A new education programme for both school students and customers has been launched by
TasWater to help raise awareness as to the workings of our drinking water system as well as the way
we treat sewage.

Water is essential to life and we use it every day to maintain our health and hygiene however few
people give much thought to what happens to the water between falling from the sky and coming
out of a tap.

The treatment of waste water too is a process explained by TasWater’s Education Programme.
Sewerage plants are a mix of tanks, pipe and pumps, whirring away as water gushes back and
forward, sifting out the bugs and solids until the water is clean enough to reintroduce to the
environment.

The education programme is in response to community requests and enquiries from organisations to
gain a better understanding of the water supply as it travels through the catchment system, to the
reservoirs and onto our homes and eventually back into the environment after treatment.

Through school visits, teacher resources on the TasWater website

(www.taswater.com.au/Community‐‐‐Environment) and Kids4Kids Conferences, our education team
promotes the many aspects of science and technology which goes into the provision of drinking
water and the treatment of sewerage.

A TasWater education officer can visit classrooms and provide hands‐on student activities about
water and wastewater. Focusing on learning by participation, the programs have been popular to
date with students and teachers. Some activities also meet cross curricular expectations.

TasWater is currently participating in a series of Science Week activities across the state engaging
young Tasmanians in a range of student based events that provides a taste of some of our programs.
Our new education programme enables teachers to integrate into the school curriculum all aspects
of the science and environmental impact of water catchment, distribution and waste treatment. It’s
also relevant to Health and social studies, highlighting how safe drinking water and sewage
treatment is fundamental to maintaining the public health standards our community enjoys.

To help engage all sectors of the community, it is anticipated that some of our treatment plants will
be open for public tours in 2016 so customers can see for themselves how TasWater systems
operate.
Simon Pilkington, TasWater