HCWA Supports Annual Children's Water Festival
The Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) continues to serve as an advocate for clean water, most recently through its partnership with the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (MNGWPD or Metro Water District) and the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) to host a Children’s Water Festival for south metro Atlanta students.
Approximately 300 fourth grade students, the majority of whom were from Henry County Schools, took part in the 15th annual Children’s Water Festival during National Drinking Water Week in May. The Festival was held at the Shamrock/Blalock Reservoirs and Community Use Facility in Jonesboro to help advance the goals of the Metro Water District’s Clean Water Campaign.
The annual Children’s Water Festivals – two events are scheduled each year, with one targeting north metro schools and the other south metro schools – provide hands-on educational opportunities for students in an outdoor setting to remind them of the importance of water quality and quantity issues.
The Festival’s water professionals, which included staff from the HCWA, taught students about watershed protection, water quality, the proper disposal of FOG (fats, oils, and grease), utility trucks and large equipment, as well as wetland wildlife.
“As a utility within the footprint of the Metro Water District, we look at an event like the Children’s Water Festival as an opportunity to reach our customers with the message about the importance of being good stewards of our natural resources,” says Tara Brown, HCWA Environmental Compliance Coordinator, who helped to recruit volunteers from her utility to assist with the Festival.
HCWA employees brought a truck and large equipment to display for the kids, in addition to leading them in the FOG relays and lessons in watershed protection.
“Our employees do an outstanding job of sharing the exciting and important role our utility plays in providing clean water for our community,” adds Brown. “I think the kids come away with a better understanding and appreciation for how they can protect our water resources that provide them with clean drinking water every day.”
The Metro Water District’s Clean Water Campaign builds awareness among citizens of the importance of preventing non-point source pollution – which is any pollution on surface that may be carried by storm water to a local water body – while developing solutions to protect the water quality of the region’s rivers, lakes and streams.
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