April is water conservation month, a busy time for Port St. Lucie Utility Systems’ Educational Outreach. Every year in March, Utility Systems teams up with Florida Section American Water Works Association (FSAWWA) to host a conservation poster competition among St. Lucie schools. This year, they received about 200 submissions, a sizable increase from the 60 posters submitted last year.
The theme for this year’s contest was “Drop Savers,” and focused on ways in which families can conserve water in their homes, such as limiting faucet use and shower times.
At the beginning of every school year, Jenny Tomes, Outreach Coordinator for the city’s Utility Systems, meets with the school district and helps contributes to that year’s water science curriculum. She also meets with the students every spring, to teach them about the importance of water conservation and science, leading up to the contest.
“I do a 30-minute presentation on everything about water,” says Tomes, “where our water comes from, how much water covers the earth, how much can actually be used by people – because it’s a really scary number. About 1 percent is freshwater that we can use. So, I start with that just to give the kids a basic understanding of why it is so important to conserve water.”
With the more advanced grades, she goes into more detailed information about PSL Utilities’ function in the city. She teaches the students about the different types of aquifers, as well as the reverse osmosis process by which the city converts the water from their 48 wells into potable water.
Tomes says that their educational outreach component is a major part of Utility Systems’ progressive and long-reaching plan for the future: “If [the importance of water conservation is] instilled in these kids very young, it’s something that they’ll take with them, keep with them, and then share with their families as they get older. It’s interesting to think of the impact it will have in the future. Utilities Systems is very progressive. We’ve got a 20-year plan, a 50-year plan, a 100-year plan, and this is part of it. We’re planning for our future. We’re planning for long after we’re all retired.”
Payton Norkus, a fifth-grader at Manatee Academy in St. Lucie West who won the poster contest this year for her grade, says she learned a lot of interesting tips throughout Tomes’ presentation. “We can definitely start with trying more to conserve our water,” she says. “For instance, when we brush our teeth, we can turn the tap off. That can save about 2 gallons every time you do it. Shorter showers, definitely. Another interesting thing I learned was that when you water your lawn in the morning and late at night, it doesn’t evaporate. I thought that was pretty cool. And when you’re washing your car and your dog, do it in the lawn, so that they both get watered at the same time.”
Payton has dreamed of being a firefighter since she was very young. She says that for her, water conservation holds special meaning. “I know that we need water all the time to put out fires, and save people’s lives. If we don’t watch our amount [of water use], we won’t have water to put out fires.” She says that the recent presentation on water conservation has helped confirm and further her aspirations.
And it felt real good to be recognized for her poster. “I was very surprised when [Tomes] came in and said I won. I didn’t know I had won. I had done this for fun, but I was very excited and very happy. When I was at the [City Council] meeting, I was pretty antsy to go up there and hold up my certificate, smiling the biggest smile ever.”
Port St. Lucie Utilities Outreach isn’t just confined to the schools. Every year, they participate in the city’s 10-week City University program, when adults are invited to take a tour of a wastewater plant, and learn more about the Utilities’ daily operation, as well as the other facets of the city’s departments. Utilities Outreach was just in attendance at Stuart’s Waterfest, and will be out at the PSL Hurricane Expo in June. Tomes says any chance she can get out to spread the word, she’ll be there.
Additionally, every March since 2005, PSL Utilities has been hosting the Best Tasting Drinking Water Contest, also in conjunction with FSAWWA. Utilities from all over this region compete in a blind taste-test for the best potable water. This year, Port St. Lucie finished at second place.
They also hit the web this month. Throughout April, citizens were invited to share their water conservation techniques on Instagram. Every week, the best tip or story was selected, and the winner got a gift basket filled with all sorts of water-saving goodies.
Overall, Water Utilities has been able to drastically reduce water usage city wide. Since 2008, the city’s water use permit has dropped from 104 gallons per person per day to 80 gallons, mostly because of high-efficiency appliances and toilets, low-flow shower heads, and other water and money-saving devices, says Tomes.
Article by: Adam Laten Willson
