Water Detective Agency signs up 1800 students

An initiative to teach students about water conservation has already signed up 1800 students as Water Use Detectives.

Council’s Water Conservation Educator and primary school teacher, Natalie Stone has visited nine schools so far targeting year 5-8 students.  With Council’s Water Use Advisor, Ben Thompson, Ms Stone has taught the students about where our water comes from, how it is treated to make it safe to drink and why we have to conserve water. 

One of the aims of the water conservation education programme is to increase understanding of how much water each household uses. Students are taught how simple changes like not running the tap while cleaning teeth can help reduce water use.  Students in Ms Stone’s classes are given worksheets to record their household's water use for a week and compare it with averages for similar sized families.  They are also given shower timers to encourage shorter showers and flow measuring bags so they can tell if their shower is water efficient or not.  

“Over 1800 students have now completed these sheets in Kāpiti making it one of the largest Water Use Detective Agencies in New Zealand,” Mr Thompson says.

Ms Stone says schools have been very enthusiastic about the presentations and resources for their students.

“The children have come up with some inventive ideas for saving water.  One boy was quite happy never to have another shower again.  Others are more practical, like keeping a bucket in the shower to collect water for the garden.”

Any school who has not already been visited can arrange a presentation at their school by contacting the Water Use Advisor at Council on 04 296 4700 or 0800 486 486.