Background and Objectives

Apart from water conservation, maintenance of water mains is equally important. If the water mains leak or burst due to lack of maintenance, it results in the wastage of drinking water. To strengthen the younger generations’ awareness for maintenance and repair of water mains, WSD introduces “Who is Wasting Water behind the Curtain?”. This activity can enable students to understand the consequences of water mains leakage and its severity. Meanwhile, it is hoped that students can understand unlawful taking of water also contributes to wasting precious fresh water and it is prohibited.

Activity Details

Activity 1 - Newspaper Clipping: Water mains leakage or bursting

  1. Search the news related to water mains leakage or bursting through Internet, and stick it onto the worksheet.
  2. Read the news and write down the impacts brought by mains leakage or bursting.
  3. Write down the ways to prevent mains from leaking or bursting.

Activity 2 - Water Seepages Investigation

Ask the students to act as water-saving reporters and check for the followings at home or in the community (e.g. buildings, schools, streets, etc.):

  1. Water seepages from ceiling or external wall.
  2. Water seepages from external pipes or any rusting in them.
  3. If none of the above problems are found after the audit, students can design a survey to conduct with property managers, school staff or related personnel, in order to understand their practices of water mains maintenance.

Activity 3 - What is unlawful taking of water?

  1. Search the news related to unlawful taking of water through Internet and stick them onto the worksheet.
  2. Read the news and write down the methods of unlawful taking water and its impacts.
  3. Identify possible location(s) of unlawful taking of water (e.g. fire hose reel, water hoses, pipes, etc.). Write a reflection of the activity afterwards.
Teaching Resources