18622_Authority_August_Web

28 The Authority LEHIGH VALLEY WATER SUPPLIERS CELEBRATE 22 nd HYDROMANIA The Lehigh Valley Water Suppliers hosted over 850 students on Thursday, May 8 at Cedar Crest College in Allentown as they celebrated their 22 nd HydroMania education day. HydroMania is an event where third- and fourth-grade teachers and students from the Lehigh Valley are invited to learn about watersheds, pollution and prevention, groundwater filtration and extraction, and so much more about water and the environment! Students from nine different schools (representing five school districts and two private schools) were exposed to educational sessions about water, how we strive to protect it and how it is part of our everyday lives. Interactive sessions were set up to show everything from tapping a water line pipe to collecting rainwater in a barrel. Students were offered the chance to play “Water Jeopardy” and to follow the course of water as it started in the mountains and worked its way towards large rivers and ultimately to the ocean. A key focus throughout all of the sessions was student involvement. The students would spend 15 to 20 minutes at a learning lab or station and then move on to the next learning location. The day was split into morning and afternoon sessions, with six schools present in the morning and four in the afternoon. A grand total of 864 students attended HydroMania this year. Students from local high schools and colleges pitched in as “educators” to teach the children while gaining valuable experience themselves. In addition, students from Lehigh Carbon Technical Institute (LCTI) had an interactive area where they demonstrated tapping a water line – followed by spraying cool water over the students – a nice setup on a hot spring day! At the learning labs, the instructors helped the third and fourth graders create their own watersheds, enabling them to see how water runs to streams, creeks and rivers, while also seeing how the water can pick up impurities, such as oil, pesticides and dirt. In addition to the learning labs, they also visited stations set up by schools, water providers, state agencies and businesses. At these stations they learned about topics ranging from coastal wildlife (horseshoe crabs) to water filtration to how to create rain barrels. They were exposed to a wide variety of ideas of how water is such an important part of our lives and how they can work to “save water” on a daily basis. In a follow-up survey with the teachers and attendees, feedback was overwhelmingly positive. When asked about what they enjoyed most, one teacher commented, “Students being hands-on and simulation aspects were great for students to see!” By William Ross, Administrator, Lower Saucon Authority | August 2025