School Water Audit
The School Water Audit Program (SWAP) was designed in response to water providers' desire for education that had quantifiable water savings. The SWAP offers STEM education that incentivizes school and community water conservation through student-driven inquiry and students acting to install technology that saves water. Students are challenged with using technology to decrease water use and applying mathematical thinking to calculate annual savings in gallons. This program has 4 components:
- Introductory Lesson: A 50-minute interactive presentation led by Arizona Project WET (APW) Water Educators. Students are introduced to water conservation technology and behaviors. At the end of the presentation students are briefed on the school hand-washing faucet audit investigation.
- Faucet Inventory: APW staff will inventory all faucets in your school used for handwashing in preparation for the auditing investigations. This is done without students but will require the assistance of the lead teacher. The inventory will help determine the number of hand-washing faucets, identify aerator sizes, and note any pertinent observations, such as leaks and broken fixtures. APW will then provide new, appropriately sized, water efficient faucet aerators for students to install during the audit.
- Audits Day: Student groups partner with APW staff and volunteers to audit handwashing faucets. Students collect data and make observations to determine faucet flow rate before and after installing the new water efficient aerator. They analyze faucet use using surveys or observations to determine the average number of times the faucet is on per day and the average length of time that it’s on. After the audit, students will analyze the data using a worksheet and determine the amount of water saved in a day, month, and year.
- Results Presentation: When the audit and calculations are completed, students may make suggestions about how to make their schools even more water efficient. Students are highly encouraged to present results and suggestions to APW staff, their school principal, their school district, or any other organization/business. They might audit classroom faucets, drinking fountains, or cafeteria water fixtures to extend their impact and their learning.
We hope this program inspires students to learn more about water efficient devices and appliances and become a dedicated water saver.
We are currently offering APW facilitated presentations for this program to Avondale, Chandler, Litchfield Park, Pinal County, and the Tucson area. Don’t delay…request a presentation today!
For teachers outside the service area: If you would like to implement the program, we offer a free School Water Audit Presenter’s Guide that you could use to lead the activity with your students. Please contact Kerry Schwartz at kls4@arizona.edu for more information. You may also check out the Community Action tab on our website where you can find additional resources, such as our faucet aerator installation video that walks students through the data collection process and shows them how to install new water efficient aerators.