Water Quality - Ideas for School Improvement
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Based on where your water comes from, create a list of potential sources of contamination. You may want to research the types of industries, farms and neighborhoods near your school to identify the pollution they generate. Explain how this pollution could affect your school’s water source. Could your school be contaminating its own water source? For example, school chemical spills, soil erosion from construction and application of pesticides and fertilizers could contribute to contamination. If so how can you reduce the risk of contamination? Implement some of your ideas.

Create a chart that lists maximum levels of contaminants in drinking water and the impact on human health for each of these contaminants if their safe drinking water levels are exceeded.
Analyze your school’s water using the Consumer Confidence Report. Does your school meet all the requirements for safe drinking water?

Create school grounds landscaping plan that reduces water runoff

  1. Create buffer zones to slow and absorb runoff.
  2. Plant grass in the place of concrete
  3. Cover bare soil with native vegetation
  4. If the school is adjacent to a stream plant a riparian zone along the stream to absorb runoff.
  5. Identify if there are areas of your landscape plan where outdoor learning could take place.

Present the plan to your site based council.

Adopt a nearby stream and join the Water Watch program.