A school in Newport has developed its own watery environmental wonderland with a splash of help from Dwr Cymru Welsh Water staff.
A team of 11 Welsh Water staff have been at Milton Junior School using their industry expertise to help pupils construct a new water habitat in a disused area of the school by collecting rainwater run-off.
The team started the project in October by creating a system to collect surface water run-off from a garage roof at the side of the school. They constructed a lined pond, filled it with soil and laid a pipe system to direct surplus rainwater into the area, forming a wetland habitat.
Dominic Scott, sewerage network engineer at Welsh Water said: “The project came about following a recent Welsh Water development course when a number of managers were challenged to do something practical to help the community.
“Someone mentioned that the school was keen to develop a sustainable bog garden. We thought this would be a good opportunity to consider ways of using rainwater more effectively and reduce the amount of water we waste. It is great to be able to help with projects like this and we have worked with the pupils over the last 6 months to develop this habitat.”
Mr Cormelious, Headteacher of Milton Junior School said: “We are so grateful for the work that the Welsh Water team have done, they have really involved the pupils at all stages of the project and even ran a competition for the pupils in order to decide what should be planted in the garden.
“The new habitat will be invaluable for pupil’s future learning and by using surplus rainwater it is also a great way to teach them about how to be more water efficient in the garden.”
The project has been supported by Newport City Council, RPS Water, Hewdens plant hire, Daniel Construction and Terry Howell Builder and Timber Merchants.
More information on how you can improve the way you deal with your rainwater can be found on the Welsh Water website:
http://www.welshwater.com/English/Company/Operations/surfacewater/index.asp
Welsh Water is investing heavily and working hard to ensure top quality services to all the communities it serves. The company is investing £1.2 billion in its water and sewerage network between 2010 and 2015.
It is a ‘not-for-profit company’ which has been owned by Glas Cymru since 2001. Welsh Water does not have shareholders, and any financial surpluses are reinvested in the business for the benefit of customers.
