Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
MATTHEWS, N.C. -- Storm Water Services reaches out to schools many times during the school year. Their goal is to make people aware of what happens to rain water once it touches the ground.
Water Quality educators Erin Oliverio and Jennifer Krupowicz showed 5th graders at Matthews Elementary School a model of a town. They named the fictitious town Water Town.
The 5th graders were captivated as Jennifer and Erin poured seasonings on the town that represented pollutants like litter, fertilizer, pesticides and animal droppings.
As Erin is pouring water on Water Town she says, “It’s raining in Water Town. And what’s happening to the water? It’s all going to the drain. Even just a little bit of rain picks up a lot of stuff right? Yes, it’s moving downhill.”
The children also learned that our rain water is not treated after it goes down the storm drain. In fact the water goes directly into our creeks and lakes.
The visual aid brought the point home to students like Abby Quinn.
“If you pollute, the fish could die. I am going to tell my parents not to use fertilizer on the grass,” Quinn said.
Storm Water Services hopes by educating children their message will be spread that only rain should go down the storm drain.
