Be Water Wise! School Water Audit

School water audits provide a fun and educational way for students to examine the ways that they use water everyday, and to encourage classmates, teachers, and school administrators to make their school more water-efficient and cost-effective.  EE Week’s Be Water Wise! School Water Audit guides students through their own audit of school water use, encouraging them to “find the leaks” in the water use at school and develop strategies to improve water conservation. 

Water Audit Tools for Teachers

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• School Water Audit Teachers Guide (.pdf)
• School Water Audit (.pdf)
• School Water Audit Report Outline (.pdf)
• Submit School Water Audit Data to EE Week
• NEW: Water and Energy Saving Ideas for Schools

Supplementary Water Conservation Lesson Plans from The Water Sourcebooks

Grades K-2

• Drip and Drop’s Adventure: Students learn about water conservation strategies and why they’re important through an interactive puppet show. Students write a class book about ways to save water.
• How Low Can You Go: Students learn about ground water by creating a model aquifer, and creating a plastic bag book that models the water table.
• It’s Time to Conserve: Students create display posters about ways to conserve water at home and at school, to which they can add throughout the year. Students learn about the job of a hydrologist through the creation of a weekly classroom hydrologist.
• So Much Water, So Little to Drink: Students learn about the scarcity of water resources by using different models that represent Earth.
• Water Is Very Special: Students learn about the importance of water in our daily lives through a hands-on activity with dried foods. Students create a mural based on a poem about water’s importance

Grades 3-5

• Saving a Resource in Jeopardy: Students learn about water use through a game of Jeopardy, and explore the environmental and economic benefits of water conservation.
• Waste Not, Want Not: Students explore the consequences of wasteful water use through a group activity, and think about ways to use water more wisely.
• Water Goes Around and Comes Around: Students learn about the “human water cycle” by creating a model water supply system. Students learn how to read a water meter.
• Water Works: Students learn how water treatment plants work through a hands-on activity, and write a story about the water treatment process. 
• Water, Water Everywhere: Students learn about water distribution on Earth and create a class book illustrating facts about Earth’s water.

Grades 6-8

• Aquifers and Recharge Areas: Students learn about how aquifers work by creating a model aquifer. Students brainstorm ideas about how to protect recharge areas.
• Home Water Use: Through a take-home activity, students learn about home water use and think about ways to save water.
• Invisible Water: Through a hands-on water measurement activity, students learn about water distribution on Earth and the relative invisibility of ground water compared to other fresh water resources.
• Water Filtration: Students learn about potable water, water purification and water treatment plants through a hands-on water filtration activity.
• Water Meter Reader: In a take-home activity, students keep track of home water usage by recording the readings on their home water meters. Students consider the implications of their data.

Grades 9-12

• From Ground to Water: Students learn about ground water and gain experience writing and presenting their knowledge to different audiences.
• Groundwater Basics: Students perform calculations of groundwater volume and porosity as well as the volume and recharge rate that will supply a particular well. 
• Water You Doing About This: Students estimate water use at home and think about ways they can conserve water. 
• Water, Water Everywhere: Students learn about water distribution on Earth, water demand, conflict over water resources and how water is regulated.