Flood Planning for Lake Junction Clinic

A Clinic Where the River Meets the Lake

Lake Junction Clinic stands on low ground where a river enters a lake. After long periods of heavy rain, rising water can reach the clinic and nearby homes. Floodwater could damage medical supplies and make the clinic difficult to use. Local planners want to compare ways to reduce these effects without sending more water toward the homes.

A science club built a model of the area in a large tray. A small container represented a room in the clinic. Another marked area represented neighboring yards. The students compared four designs. “No change” left the model as it was. An entry wall stood in front of the clinic. A side channel guided water around both marked areas toward a collecting basin. A raised floor lifted the model clinic room on short supports.

For each design, students poured one liter of room-temperature water into the river end of the tray over thirty seconds. They kept the tray slope, model ground, starting water level, and pouring place the same. They emptied and reset the tray between tests. Only the protection design changed. After each pour, they measured water collected inside the model clinic and in the neighboring-yard area. The two graphs show the results of this first test in milliliters, or mL.

The designs also had model costs: no change cost 0 points, the entry wall cost 3 points, the side channel cost 5 points, and the raised floor cost 8 points. The first planning goal was to keep clinic water at 80 mL or less and yard water at 120 mL or less while spending no more than 5 points.

The tray cannot copy every real flood. Full-size designs would need trained planners to study local land and water conditions. Clinic workers and patients must still follow official flood warnings and leave when directed.