World Water Monitoring Day

Partnered with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to give presentations and host monitoring events at several schools. Volunteers attended an informational lunch session for training on the monitoring process in advance of the events, which also provided another opportunity for CH2M HILL participants to interact with a local client. From September 12 through November 9, 14 separate events were held at schools and community organizations in eastern Massachusetts, primarily in the greater Boston area. In all, more than 1,000 students learned about water quality monitoring and the importance of clean water.

Hosted a WWMD event for 60 fifth grade students from Macon Elementary School at Elam Creek. Access to the creek was limited due to vegetation and mud and the engineers chose to collect the water for the students and transport it to a safe area outside the creek limits. The students were divided into 10 groups and then led through the tests where CH2M HILL engineers and scientists explained each water quality parameter and engaged the students in discussions about what they could infer about the water quality based on the test results.

Partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Department of Environmental Health to host a monitoring event for 50 fifth grade students at the South Platte River in Confluence Park. Stations provided supplemental learning on macroinvertebrates, pollution, and microbiology. Volunteers visited the classroom prior and after the event to show the video and explain the monitoring process, help the students load the data into the database, and discuss the findings and implications.[br][br]In a second event, the community relations team from the Operations & Maintenance Business Group in Denver challenged co-workers to get out and monitor.v

Visited the fourth grade class at Thornwood Elementary School to celebrate WWMD on September 29. Six employees participated and gave presentations and answered students’ questions before helping the class of 60 students test three different water samples. The students tested water from a lake southwest of Houston and raw water from the City of Houston’s East Water Treatment Plant and contrasted them to the drinking water at the school. The children were excited to do the water testing, especially since they got to wear rubber gloves.

Hosted 75 members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Magic Valley for a WWMD event in July. The kids ranging in age from 9 years old to teenagers tested water from the Snake River at Centennial Waterfront Park. Since the River was running higher and faster than normal, safety came first and CH2M HILL OMI employees collected the samples and took them to the main pavilion for the students to conduct the monitoring. CH2M HILL OMI operates the Twins Falls’ wastewater treatment plant.

Hosted its first WWMD event on October 19. A group of 20 pupils from the Integration Primary School Nr. 158 were shown a presentation on water quality, followed by a demonstration of the testing procedures. Then the students put their new skills to the test by gathering and testing water samples from the Wilga and Mlynowka rivers. Students discussed the results and ideas to improve water quality. The event concluded with awarding water quality certificates and the pupils proudly wore their WWMD stickers to announce their involvement.

Partnered with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), an important local client, to host a fifth grade class from Cass Street School at the MMSD headquarters located on the Milwaukee River. Due to inclement weather, the team collected samples from the river and brought them inside for the students to test. A presentation kicked off the event before the monitoring began. After a presentation, the students broke into groups to test their samples. One of the groups used a YSI, a monitoring device used in the field...

Presented to two fifth grade classes at Keewaydin Middle School on September 24. The six employee volunteers then led the students to Lake Nokomis. Students, parents, teachers, and CH2M HILL volunteers worked together taking samples and using WWMD Testing Kits to monitor the water quality in the lake. The fifth graders showed their enthusiasm for WWMD both in the classroom and outside at the lake. Students did a great job and were given individual certificates for their completion on the WWMD activity.

Partnered with EarthForce, an environmental education program, and Cedarbrook Middle School for the sixth year to implement a WWMD event. Eight classes of seventh grade students from Cedarbrook Middle School collected and monitored four samples per class from Rock Creek, a suburban stream running through moderate urban and commercial development in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. Additional samples were collected for the analyses of phosphate and nitrate, and a more quantitative...

Participated in two local WWMD events. A WWMD event started by CH2M HILL a few years ago has now grown into a larger community festival. The World Water Festival is held at the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area, a CH2M HILL project site, and includes water quality monitoring, guided nature walks, and stations with information on rain harvesting, composting, and recycling, and magic shows. For the fifth year, CH2M HILL helped host a WWMD event at Steele Indian School Park...