This article was originally published in California Special Districts magazine, March/April 2023 issue.
This past holiday season, Rowland Water District (RWD) awarded 10 local teachers a total of $11,000 to provide innovative classroom education about the value of conservating water. The Splash Cash program provides teachers up to $1,200 in funding for water-related activities, software, field trips, or classroom and remote learning supplies.
“With the state facing ongoing drought, educating students about water is more important now than ever before,” said RWD General Manager Tom Coleman. “The earlier we start having conversations about water resources and scarcity, the bigger an impact we can have on ensuring sustainable supplies for the future.”
This year’s Splash Cash recipients are Kelsey Anderson-Stanley, Nancy Buck, Richard Macedonio, Christine Miranda, Gilbert Navarro, and Gretchen Reynolds from Jellick Elementary School, and David Buck, Briana Fuentes, Steve Feldman, and Candace Leuthold from Santana High School.
Teachers apply for the program by submitting project ideas for review. Projects must have clear goals and objectives and focus on the importance of water conservation.
“Splash Cash encourages teachers to step outside the box and bring the world of water to students in unique ways,” said Brittnie Gildea, Education and Community Outreach Coordinator. “Our region’s educators work hard to help motivate their students to get excited about water. Each of these projects are a fascinating and impressive endeavor.”
Splash Cash, funded by Rowland Water District, is offered in partnership with the Public Water Agencies Group (PWAG) Conservation and Education Team (CET). For more information, visit rwd.org or pwagcet.org/splash-cash.
About Rowland Water District
Rowland Water District was formed 65 years ago to provide water service to 200 ranchers and farmers in a rural, agricultural community. Over the years, the District has evolved to meet the changing needs of a dynamic and rapidly growing customer base. Rowland Water currently delivers 14 million gallons of safe drinking water to about 58,000 people every day. The District maintains 150 miles of potable water pipeline and 25 miles of recycled water pipeline to serve 13,500 customer connections across 17.2 square miles in southeast Los Angeles County, including portions of Rowland Heights, Hacienda Heights, La Puente, and the cities of Industry and West Covina.