By the time students graduate from high school in Palo Alto, Calif., some know the equipment and microbes in the city wastewater treatment plant like the bushes and bugs in their own backyards.
Wastewater treatment and good stewardship are introduced in elementary school, where students learn about the flora and fauna in nearby creeks and the differences between storm and sanitary sewers. They can even visit the treatment plant or volunteer to stencil storm drains. By middle school, the lessons become more academic and involve laboratory work.
“The kids have seen different programs throughout their public education career,” says Karin North, associate engineer with the city’s environmental compliance division. “You’d be hard pressed to find a student who doesn’t know where their wastewater discharges to and the importance of protecting the San Francisco Bay.”
Quick learners
North’s office is at the Regional Water Quality Control plant on the southwest tip of the San Francisco Bay. Her responsibilities include giving plant tours to residents and students, working on NPDES and biosolids permitting, investigating ways to reduce personal care products in wastewater, and leading teams in mercury pollution prevention. In addition, she manages the city’s educational outreach program.
The city contracts with consultant Jan Raissle for the outreach program. “She knows everyone and everyone loves her,” North says. Outreach is challenging and rewarding. North believes Palo Alto students may not be typical.
“Many of their parents teach at Stanford University,” North says. “The kids are sophisticated, and it’s important that they hear different forms of the message every year.”
The students’ aptitude helps them to link their school lessons with the outside world. While a lesson may start with water quality in the bay, it’s a quick step to discussing the great garbage patch, twice the size of Texas, that floats in the Pacific Ocean.
Staying alive
The lessons’ sophistication increases with the grade levels. “Microbes in Sewage,” one of the more popular lessons, is geared toward middle schoolers. It takes about 50 minutes. It includes an introduction, an explanation of the difference between stormwater and wastewater, and a video explaining wastewater treatment. The students then get a virtual tour of the treatment facility via a brochure that explains each microbial step in the process.
After that, it’s time for the hands-on work stuff: Students put on gloves and use microscopes to examine slides of fresh microbes from the treatment plant. Their reactions vary from disgust to fascination, North says.
The students also complete a worksheet. “They draw three of the microbes, and with the help of a book and poster, they identify them,” says North. “They love it and the teachers love it.”
The activated sludge is brought to the classroom in a liter bottle. Sugar and an aquarium bubbler are added to the container to keep the microbes alive and kicking.
Time and money
For high school students, Palo Alto offers “Sewer Science,” a week-long lesson that also involves microbes from the treatment plant. “We do ‘Sewer Science’ once a year,” North says. “But it’s hard to get teachers to give up a whole week of class time, and it takes a lot of staff.”
With the current program, the schools can educate more students with fewer resources. The city allocates $50,000 a year to educational outreach. And North makes sure the program is never stagnant.
“I have quarterly meetings with Jan,” she says. “We talk about what’s going on and how to incorporate new topics.” One of those is a pharmaceuticals program that will educate students on safely disposing of medicines, rather than flushing them down the drain.
It’s a challenge to keep it interesting, but the programs make students familiar with parts of the city and with people they might not otherwise know. “Outreach is a full-time job,” North says.
