Adam Wolf 7A-Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

Residents in drought areas are unable to water their lawn effectively to prevent wildfires because there are water rations. 

The who?  People living in drought areas

The what?  Unable to water their lawn for wildfire prevention

The why?  Cities cannot route enough water to all areas due to water shortages

Interview 1

This individual lives in California and almost lost his property in last year’s wildfires.  His yard caught fire but firefighters were able to save his home from the flames.  Prior to the fire, he wanted to water the grass and house to prevent embers from catching but the city would not allow him due to water rations.  He believes all people living in the city should have equal, unrestricted access to water.  He says only areas with anticipated drought are affected by this need.  He blames the city for not pumping enough water from surrounding reservoirs. 

Interview 2

This person is a student who lives in an apartment in Florida.  Due to the many swamps, massive wildfires are rare in Florida.  She claims this need does not affect her because the apartment has insurance.  She has no knowledge on the apartment company’s utility use and therefore is not concerned with drought situations.

Interview 3

This individual is a battalion chief for fire rescue.  I explained the situation to him, and he realizes there is both a need and opportunity.  He proposed a new solution which is efficient and could be implemented.  He suggested against routing unlimited water to all drought areas.  Instead, construction water trucks should drive down roads watering dry lawns.  This will achieve the same goal of hydrating grass to prevent the spread of wildfires.  He believes this opportunity affects anyone who owns property in a drought area. 

Interview 4

This couple lives in rural Florida and lost their home to a wildfire a couple of years ago.  When asked about the need, they forcefully said that is a real problem.  This indicates there is still a strong opportunity.  They claim that before the fire, water supply was cut off because the water was being reserved for fire stations.  They had no other option but to watch the fire burn through dry grass.  The couple believes everyone who own property has this need.  One boundary of this need is their location, which is difficult to pump water. 

Interview 5

This individual is an engineer for the public works.  He is aware of the drought situation and the resulting water rations.  This person understands the mechanics of the water transport systems underneath cities.  He claims it is not possible to have enough water flow to supply all houses at one time with their demand for water to hydrate the grass.  The physics of pressure make it impossible to satisfy the high demand during a drought.  In addition, he realizes there is a problem, but the solution is not as simple as just routing more water to houses.   He agrees there is a major opportunity for this need.

Summary

After interviewing five people, I reinforced previous hypotheses about this opportunity but also learned new components of the need.  I know there is a need to have more water during times of drought to prevent the spread of wildfires.  However, this need only applies to household owners.  Apartment and condo residents don’t particularly care about this need because they don’t directly work with the problem.  Most interviewed people agreed there is an opportunity because no one has a definite solution.