NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
16 May 2002

INNOVATIVE WATER EDUCATION PROGRAM UNDERWAY IN CITY SCHOOLS

Harrisburg, PA — Mayor Stephen R. Reed today announced that the City of Harrisburg is conducting an innovative new environmental educational curriculum for city school students in grades 2 to 7. Entitled the TAPWater program, the initiative includes a comprehensive educational kit for use by teachers, and in-classroom instructional visits by employees of the Harrisburg Bureau of Water. More than two dozen city school classrooms have already received the training, and more will be conducted before the end of the school year. The program will resume with the next school year.

Reed said the new program is designed to change the way youth view our water resources. “Given the increasingly frequent droughts experienced across the Common- wealth, it is vitally important that we teach our young people about the finite water re- sources available and how we can conserve them.”

The program includes a wide array of water related topics, including sessions on the water cycle, watersheds, wetlands, conservation, pollution, water treatment and distribution systems.

The Mayor said the new environmental effort is funded by the PA Department of Environmental Protection, and is being offered in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Section of the American Water Works Association (PA AWWA), and water utilities across the state. The Harrisburg Authority, owner of the Harrisburg Water System, which services more than 68,000 customers in the midstate, is providing the classroom instructional personnel from the city’s Bureau of Water.

Reed said Harrisburg Water Quality Officer Jack Stabley is conducting the program for the city. Stabley shares his expertise with students and conducts various activities, including testing water samples and leading field trips to the city’s water plant and wastewater treatment facility.

The TAPWater Program provides curriculum materials for use in the schools, which includes text, experiments, videos, interactive CD Roms, testing kits, posters and other teaching aids. Water facts, games and trivia complement the curriculum and keep the effort fun and interesting for the students.

“The beauty of the TAPWater program is that it brings water utility personnel into the classroom,” said Mike Snyder, project coordinator for the PA AWWA. “The men and women who are out there every day ensuring a safe, reliable source of water have a great deal of knowledge to share about this precious resource, and their appreciation of clean water can be contagious.”

Snyder said the Harrisburg initiative is one of several pilot programs being conducted across the Commonwealth, with all state water systems expected to adopt the program during the Fall school term.

The Mayor said persons interested in obtaining more information about the TAPWater Program can contact Snyder at 717.230.8935, or via email at www.mikesnyder@paawwa.org.

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