use simple infiltrometers to measure how quickly water can infiltrate into areas with different land cover and soil types.

Module 3.1 Effects of Land Use and Soil Type on Runoff: Students will use the online Model My Watershed tool to explore how land use and soil type impacts runoff from different rainfall amounts.

Module 3.2 Runoff Simulation for your School: Extending the lessons from Module 3.1, students will use the online Model My Watershed tool to calculate runoff on their school grounds and compare this to “pre-development” conditions.

Module 3.3 Infiltrometer Data Collection and Analysis: Students will use simple infiltrometers to measure and compare infiltration rates around their school grounds and learn how to make basic field observations and sketches.

Module 3.4 Natural Infrastructure and Flood Mitigation: Students will learn about how natural infrastructure can be used to manage flooding and use the online Model My Watershed tool to test out different approaches for managing runoff on their school grounds.