SkillsUSA SkillsUSA Champions Fall 2010 : Page 17
Like Ducks to Water Even before the oil spill, Florida’s water supply was being threatened. Sharing a deep personal connection to the coast, three strangers unite behind conservation By Ann P. Schreiber Each kit meets local plumbing codes and includes Tefl on tape, washers and a shower head — everything needed for installation except the tools. “The beautiful part about this is, it retails at about $25 to $30 in the store,” Pierson says. “The kits are fabulous. They’re free. My water bill went down $35 in the fi rst billing cycle. My usage went down 4,000 gallons. That’s concrete evidence that we’re conserving water, as well as helping to save money within our community.” A place that’s particularly in need “We all have a lot of family and personal friends in the community,” Wood says, “and it’s grabbed our attention. I’ve lived in the community my whole life. My family’s been there for nearly 120 years. My father was a landscaper. His father was a landscaper. It all involves water. We’ve always been aware of how water’s used.” Taking the project to Kansas City, Mo., the team won SkillsUSA’s Community Service competition. But the environmen-tal crisis at home stayed on their minds. “We live in Pinellas County, and the oil spill is going to affect us,” Clifton says. With the desalination plants, if this water is fouled by the oil that’s coming, we will not be able to use those facilities. That will have a direct impact on not only the amount of potable drinking water that’s been recycled and used by the public, but also the amount used for agriculture. We grow tomatoes, we grow blueberries, we grow strawberries.” “The sad thing is,” Pierson adds, “it only takes one quart of oil to foul 250,000 gallons. That’s a huge amount.” The area’s water supply was already stressed due to low temperatures earlier this year. “January and February were two of the most unusual weather months we’ve had as far as being cold,” Clifton says. “We were down to 22 degrees.” “This past spring,” Wood explains, “the strawberry farmers used up a lot of water, and we ended up with a community ‘Swiss cheese’ of sinkholes, because the aquifers below were emptying.” “We had highways sinking, houses falling into holes, to save the crops,” Clifton adds. “They had to pump a ton of water to freeze-coat them.” “Those pumps could be more effi cient,” Wood insists, “and the sprinklers could be more effi cient. Ninety percent of that water they spray does not actually freeze on the plant. A misting version would work better, but they are more expensive. The pumps cost more to pump, but the mist would coat the fruit with less water.” WEB RESOURCES h For details on the effectiveness of the Pinellas County students’ project, see their 2010 Community Service contest PowerPoint at: www.skillsusa.org/ downloads/PPT/FlaWater.ppt tion programs: www.swfwmd.state. fl .us/ tion, visit: www.epa.gov/epahome/ learn.htm#water h For more on Florida’s water conserva-h To learn more about water conserva-Fall 2010 SkillsUSA Champions 17
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