2012 Children's Groundwater Festival
(contributed by Mike Schultes of JEO Consulting Group)The Nebraska Children's Groundwater Festival was attended by dozens of schools in central Nebraska. The AWWA station was constantly busy with a continuous flock of students. Four volunteers rotated in running the station and educated the students on the value of groundwater. The model depicted how surface pollution can infiltrate into our groundwater and how important it is to prevent this pollution. The students were able to see and understand that their drinking water originates from groundwater wells for the majority of Nebraskans. Any pollution that gets into our rivers, lakes, and streams can ultimately get into their drinking water.
The students had fun selecting the food coloring and using the hand pump. One young man pumped so intensely that the hand pump broke.
The four AWWA volunteers were:
Michael Schultes, JEO Consulting Group
Bill Podraza, Miller and Associates
Jenny Sidlo, Hastings Utilities
Carlos Medina, Olsson Associates
