We’re delighted to have been able to visit Blenheim School last week to see The Great Drain Game in use. It was exciting to see the project come to fruition, and to witness the understanding in the children’s eyes as they got to see firsthand what their choices meant ‘downstream’ in the stormwater and wastewater systems.

Marlborough District Council’s Freshwater Educator, Anna Crowe, is doing a great job inspiring local Marlborough children about  water conservation and helping them to understand that their actions can make a difference.

We understand Anna has lots of bookings to take The Great Drain Game to Marlborough schools – so it will, no doubt, be coming to a school near you!

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We’re delighted to announce our 2015 project to celebrate World Water Day is ‘The Great Drain Game’.

We’re sponsoring the development of an interactive resource called “The Great Drain Game” which the Marlborough District Council will use to teach local primary school students and the wider community about how our wastewater and stormwater systems work – as well as reinforce messages around water conservation.

Water is set to become a huge issue for, Marlborough, New Zealand, and the world. The latest report from the UN predicts a 40% water shortfall by 2030. We believe it’s critical we take a proactive approach in regards to the smart use of water, and an awareness of water conservation. What better place to start than with educating the next generation.

The Marlborough District Council’s freshwater educator, Anna Crowe, delivers a stormwater education programme in schools – and this resource will allow the programme to become a very hands-on learning experience. The resource will also be available for use at community events, such as the Amazing Eco-Race and school galas.

The Great Drain Game is the second in our series of World Water Day projects for Southern Water Engineering – with the 2014 project being the rainwater tank at Springlands School.

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Saving water a joint effort for kids and business

‘We can all do our share’ was the message from SWE on World Water Day this year.

More familiar with designing systems pumping thousands of litres per minute than schoolyards, recently our water engineers have been working on a smaller scale, installing rainwater tanks at Springlands School.

The project was part of Springlands School’s commitment to the New Zealand Enviro-schools programme. School principal Gaylene Beattie says “as a ‘Green and Gold’ school the rainwater collection is part of our continual efforts to ‘step up’ and improve our environmental practices”.

Stephen Leitch, Managing Director at SWE, says “Water is the reason we’re here and is vital for the sustainability of our industries in the region…whether it’s in the vineyards or our communities, it makes sense for us to protect it. The Springlands School project was a no-brainer…it has the dual benefit of protecting our water resource for future generations and teaching those same future generations about the value and sustainable use of water.”

He admits that the project has a feel good factor too, with his team getting a kick from working with the school.

World Water Day 2014

The rainwater collection and usage was spearheaded by the school’s GO MAD environmental action team who developed the initial plan, with support from parents and teachers. Southern Water Engineering then donated their expertise to design a system to capture and store rain water for use by the school and also donated the storage tanks themselves.

The new system, which has now been installed, has been designed to meet the existing school needs and to allow for expansion in the future. Rainwater is collected from the classroom roofs and uses gravity to flow into two new storage tanks. The water will then be used by students for the gardens around the school. In future, the system could be extended to provide water for other school uses, including in the nearby bathrooms. For now, students are excited about the next stage – researching options for the tanks’ decoration.

The Springlands School project is part of SWE’s commitment to community involvement. It is the inaugural project in an annual series to promote World Water Day by supporting a community water conservation and sustainability initiative each year.

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