Every year, Seattle Public Utilities hosts an annual “Fix a Leak Week” campaign through the Saving Water Partnership. This year, we at Shoreline Water District decided to use this opportunity to increase awareness and educate our area’s children (and their families) about the importance of water conservation at home.

It all began as it usually does, with Saving Water Partnership airing television commercials, doing website and social media promotions, and sending out mailers with special toilet water test dye strips to all of the residential customers in the Saving Water Partnership’s service area.

Then Shoreline Water District took it a step further: we contacted all the public and private schools (grades K through 6) within Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, and challenged them with our “Fix a Leak Week Contest.”

Rules were simple: kids would bring home our contest flyer, conduct the toilet dye strip test under parental supervision, have their parents sign the flyer to acknowledge the test was performed, and turn the signed flyer back in to their teachers. Prizes would be awarded to both the school as well as the classroom with the highest percentages of participation.

The results: we received 544 signed fliers from 10 out of 12 schools. The school with the highest total student participation was King’s Elementary, coming in at 44.25%. They earned a special spotlight for the next 12 months in Saving Water Partnership’s 2012 promotions.

The classrooms with the highest participation included those led by Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. Severns, both 5th grade teachers at King’s Elementary, and Mrs. Donovan’s 4th grade classroom at Highland Terrace Elementary. All three classes were awarded with a celebratory pizza lunch provided by Shoreline Water District.

We love finding creative ways to help the community learn about water conservation in the home, and hope this gave our area’s kids and parents a way to check on their own water consumption—particularly since leaky toilets are the #1 cause of a high water bill.