More than 650 Arlington ISD fifth graders received lessons and activities in ways to become more water efficient during the 2017-2018 school year, along with tools to make a difference in their homes.
The WaterWise program is an annual partnership between Arlington Water Utilities and Tarrant Regional Water District that distributes classroom materials aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, and principles of water conservation. Tarrant Regional Water District is Arlington's raw water provider. Schools in the district apply to become part of the program and are served as long as funding remains available. This year, the following elementary schools participated in the program: Adams, Bryant, C.B. Berry, Morton, Rankin, Ruth Ditto, and Webb.
WaterWise is designed to generate immediate and long-term water resource savings. The curriculum delivers interactive, real-world education to the students and their families. It also gives students take-home activities and tools, like a free water-efficient showerhead and faucet aerator to install with their parents.
After the WaterWise program, participating students and teachers are surveyed. Information is gathered about what they learned and whether they used the hardware and tools in their homes.
"I really loved how the lessons were broken down, it was extremely easy to follow and covered so many state standards across several subjects," Kelly Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Arlington's Webb Elementary, said during the survey.
The program is part of the City of Arlington's 2014 Water Conservation Plan, a document compiled every five years for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. During the 2017-2018 school year, the WaterWise program reached 677 fifth-grade students and 24 teachers through the City of Arlington's funding partnership with TRWD.
About 69 percent of the participating students reported using the WaterWise shower timer to monitor water use and 40 percent reported installing the WaterWise high-efficiency showerhead.
Julie Snyder, a Ditto Elementary teacher who was surveyed after the program, said her students enjoyed installing the WaterWise kit items with family members and were surprised at the ways they could help save water.
Along with educating students and their families, the program has a goal of creating cost-effective water and energy savings. By implementing the program, there is a projected annual savings per home of 5,197 gallons of water. The program estimates that it will lead to saving 390 kilowatt hours of electricity, annually, per home. Using the tools and tips provided by the program leads to a projected lifetime savings of 27, 938 gallons of water and 2,146 kilowatt hours of electricity per household.
For additional water-saving information, visit www.SaveArlingtonWater.com or www.WaterIsAwesome.com.
Arlington ISD
Education, News, Water Utilities