Access to drinking water is becoming more limited as drought persists across continents. This article highlights a particularly impacted group of students due to increasing drought conditions and upstream river pollution near their reservation. While there are related water and modeling standards across the K-12 Next Generation Science Standards progression, the standards this classroom used focused on promoting student agency in looking for design solutions, showing students they can critically explore and develop engineering solutions within their community. Before the pandemic, teacher Ms. Xavier used the Garden TOOLS curriculum, which focuses on rural settings working on water conservation while using the Engineering Design Process (EDP). This article uses the EDP to frame how Ms. Xavier modified a lesson plan for online delivery, how she used scientific models and modeling to help students communicate their ideas, and how she supported students with different access to resources at home.