Water Quality Issues Highlighted
Water quality has hit the news a lot this year. Sydney’s enforced
boiling of drinking water brought comparisons with Third World country
health standards. There have been blue-green algae outbreaks; chemical
spills such as the Brunswick River one which killed thousands of fish;
continuing debate and study about acid-sulfate soils, sewage effluent,
salinity, nutrient levels. Everyone, without exception, is affected by
the quality of our water, the impact of it on our environment, and the
environment’s affect on it.
Most of these issues have their basis in Science, and that’s why all
Year 10 students have participated in a Water Quality unit this year as
part of their Science classes. Six weeks for each class does not give
time for more than an overview of the scope of this topic, but it is to
be hoped that students are at least more conscious of the issues, the
complexity of the factors that influence it, and the simple ways in
which everyone can contribute positively to improving our water.
Students are all introduced to the Streamwatch program, initially
through the excellent video “Fresh Water” from Freshwater High School
in Sydney. This leads them to carry out the practical testing of
physical, chemical and biological components of water quality. These
techniques are first tried at the wetlands just down from the school,
and then in the Richmond River below Jabour Weir. They are excellent
ways to use practical science skills and to acquire results which can
be validated by more sophisticated monitoring equipment. Students
derive the most fun, and thus interest, from catching the water bugs
for a macroinvertebrate study. So far no-one has fallen in completely,
though there have been some close calls in their attempts to capture
the little critters. Some students were involved in the national Water
Bug Survey which gives an overall snapshot of the state of our rivers.
Excursions to Casino Water Treatment Plant on Queensland Road, and to
Casino Waste Water Treatment Plant on Springrove Road are not just
interesting and informative, but a great way to bring home the local
relevance of the topic. Casino High is very appreciative of the efforts
of Casino Council staff who conduct the tours. Students have a much
better appreciation of the care taken in ensuring that we have the best
drinking water quality, and that the town’s wastes are treated to a
high standard before returning to the river.
We take a look at the global importance of this topic, using the work
being done to clean up the Ganges River in India as a focus. All
students complete a project as part of this unit, choosing to deal with
the importance of water, or local or global issues of Water Quality.
A recent innovation, thanks to Ms Froud, is the compilation of an
internet web page in which students are posting information about
Casino High’s program, our test results, examples of their assignments,
and links to other related sites. This page is under development, but
you can check out its progress by going to the Wolfweb home page and
clicking on the Water Watch link.
Water Quality puts Science into a real life focus, with practical and
social implications for all.
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