Friendswood City Council authorized an interlocal agreement with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District to participate in the WaterWise Conservation Program during its Oct. 3 board meeting. The program, “Be a Water Detective—Learning to be Water Wise,” provides water conservation education to elementary and middle school students within the city of Friendswood's Friendswood and Clear Creek ISDs.
Each participating student receives a Water Wise activity kit, which includes an activity booklet, a high-efficiency showerhead, a multiswivel kitchen aerator, a bathroom aerator, a mini-tape measure, toilet leak detector tablets and a flow rate test bag, among other items.
Friendswood sponsors the participation of up to 510 students in the program through an interlocal agreement with the HGSD. The program costs $38 per student with a total amount not to exceed $19,380, which will be accounted for in the public works annual operational budget, according to agenda documents.
The council approved the agreement 4-3, with John Scott, Robert Griffon and Brent Erenwert opposed.
Friendswood has participated in the program for several years. The benefits of the program are twofold: meeting mandates from the city’s Water Conservation Plan for public education and educating children on the benefits of water conservation.
Additionally, Friendswood earns groundwater credits through this program that are valid for 20 years and can be used to meet water demands when exceeding the permit allocation is preventable without a penalty. For every participant, the HGSD issues the city a GW Credit Certificate equal to 84,000 gallons.
