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6th Annual Water Awareness Poster

Contest:

LEARN TO BE: “WATER SMART!”

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Let’s talk water…..

Water is all around us - covering over 70% of the Earth’s surface – but it still needs to be valued and used wisely.

Every living thing on the planet needs water.

In addition, many everyday objects require water to make them – sometimes surprising amounts!

In this presentation, you will learn what can be done to help share the water!

Some good news…Population keeps going up……but total water withdrawals peaked in the 1980s. What’s going on?

We got smarter about water use.

Source: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/wateruse-trends.html

Water withdrawals

* #

of p

eopl

e

We got smarter about water use….

Example: Let’s look at gallons per flush (gpf)

1970s - between 5 - 7.5 gpf =

1980s - average 3.5 gpf =

Now - 1.6 gpf (or less) =

Learning opportunity: HOW MUCH WOULD YOU FLUSH?• How many times do you think you flush each day?• How many students in the class?• Multiply flushes x students x gpf for each type of toilet (modern/1980s/1970s)

[It’s ok to round to the nearest gallon to make calculations easier…]

• How big are the water savings – per day? week? month? year?

We’re getting better,But we still have work to do….

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Photo credits: Ibis: Frank GaldoLawn: http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/category/lawn-garden/Cow: http://pasco.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/Canoes: http://www.crystalspringspreserve.com/about-us/photo-galleries/?galAlbum=5

Water: Everyone needs it - What can

we do?

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Photo credits: Ibis: Frank GaldoLawn: http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/category/lawn-garden/Cow: http://pasco.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/Canoes: http://www.crystalspringspreserve.com/about-us/photo-galleries/?galAlbum=5

Let’s get SMART about water use!

Balancing Act:

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And you too!!!

DEP

Working together to ensure everyone gets the water they need!

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DID YOU KNOW?Recycling matters!

For every pound of paper recycled,

3.5 gallons of water are saved!

For metals like steel and aluminum, it takes 3-10 times

as much water to produce new metal as it does to

recycle them!

Recycle those cans!!!

Great!

What else can we

do?

You can do your part! Be water smart!

Around the house & at school, here’s some things you can do to be ‘water smart.’

Tips:

Brushing teeth: Turn off the water while you brush! You can save 2-3 gallons of water for each minute you brush.

Drinking water: • Use a cup or reusable bottle! • Try not to waste a drop!• Don’t dump it down the drain – give it to a

thirsty pet or plant!

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Tip: Learn to think in gallons per minute (gpm).

You can do your part! Be water smart!

Around the house & at school, here’s some things you can do to be ‘water smart.’

Tips:• SCRAPE THOSE PLATES!!When clearing the table after meals, use the meal’s napkins or silverware to scrape the dishes over the trashcan first, rather than pre-rinsing & running the garbage disposal. (The kitchen faucet uses about 3 gallons per minute it runs. = every minute! )

• If you have a dishwasher, make sure it only runs FULL loads. • Dishwashers average 7 to 12 gallons per load. This

can be more efficient than hand-washing, but the water savings go down the drain if it runs half-empty.

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Tip: Learn to think in gallons per minute (gpm).

Around the house & at school, here’s some things you can do to be ‘water smart.’

Tip:• SHORT SHOWERS: The shower uses between 2-4 gallons per minute.

5 extra minutes =

(10) to (20)

extra gallons of water!

Over the course of 1 month, that could add up to between

300 to 600 gallons!!!

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You can do your part! Be water smart!

Tip: Learn to think in gallons per minute (gpm).

Think: What if each person

in your house did it?

Q: At over 8lbs. / gallon,

how much does 10

extra gallons weigh?

How about 20 gallons?

See, you CAN help!

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Because we ALL need water :

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…And we only have this much to share.

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For more information, learning activities, and contest information, please visit:

http://watercontest.org

There’s one more way you can help!

It’s time to SHARE what you’ve learned!

Draw a poster showing your favorite water fact or tip!