Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/529509
Water System Council's Children's Water Festival Draws 1700 Fifth Graders to Erie, Pennsylvania A lmost 1700 fifth graders descended on the campus of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College for the Water Sys- tem Council's Great Lakes Children's Water Festival, May 14 in Erie, Pennsylvania. Hundreds of volunteers led the stu- dents from New York, Ohio, and Penn- sylvania through four hours of sessions covering groundwater, well systems, drinking water, watersheds, water qual- ity, and conservation. The presentations, designed to be engaging and interactive, were taught by water professionals from local, state, and national organizations. "One or two stayed every time I finished," says water well contractor Ronald Holt of Holt Drilling of Brock- way, Pennsylvania. "I enjoyed that. I could tell they were interested." Holt, a contractor for 35 years, had one of his five rigs on display and showed the students a model explaining the hydrologic cycle, one detailing ben- tonite, and a variety of core samples. "When I would ask where water came from, a lot would say the faucet," Holt says. "When I showed them the (hydrologic cycle) model, a lot would say 'Wow' or 'Cool.' They got it. They knew what the well was." The Water Systems Council hosts the event each year in a different location. It has held festivals in Delaware, Mary- land, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. For the state departments of environ- mental protection in Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio the event helped fulfill their conservation and efficiency outreach requirements under the Great Lakes Compact. They did so with a fun event that saw activities with titles such as • Groundwater, the Resource on the Move • Unlock the Secrets in the Soil • Your Role in the Rain • Watershed Scavenger Hunt • Water Cycle Wonders • Water Fortune Teller • Water Wheel of Fortune. "Things really clicked at this loca- tion," Water Systems Council Executive Director Margaret Martens says. "From our very first conversation it worked. By the end of our first meeting we had decisions made that usually take six months. The campus is so accessible. Things went really, really well." Pennsylvania Department of Envi- ronmental Protection Secretary John Quigley participated in the edible aquifer area where students were ex- posed to aquifers in a fun and delicious fashion—one consisting of ice cream, crushed ice, soda, and sprinkles. The edible aquifer classroom is one of two in which all of the students par- ticipated. All also took home rainsticks. The students first learned the story of rainsticks before decorating their sticks, which consisted of cardboard tubes with chicken wire, limestone, salt, and pumice in them. "You have 1700 students having fun while learning at the same time," Quigley says. "I think it's great. At the edible aquifers, I talked with kids and they understood it. Everyone has a role to play in conserving water and this is a great way to show that." Steven R. Halmi, PE, a principal en- gineer with Deiss & Halmi Engineering in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and Gene Loepp, a chief operator with Albion Borough, Pennsylvania, led a session titled "So Goes the Groundwater." They did so with sand-tank models, demonstrating pumping and even contamination. NEWS from page 15 Steven R. Halmi, PE, demonstrates groundwater movement in a session titled "So Goes the Groundwater" at the 2015 Great Lakes Children's Water Festival, May 14 in Erie, Pennsylvania. Children gather around tables and await instructions on making edible aquifers out of ice cream, sprinkles, and soda. Ronald Holt of Holt Drilling talks with students about some of the core samples he brought to the water festival. He also had one of his rigs on site as well. 16 July 2015 WWJ waterwelljournal.com