How to Do a Water Research Project in High School

By Dr. Harman Brah, MD · Judge, California Science & Engineering Fair

To do a water research project in high school, pick one water problem you can actually measure, such as runoff, algae, water quality or treatment, and ask what causes it or what reduces it. Then collect real data with a control, analyze it with honest statistics, and write it up for a county science fair, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, or both.

The rest of this post walks through each step, and where the finished project can go.

Start with a water problem you can see

Water is a wide field. Water quality, treatment, runoff, algae, drought, stormwater, sensors and computational water models all count, as long as the project uses real data and statistics.

The best starting point is usually close to home. A creek that turns green in summer, a street that floods after storms, a pond near school.

Interest matters more than it seems. Your student will live with this question for months, so it should be one they actually want answered.

Turn the topic into a cause-or-fix question

A topic is not yet a project. “Algae in a local pond” is a topic. A project asks what drives the algae, or whether something reduces it.

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize paper guidelines make this point with a lake example. A survey of a lake overloaded with nutrients, on its own, “will not be highly competitive.” Adding the causes, and how monitoring could improve how the lake is managed, makes it much stronger.

So measuring is the first step, not the whole project. The stronger version explains why the number is what it is, or tests what changes it.

Plan the measurements and the statistics

Decide exactly what your student will measure, how often, and what they will compare it against. A water project needs a control or a comparison group, or the result has nothing to stand against.

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize expects scientifically accepted methods for experiments, monitoring and reporting, and that includes statistical analysis. County fair judges look for the same thing.

Dr. Harman Brah, a physician on our team, judges at the California Science & Engineering Fair. In his view, controls and honest statistics are where most projects lose points.

Check the rules before collecting data

A few rules shape what your student can do and when.

• The research window. For the 2027 ISEF cycle, a project can include no more than 12 continuous months of research, starting no earlier than January 2026.
• Where the work happens. Home, school and the field are standard work sites, which suits most water projects. Work at a university, company or community lab needs an extra form (Form 2C).
• Pre-approval. Projects with human participants, vertebrate animals or certain biological agents need review before the experiment starts. A survey started before approval cannot be entered.
• Safety. The Stockholm Junior Water Prize encourages students to use the ISEF Rules Wizard to follow safe handling steps.

If your student plans to enter the Synopsys Science & Technology Championship in Santa Clara County, its final deadline for projects that need pre-approval is November 13, 2026. New participants have until January 8, 2027 to apply.

Collect the data and write it up

The student runs the measurements, keeps the records and writes the paper. That is not a formality. The Stockholm Junior Water Prize judging criteria include Practical Skills, which asks what help parents, teachers and professionals gave and whether the student carried out the measurements.

A mentor can help sharpen the question, check the statistics and push on what the results mean. The student owns the question, the data and the writing, and the paper’s acknowledgements should say plainly how much help there was.

Generative AI is off limits for the writing at ISEF-affiliated fairs. Students may not use it to write the research plan, abstract or poster. Any AI used as a resource must be cited.

The Discussion section deserves the most care. The paper guidelines say judges look at how the results matter to the water problem, how they compare with others’ work, and whether a local agency or local people could use them.

Where a water project can be entered

A county science fair, toward ISEF. Students cannot enter Regeneron ISEF directly. They qualify by winning at an affiliated fair. ISEF used 22 categories in 2026, and two of them are natural homes for water work: Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Environmental Engineering. Your student picks the one that best matches their question.

In the Bay Area, that means:

• Synopsys Science & Technology Championship (Santa Clara County): March 4, 2027. Its grand prize winners qualify for ISEF.
• Alameda County Science & Engineering Fair: judging March 13, 2027 at Chabot College.
• San Mateo County STEM Fair: held virtually on March 20, 2027.
• Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair: held each March at Los Medanos College.

County winners can go on to the California Science & Engineering Fair, held in April.

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize. This is a paper competition for water research, for students in grades 9 to 12 who will be 15 by August 1 of the competition year. Students can enter alone or with one teammate. A science fair is not required: any eligible student can self-nominate for their state competition online.

Regional awards are given at local science fairs, and a panel of water professionals picks one state winner, mainly from the papers. In 2026, state entries were due April 15. The 2027 dates are not posted yet.

Both. The same project can go to a county fair in March and to the state water prize in spring. The paper is judged more heavily than the poster there, so a strong written paper does double duty.

What California’s 2026 water projects looked like

California received 42 Stockholm Junior Water Prize submissions in 2026. The state winner was a two-student team from Lynbrook High School in San Jose, with a project on fertilizer pellets designed to cut the nutrient runoff behind harmful algal blooms.

Third place went to a student at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley for a sensor project on flood hotspots. Both projects named a water problem people already live with and aimed the work at doing something about it.

Around the country, 2026 state winners also worked on phytoremediation, stormwater and runoff filtration, biochar, constructed wetlands, cyanobacteria detection and wastewater pathogens.

A judge’s advice

• One clear question with real data beats an ambitious project with no result.
• Judges reward a student who can explain why each choice was made, more than the most advanced technique.
• The interview at the board decides close calls, and the student has to defend the work without a script.
• A project that looks parent- or mentor-built is seen through quickly.

See our science fair and research mentorship, or read how to do high school research without a lab.

FAQ

Can my child do a water research project at home without a lab?

Yes, for many water projects. Home, school and the field are standard work sites under ISEF rules. Work at a university, company or community lab needs an extra form.

What is a good water science fair project for high school?

One that names a real water problem, like runoff, algae or treatment, and tests what causes it or what reduces it, with a control and statistics. A project that only measures a problem tends to rank lower than one that also explains it.

Which ISEF category is a water quality project in?

Two of the ISEF categories are natural homes for water work: Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Environmental Engineering. The student chooses whichever fits their question best.

Does my child need to win a science fair to enter the Stockholm Junior Water Prize?

No. Any eligible student in grades 9 to 12 can self-nominate for their state competition online, alone or with one teammate. Local science fairs do give regional awards, but those winners still submit their paper online for state.

When should a student start a water research project?

Fall is a good time to pick the question and check whether it needs pre-approval. For the 2027 ISEF cycle, no research done before January 2026 counts, and Bay Area county fairs run in March.