Water use challenge

Many people around the world live with huge water challenges and have to prioritise their water uses every day.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, we are lucky to not have to think about water priorities often, with reliable supplies of clean treated water provided to our taps. Most people on municipal water supplies have few water challenges, but what if it wasn’t this way? Carrying out a water challenge with limited water amounts is useful to help students appreciate that our priorities for water use may change according to how much water we have available.

Water use priorities

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When water resources are scarce or when we want to be good stewards of this finite resource, it’s vital to consider how we prioritise how we use water.

Rights: Smart Water

In this cross-curricular activity, students take part in a water challenge to:

• calculate their daily water use at home and at school

• participate in a water for a day challenge

• consider water use priorities when making decisions.

This activity is part of a suite of resources that support Smart Water – a context for learning, which provides students and teachers with opportunities to connect with water and learn more about drinking water in the Waikato region. The science and mātauranga concepts that underpin Smart Water are transferable to other locations in Aotearoa New Zealand.

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• investigate their daily water use at school and at home

• calculate water use using numeracy skills

• participate in a water challenge, making decisions about how to prioritise water use.

Download the Word file (see link below).