California’s in an ongoing drought, and individuals can do their own part to conserve water with easy solutions, city of Santa Maria Water Conservation Specialist Myra Ritchie said.
“We have an ongoing water conservation campaign, the message is, ‘Don’t waste a drop. Let’s save together.’ We tell the community how they can get involved, [and] how they can conserve. We do events year-round,” Ritchie said.
The city started those water-related campaigns 10 years ago focusing on adults, but Ritchie said she wanted to figure out how to get younger community members involved.
“At the time, there was a contest the county was doing to promote their water conservation campaign, and I thought it would be fun to have kids involved to create a poster,” she said.
Through a partnership with the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, the water awareness poster contest is an opportunity for third graders to learn about the water cycle, where water comes from, and how they can conserve water—both indoors and outdoors, she said. They then design a colorful poster to match the city’s water campaign following specific rules and guidelines.
This marks the contest’s 11th year with more than 200 posters submitted. Anahi DeLaCruz from Alvin Elementary School won first place, Nolan Corsa from Tunnell Elementary School won second place, and Irma Cervantes Morales won third place. They were acknowledged at the May 3 Santa Maria City Council meeting, and the posters are now on display at City Hall as well as shared through the city’s social media and website, she said.
“It was awesome to have something fun like this,” Ritchie said. “It’s very awarding knowing we have students at a young age participating in this contest. The participation of the students, teachers, and principals really amazes me.”
Ritchie begins her outreach by sending the program’s information to elementary schools at the beginning of the year, she said. From there, she coordinates presentation times where she comes into classrooms to educate students and gives them tips on how they can save water every day, she said.
“Most students are very interested as far as where our water comes from and how we can use it,” Ritchie added. “I tell students to limit their showers to five minutes to wash, lather, and rinse. Five minutes in and out, and that can help conserve water in the bathroom. Also brushing your teeth with the faucet off, only using water to rinse your toothbrush or your mouth; not having the water run is important.”
Although there are water restrictions in Santa Maria, Ritchie said entire households can go the extra mile by switching to devices—like shut-off nozzles for outdoor hoses, and low-flow shower heads—that can help conserve water, and limiting outdoor watering between noon and 4 p.m.
“It’s always going to be an ongoing thing. We are starting back up, providing home water visits, and continuing class presentations in the next school year. … We can start by saving now, so we can preserve water for the years to come,” Ritchie said.
It’s important to begin water conservation education at a young age because these students will eventually become community leaders, she highlighted.
“By starting now with our younger generation, it will help in the future because they will know the importance of preserving water,” Ritchie said, “because it’s so important, not just to us but to plants and our natural resources.”
Highlight
• Amtrak and the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor—which manages the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train—recently introduced a pet program for the Southern California route. Surfliner passengers can now bring their dogs and cats weighing up to 20 pounds onboard trains for $26 (or 800 Amtrak Guest Reward Points). In alignment with Amtrak’s national pet policy, passengers are limited to one pet reservation per trip. Pets will be allowed in all cars except for business class and the café car. They must remain in their carrier at all times, and carriers should remain under the passenger’s seat. Visit pacificsurfliner.com for more information.
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 2, 2022.
