Teenage inventor could change the ways droughts affect the U.S.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015, 10:56 AM - It has been nothing short of an amazing year for 15-year-old Steven McDowell.

The young inventor chose to work alone on an experiment for his school's science fair. He decided to address a problem that many Californian's like him have been facing: the severe drought affecting the area.

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"Fresh clean water is California's most precious resource and it seems that we never have enough to go around," McDowell said. "I decided to use California's drought as my subject and how to help solve it as my project, using roof runoff as my source for the water."

His project called Waterfence uses the water run-off from roofs and drains it into the fence. Which will continue filling the fence around your home. The math adds up quickly allowing a 2,000 square feet home to 1,264 gallons of fresh water for every inch of rain.

Officials in the U.S. are excited about the project as the southwest is going one of the worst drought the region has seen in 1,000 years.

The fence has a website where people can contact the inventor's team if they wish to purchase the invention.

Additionally, the Waterfence is said to be a terrific fire barrier, which is an additional useful feature in a state often struck by devastating wildfires.

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