University of Wisconsin - Environmental Resources Center
Environmental Resources CenterUniversity of Wisconsin Extension
The Source Water Education Report was compiled by Cindy Jelenchick, outreach specialist, under the direction of Elaine Andrews.
Funding was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.
Go to the Educating Young People About Water curricula database at http://www.uwex.edu/erc/eypaw/choose.html to search for education resources that address source water topics.
Assess your curriculum for attention to source water topics.
Executive Summary
In recognition of the role of public education and citizen participation in water resource issues, and the concurrent need to expand existing education programs in source water protection and improvement, the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation (NEETF) in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW), engaged Elaine Andrews, University of Wisconsin (UW) Extension, to evaluate existing K-12 water education materials for topic areas related to drinking water sources (DWS). Gaps - areas where little or no curricula exist to address source water issues - were identified and presented as future source water education needs.
Project Goal
The purpose of the Source Water Education Project was to search the University of Wisconsin Extension, Educating Young People About Water (EYPAW) resource database and newly acquired water education materials to: 1) identify curricula that that could be used to meet source water education needs, and 2) to identify gaps that could be filled through expansion of existing materials, or creation of new source water education materials.
Completion and publication of the gap analysis of water resources curricula provided information to guide future development of new curricula or to adapt existing curricula to fill source water education needs.
Recommendations
There is a need for source water education materials designed to identify, assess, prioritize, and address local needs in the area of source water protection and contamination prevention. Numerous activities are available to cover many of the key topics identified for source water education. However, there are gaps in existing curricula that need to be addressed in newly developed materials in order to complete the source water "big picture" for educators and the community. Suggested format, concepts and content to include in a teacher/leader packet are summarized in the recommendations below. Ideas are presented in response to evaluation results and comments that can be found in the full report.
According to the Report, source water education materials should include the following components:
Goals for New Source Water Materials
To support EPA's source water initiative by:
- identification of existing curricula which meet source water education needs, and
- creation of new materials designed to fill gaps within existing materials.
Context
A local, community-based, inquiry-oriented source water education experience.
Format and Content Areas
Creation of a progressive, sequential source water education teacher/leader packet. The following should be included in the packet:
- Background information, goals and objectives, activities and associated timeline, materials list for activities, resource identification, glossary, and assessment strategies.
- A curriculum template which describes the source water "big picture" through identification of six key source water topics:
- Identification of drinking water sources
- Geohydrology: Dynamics of source water
- Accessing, storing, treating, and distributing source water
- Contamination, risk assessment, and remediation of source water
- Protection and/or prevention activities and programs of citizens, communities, and the government
- Present and future needs for safe source water
- Sample source water education goals
- Resource identification of previously evaluated source water activities in the areas of:
- The physical and chemical properties of water
- The hydrologic cycle
- The percentage of fresh water on the Earth available for drinking
- Types of water related ecosystems
- Soil composition and structure
- Student activities focusing on the following themes:
- Identifying and defining source water, and source water areas
- Identification of the watershed(s) in which the community is located
- Identification of storage areas for local source water
- Identification of contaminants in the local water supply
- Methods of treating contaminated source water
- A survey of possible sources of source water pollution in the community
- An investigation into the effects of water quality on food sources and human health
- Environmental and economic costs of creating new or supplementary municipal water systems
- Action strategies for a source water contamination emergency
- An exploration into the interrelationship between personal lifestyle, socioeconomic status, culture, population growth, and accessibility as they relate to source water availability and contamination
- The role of legislation in source water protection
- Individual opportunities for source water protection actions on a community, state, or federal level
- An activity simulating the "big picture" of the source water cycle from acquisition through treatment and consumer consumption to discharge of treated water back into a water ecosystem.
- Information on accessing the local Consumer Confidence Report. Incorporation of CCR information into the structure and knowledge base of the information and activities in the education packet.
- Incorporation of technology through activities and information acquisition, and/or resource identification.
- Correlation of activities with National Science Education Standards.
- Student assessment through a home, school, or community based source water action project.
Philosophy of Teaching and Learning
- Materials are inquiry-based and hands-on.
- Emphasis on student-directed teaching and learning.
- Recognizes that student knowledge and understanding are rooted in experience. As a result, learning consists of continual or active construction of meaning by the learner.
- Recognizes and responds to student diversity and different learning styles.
- Integrates the subject matter with other disciplines.
- Supports collaborative learning within the classroom.
