The Florida Governmental Utility Authority established a set of unique activities to help residents save Florida’s water resources.
“With our expansive growth in Florida, we wanted our customers to preserve the water so it will be around for generations to come,” says Matt Rihs, community services manager.
FGUA, headquartered in Orlando, has 86 water treatment plants and 22 wastewater treatment plants. Spread over 14 central Florida counties, the authority serves about 120,000 customers at affordable cost and with local management.
Poster Contest
The authority’s Water Awareness Poster Contest, partnering with Pasco County Utilities, is in its 15th year and is extremely popular with students in grades K-6 and their teachers in Pasco County. The contest combines art and science as part of the schools’ STEAM, or science, technology, engineering, art and math curriculum.
The contest covers topics that include water conservation. The theme changes each year; the 2024 theme is One Water, One Earth. For the educators, the program includes a curriculum, teacher guides, rubrics, contest instructions and a website with short videos covering the water cycle, water conservation and Florida-friendly landscaping.
The contest is held in the second semester. Prizes from sponsors are awarded to the winners and include water-themed gifts from businesses attuned to the importance of conservation: Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Urban Air Adventure Park and others. Prizes from sponsors are valued at more than $16,000.
First-place winners are recognized before the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners. First-, second- and third-place entries for all grades are displayed each summer at the East and West Pasco Government Centers and are commemorated in a full-page ad in the Tampa Bay Times. “Each year we send a survey to the teachers, and we get a lot of great feedback,” Rihs says.
Senior Competition
Another FGUA contest is the Lehigh Acres Rain Barrel Painting Competition for senior citizens in Lehigh County. Now in its third year, the competition is hosted around Water Environment Day on March 22.
The contest promotes rainwater recycling as senior citizens paint 55-gallon rain barrel drums with water conservation messages. The painting takes place in April and May at the Lehigh Acres Senior Center.
Barrels are judged by a panel of sponsors and local officials. After the barrels are completed, there is a silent online auction for the public. Funds raised from the auction help financially challenged seniors with their utility bills. In 2023, the auction raised $3,000.
The competition is picking up steam as it is promoted on the utility’s website and social media. Last year, local TV stations featured the contest.
Sleuthing for Leaks
In 2022 the authority created the Fix-a-Leak Activity Guide for children based on the U.S. EPA WaterSense educational program. The program is primarily for third through fifth graders, but parents get in on the act by helping their children to fix the leaks.
With Drippy Holms as the mascot, the program educates families on water-saving measures through activity guides, puzzles and the invitation to submit a short story on what children and their parents discover by fixing potential leaks in their homes. Prizes are awarded to the winner in each grade. Winners are featured on the FGUA website and Facebook page and receive a $100 gift card.
Awarding Programs
The programs are paying off in water savings, and last year the utility received the Public Communications and Outreach Program Award from the Water Environment Federation.
“FGUA is reviewing options for expanding existing or new outreach offerings,” says Rihs. “We receive a lot of feedback from teachers, program sponsors, community stakeholders and the general public, and we continue to discuss them. We are happy to see so many engaged in this process.”
