HCWA Hosting Imagine A Day Without Water Art Contest
It’s scary to think about what communities in Georgia would do without access to public drinking water. With that in mind, the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) is hosting its Second Annual “Imagine a Day Without Water” Art Contest for Henry County students, grades K-12.
Art teachers throughout Henry County Schools were notified at the beginning of the school year of this unique art contest, with their students receiving invitations to participate. Student entries must be dropped off at the Authority’s headquarters in McDonough by Oct. 16, for judging by HCWA water professionals. Winners will be announced on Oct. 21, which is the date this year when the water industry has selected to “Imagine a Day Without Water.”
Cash prizes of $100 will be mailed to winners in four age group categories, in addition to a gift card for a supportive teacher selected via a drawing. The winners will be recognized on the HCWA website, on social media platforms, and in the HCWA Currents customer newsletter, which is distributed to the utility’s 60,000 or so residential and commercial customers.
The young artists participating in the HCWA Imagine a Day Without Water Art Contest can submit only one entry per student, and their work must be 11” x 17” in size. Artists can use paint, colored pencils, markers or crayons for their drawings, but no graphic designs or digital artwork are allowed.
Imagine a Day Without Water is a national education initiative organized by the Value of Water Campaign of the U.S. Water Alliance, which includes the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Water Environmental Federation (WEF), among other utility and industry partners.
The event brings together diverse stakeholders to highlight how water is essential and invaluable to everyday life, while stressing the importance of investing in water system infrastructure by communities throughout the country.
Imagine a Day Without Water creates awareness of how public tap water, such as what is provided by the HCWA, is essential for drinking, cooking, washing your hands, or for bathing and showering, doing laundry or flushing the toilet. Hospitals would close without water. Fire fighters couldn’t put out fires, and farmers couldn’t water their crops. Disease would spread, even worse during the current pandemic.
“Many of us take water for granted every day,” says Lindsey Sanders, HCWA Environmental Compliance Coordinator, who is organizing the Imagine a Day Without Water Art Contest for Henry County Schools. “Hopefully, this event helps students and adults in our community recognize the importance of safe drinking water, conservation, sewer infrastructure and services, and how critical a role water plays in daily life.”
This year, as communities across America face the public health threat of the coronavirus pandemic, water and wastewater systems continue to do their jobs 24/7, to keep the water flowing.
“During the pandemic, we’ve heard the discussion of ‘essential’ workers and the importance of keeping them safe and thanking them for what they do,” says Lindy Farmer, HCWA General Manager. “I would count water professionals among those jobs in our country that are essential for us to maintain and enjoy a safe, healthy quality of life.”
For more information on Imagine a Day Without Water, including the annual HCWA Art Contest, check out the event page within the Community & Education section of this website (ww.hcwa.com).
Captions for photos:
(Above) Lindsey Sanders, HCWA Environmental Compliance Coordinator, displays the winners from last year's HCWA Art Contest to raise awareness for the "Imagine A Day Without Water" industry event.
(Below) The drawing of Stella McClellan, a 10th grader last year at the Academy for Advanced Students, won first place in the inaugural Imagine A Day Without Water Art Contest in 2019.
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Media contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
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