The Harris-Galveston (Texas) Subsidence District won its first WaterSense Excellence Award for Education and the Promotion of WaterSense.
In 2019-2020 school year, the Subsidence District reached more than 21,800 third through sixth-grade students in the Houston area through the Water Detectives school program. The program reached more than 40,000 students throughout the region and its customized WaterWise curriculum focused on water conservation and transitioned to an online format when the pandemic began.
“Conserving water helps all of our water resources go further. Our Water Detectives Water Wise Program engages students with interactive activities using WaterSense products to help them develop a life-long commitment to water conservation,” General Manager Mike Turco said.
To make the school program and other water conservation education materials accessible during the pandemic, the Subsidence District redesigned SmarterAboutWater.org, which includes virtual educational content and videos on WaterSense labeled products and installation tutorials for parents.
The Subsidence District gave a presentation about this resource, water conservation, and WaterSense to more than 150 educators at the virtual Texas Association for Environmental Education conference.
From participating in the WaterSense Twitter party for Fix a Leak Week and creating an original video about toilet leaks to promote the water-saving fixtures installed in a WaterSense-labeled home at the University of Texas at Dallas, the Subsidence District also utilized social media to spread the word about WaterSense.
“Our partnership with WaterSense allows us to distribute these key water conservation products and tools while also teaching students the science and importance behind water conservation,” Turco said. “Smarter About Water will also become the water conservation resource for the Gulf Coast region.”
To learn more about the Water Detectives School Program curriculum, click here. To watch the Water Detectives videos, click here.