Make the case
Sustainability action process – Step 1
Embedded Files
Use the learning tasks to explore water and its use, assess your current situation and investigate water efficiencies and sustainable water management. State the case of what needs to change and why.
Record your understandings, evidence and reflections in your learning journal.
Secondary students investigate local water supply and treatment systems on the Central Coast, NSW.
Explore water
Explore water
- How do I, the school and the community use water?
- What do we know and need to know about different types of water?
- How are water use and sustainability related?
- How and where will we find out what we need to know?
Most of our fresh water comes from streams and rivers.
Importance of water
- Find out why water is important for life.
- Learn about the natural water cycle.
- Read why water is so important for our health and hydration.
Watering cans are a water efficient way of watering school vegetable gardens.
Water conservation
- Find ways to conserve water at Love water don't waste it by Sydney Water and Love water by Hunter Water.
- Find out why and when we sometimes have water restrictions.
Glenbawn Dam stores water for agricultural, industrial, household and power generation needs in the Hunter Valley, NSW.WaterNSW | © State of New South Wales through WaterNSW
Water supply and storage
- As a class, view the YouTube video About WaterNSW (2:37min) to learn about water storage and supply in NSW.
Students visit Mardi Water Treatment Plant on the Central Coast, NSW, to learn about local drinking water.
Types of fresh water
- Find out how using rainwater, wastewater and stormwater can save potable (drinking) water.
- Learn about water treatment processes operated by Central Coast Council.
- Investigate various concepts about water at the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Assess your current situation
Assess your current situation
- How can I measure, assess and describe the type and volumes of water used by the school?
- Who are the people (stakeholders) at our school who use water and what are their needs and concerns?
- Where does our water supply come from?
- Where does our wastewater and stormwater go?
- What affects our water supply?
- How do we share the results of our investigation with the people who manage water in the school?
Water supply pipeline near Merredin, Western AustraliaCSIRO Science image | CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
Investigate your water supply systems
Find out where your water comes from and where your stormwater goes.
- Use the NSW dam and river levels interactive map and search function to find your closest water supply.
- Learn about your water supply using the dam information carousel.
- Find out how water gets to your taps and other aspects of the water supply system.
- Read out about Sydney Water's stormwater network and wastewater network. Use your local water supply website to find out about your local stormwater and wastewater networks.
- Read how Sydney Water recycles and re-uses water. Use your local council or water supply website to find information on local water management strategies and projects.
How to read your water meter and check for leaksUnity Water | YouTube (2:06min)
Conduct a water audit
As a class, survey your school water use by conducting a water audit.
- As a class, view the Unity Water YouTube video on how to read your water meter (2:06min). Learn more about checking for hidden water leaks on the Unity Water site.
- As a class, view the Sydney Water water audit video (YouTube 6:34min) to understand the aim and procedure of conducting a water audit.
- Undertake the tasks in the water audit procedure and recording document.
- Survey and record responses from students and school, canteen and cleaning staff to find out who uses water in the school, how it is used and their opinions on water usage.
Investigate concepts of sustainable water use
Investigate concepts of sustainable water use
- What is a catchment? In which catchment is our school and my home?
- Does our school impact the catchment? If so, how?
- What else do we need to know about water?
- What further investigations do we need to undertake? What did we find out?
- Is water managed in the same way in all communities in NSW, Australia and the world?
- How may the trends identified in our investigations impact on a sustainable future?
Water catchments
- Read the Water NSW page explaining water catchments.
- Use map view in Google maps to locate your local waterways.
- Use satellite imagery in Google maps to determine the land use in your catchment. How might the land use affect water quality, including stormwater?
Turn off taps when not in use.
Water use and conservation
- Read information about water use and conservation at home, in the garden and school. Are there ideas that you could use?
- Use the water usage calculator to assess how you use water in your home.
- Learn about water-efficient appliances and fixtures.
Water sensitive urban designLandscape Institute | YouTube
Water as a resource
- View the Vimeo video Water sensitive urban design (4:16min), or on YouTube. Consider ways that you could include these designs at your school, home or in the community.
- View the ABC Water scarcity resource. What did you find out? Record this in your learning journal.
- Read about water as a key issue for Australia on the Parliament of Australia site.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals United Nations | Guidelines for use
Water resources globally
- Learn about water as a global issue from the United Nations water page. How is water linked to sustainable development?
- Find out about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
- Read the progress on Sustainable Development Goal 6 – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
State the case of what needs to change and why
State the case of what needs to change and why
- What is the preferred future in regard to our school water use?
- What do we need to change in our school? Why do we need to bring about that change?
- Are these changes behavioural, organisational or infrastructure related?
- How can we communicate our ideas?
- Do we know enough about school water use and what we want to change to move on to the next phase?
Reflect on your learning. In your group, discuss what you found out about your school's use of water and what you think needs to change.
Create a mind map to organise your ideas. Record your reflections and ideas in your learning journal.
Can you now state what needs to change and why?
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