School Education Programs

The growing need to conserve water has spurred many innovative school education programs. Some programs include distributing low-cost water conserving devices, such as shower heads, faucet aerators, and toilet displacement devices. Often these devices are distributed to the students in pre-packaged kits for the students to take home for their parents to install. Some programs include simple home water surveys to aid the students in discovering water saving opportunities in the home, and calculate potential water savings estimates for each recommended measure. (The AWE HWW water usage calculator can be used free of charge for this purpose.) Water utilities sometimes supply prizes to classes, based on participation or achievements. Where feasible, field trips and interactive presentations are incorporated into the program. The key to success is designing a program that excites the students to take immediate action in conserving water, while educating them in the proper water conservation practices throughout their lives.

Water is essential to life and drinking water supplies are often very limited. It is therefore imperative that children are educated in water efficiency, and water utilities should have an active role in this education. There are three potential benefits to a school education program: 

1. Children learn methods to conserve water in their daily routines.
2. Children bring this knowledge to their homes and influence water conservation behavior on the family.
3. Water awareness leaves a lasting impression on the child into adulthood and improves the water using behavior of the next generation. 

It is reasonable to assume that all three potential benefits are realized to some degree in most school education programs, but the actual measured water savings from school education programs alone have not been fully documented. It is difficult to measure the amount of water savings directly attributable to school education programs alone, since these programs are usually part of an overall water conservation strategy at the utility. But it is clear that the total water conservation savings that can be achieved are enhanced by the addition of a school education program.

Developing a curriculum for water conservation must be coordinated with the administrators and teachers of the local schools in order to incorporate it as a supplement to standard core curriculums (often science studies). Time allotment is usually limited, and the school can usually afford only one to three classroom hours dedicated to water conservation. The school will often schedule the water conservation program to coincide with similar topics in the curriculum of the core course of study.

Water conservation curriculums are usually designed for two or three different sets of grade levels, in accordance to the general aptitude of students. Often the program includes a preliminary curriculum designed for grades K through 3; an intermediate curriculum for grades 4 through 6; and sometimes a curriculum for grades 7 and 8. It is not common, but some water utilities implement programs for high school grade levels as well. There are several sources of pre-packaged curriculums available, with guidebooks, coloring books, DVDs, homework assignments, games, computer games, posters, and other add-ons. The water utility often works with the teachers to customize the curriculum for local conditions, school resources and current coursework.  In many cases, a water utility representative assists in teaching the curriculum. However it is implemented, the school education program must be a coordinated effort between the water and the school to better educate children on the importance of conserving water and the practical application of water conserving behavior the students can practice in their lives.

WaterSense has developed educational materials that are geared towards students in 3rd through 5th grade to help them learn about water use and the importance of efficiency. Two sets of learning materials are available from WaterSense: A Day in the Life of a Drop and Fix a Leak Week Learning Resources. Materials for both of these programs and more information can be downloaded at the WaterSense Educational Materials webpage.

Related resources:

• Texas Water Development Board Conservation Education 
• St. Johns River Water Management District – The Great Water Odyssey ​
• Marin Municipal Water District School Education Program 
• City of Vallejo, CA School Education Program