Wednesday, October 27, 1999
Yucky water gives insight
Students soak up lessons
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
VILLA HILLS — Students in Amy Helsley's fourth-grade class know how much rain falls on the parking lot at River Ridge Elementary.
They measured the lot and figured it out: During an average 1/2-inch rainfall, 16,000 gallons of water hit the 53,678 square feet of blacktop.
What students didn't know until Tuesday was where the water goes after it rains.
A demonstration by Sanitation District No. 1 provided the answer.
Sanitation employees dumped 1,000 gallons of water, tinted with a (safe) fluorescent green dye into a storm drain on the parking lot. A few minutes later that bright, greasy-looking water flowed into a detention pond at the school's new outdoor classroom.
“Eew!” “Gross.”
That was the response from about 400 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders seated around the pond's edge, soaking up a lesson in how water and weather work, and the consequences of development.
“Rainwater picks up trash, debris, oil and anything that might be sitting on the pavement,” said John Lyons, who monitors storm water for the district. “When it rains, all of that gets washed into ponds and streams and creeks.”
The pond at River Ridge will help reduce pollution and erosion. A land bridge containing a drain pipe separates a large pond from a smaller pond, forcing the water to slow its flow as it moves from the large pond to the small one. This allows pollutants to settle and rest at the bottom of the pond. The water eventually leaves the small pond and flows into a creek, said Pam Proctor, sanitation district spokeswoman.
“This cleans water the natural way,” Ms. Proctor said.
Donations of time and monetary grants from Ashley Development, Bray Trucking, The Good Earth Inc., the Kentucky Department of Forestry and the sanitation district helped shape the pond, plant 29 different trees, and prepare to plant flowers and other vegetation.
The trees will help hold soil in place and provide habitats for birds. The pond is already being visited by geese.
Plans call for adding an amphitheater, a sundial, windmill, weather vane and rain gauge. Total cost of the project is $11,500.
Key to the outdoor classroom's success is the dedication of students. Each class adopted a tree and will be responsible for its care. Students also pledged to take care of the outdoor space, which will be used to study water cycles and all the life in and around the pond.
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Yucky water gives insight
