Get Wet Program

Montgomery - On April 29^th students from Valley Central High and Middle Schools reported on their experience with the Get Wet! Program (Groundwater Education Through Water Evaluation & Testing), made possible in part by funding from the Orange County Water Authority.

These students collected samples of drinking water from their homes and brought them back to school to test. Pre-service teachers from Mount Saint Mary College, under the direction of Teresa Thornton, an Instructor at the College, helped the students perform various chemical tests on their water, which they learned how to do through the program. Staff from the Orange County GIS Unit mapped the results. The data obtained represents the start of a database that may be used as a baseline to monitor drinking water in the area. The program, which is centered on community collaboration and citizen science, was funded by the Orange County Water Authority and Russell Urban-Meade, a local professional geologist. The bottles were donated by York Laboratories of Connecticut. Countless other community members lent time and expertise to the project.