News
Birmingham students become ‘water experts’
05 February 2016
Nearly 1,100 children and teenagers from two schools and a college in Birmingham are now officially ‘water experts’ after learning all about the importance of using water wisely, and the dangers of sewer misuse, thanks to a recent visit from Severn Trent.
Severn Trent’s customer and community lead, Adeeba Khalil, who worked with the pupils, said: “We went into Kingsland School in Kingstanding, Ark St Albans Academy in Highgate and Kings Norton Primary School, to talk about water usage. We taught the children and teenagers, the importance of using water wisely and that by making small changes, like turning off the tap when brushing their teeth; they can make a big difference to the amount of water they use.
“It’s really important to educate young people about water conservation, so saving water becomes part of their daily life and they do it without even thinking about it. It’s easy to take our readily available supply of water for granted, so going into schools and sixth colleges, to talk to pupils, is an invaluable way to make sure it’s sustainable in the future.”
Prior to the visits the company has indentified several areas in Birmingham as a ‘hotspot area’ for sewer misuse, with the majority of blockages in the city being caused by cooking fats and oils being poured down the sink. So Severn Trent also used the opportunity to tell the students about what not to flush, because workers also find wet wipes, nappies, cotton buds and sanitary products in Birmingham’s sewers, none of which are designed, or supposed, to be put down the toilet.
Adeeba added: “It was great that the schools and colleges invited us to come and talk to all of the pupils. We think it’s really important that they learn about their precious water an how to look after their drains. The only things that should ever be flushed are the ‘3 Ps’ – Poo, (toilet paper) and pee.
I think that talking to them really helped them to understand just how much work goes into making sure there’s water there for them when they turn on the tap, and how important it is to only flush the ‘3 Ps’.”