By the Power of STEM!!!!!

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) has many ways that it uses science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The MWRA's use of STEM may not be a well-known fact but it is true. The MWRA uses many processes to make sure all of the water that is used in Massachusetts is as clean as it needs to be.

One way that STEM is used at the MWRA is through science. The MWRA uses science when...Oh no! All of a sudden, the alarm goes off. "Get up everyone! Get ready scientists yells a worker at the treatment plant. 'There is a problem. We need you to think hard and get an idea to help save the water." The lead scientist is ready. She yells, "Let us use our brain power!"

This is what might happen in other places, but not on Deer Island. The scientists there have already thought of every possible problem and have come up with a solution. They have had many people and machines looking over water levels, chemical levels, and anything else that might need looked over. A machine might measure the level of acidity in the water and a scientist would know what to do if the acidity level is not what it is supposed to be. This is one example of how the MWRA uses scientific observation to find problems. Then using many parts of science, a mix of machines and smart scientists work together to come up with an idea as to how to fix the problem. How they actually fix the problem brings us to our next part of STEM, technology.

Another interesting way STEM is used by the MWRA is with the power of technology. The MWRA uses technological tools to help monitor certain things, like chemical levels. They have created some of these amazing pieces of technology in order to help the workers do their jobs. The MWRA has special machines that monitor the levels of chemicals and acidity. If something is out of place, the technology will alert the scientists working at the MWRA. The scientists then use different machines or pieces of technology to adjust the chemical levels used for the treatment of water. The MWRA also uses technology to generate electricity.

On Deer Island, there are two very large wind turbines that help keep the plant running. Technology is important to the MWRA's operations but before the MWRA can use the technology, these machines have to be made. These machines are made through engineering and mathematics.

Engineering and math go together in most ways since math forms the basis for engineering. The MWRA has millions of uses for both math and engineering. They use both math and engineering to create technology and solve problems. One example is when engineers at Deer Island or another place run by the MWRA are given a plan for a piece of technology that the MWRA scientists could use or a problem that the MWRA believes could be solved by a new technology, like a need to produce more and cheaper energy. The engineers then plan what they are going to build by calculating measurements and how it will work.

For example, the MWRA once changed one of its steam electricity generating systems, which was likely designed by engineers to produce more electricity. The modifications were expected to increase renewable energy production. While engineering and math are important for building technology, both are used in many other ways by the MWRA. Math can be used to find out how much of something is in a certain area. For example, if the MWRA needs to know how much "sludge" is in a pool, then a worker could say the pool was 14 by 6 feet and the sludge was 3 feet high. After doing some math, the worker could figure out that there was 252 cubic feet of sludge. All in all, the use of both math and engineering are very vital to the MWRA.

Overall, in the MWRA, STEM is used to find problems, think of a possible solution, and to fix those problems. If the MWRA did not use STEM, they wouldn't be as successful. I'm very glad that the MWRA uses STEM and knows how to use it in an appropriate way. If it weren't for STEM, our water might get to us and be dirty, our harbor might still be an absolute mess, and our water system would not be one of the best in the country. And STEM interconnects so if there weren't any math, then it would be really hard for STEM to work without mathematics. Know all of you readers know that the MWRA can be protected through the power of STEM!