ERIC ED433222: Down the Drain.

183 Pages·1992·4.5 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
SE 062 604
ED 433 222
TITLE Down the Drain.
Massachusetts State Water Resources Authority, Boston.
INSTITUTION
PUB DATE 1992-00-00
NOTE
182p.
Classroom
Guides
Teacher (052)
PUB TYPE
MF01/PC08 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
Elementary Secondary Education; Environmental Education;
DESCRIPTORS
Pollution; *Public Health; Sanitation; *Science Activities;
*Science and Society; Science Instruction; Scientific
Concepts; Sludge; Solid Wastes; *Waste Water; Water Quality;
*Water Treatment
ABSTRACT
These curricular materials are intended to explain
wastewater treatment processes, detail the goals of the Boston Harbor
Project, and describe the responsibility of individual citizens to the
revitalization of Boston Harbor. A series of student activities covers three
main topics: wastewater operations, wastewater residuals, and household
hazardous waste. Activities are written at a junior high school reading level
but can also be adapted for older or younger groups. Each activity features
an introduction for the teacher explaining the goals, concepts, materials,
and procedures for conducting the lesson.
(WRM)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
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DOWN THE DRAIN
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PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
BEEN GRANTED BY
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
2
CENTER (ERIC)
-1-(kboe
ent has been reproduced as
ocum
ARTIST-
received from the person or organization
originating it.
Minor changes have been made to
improve reproduction quality.
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
Points of view or opinions stated in this
1
document do not necessarily represent
official OERI position or policy.
Masssachusetts Water Resources Authority
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
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Preface
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority provides wastewater collection
and treatment services to more than 2 million people in 43 communities in the
Greater Boston area. The MWRA discharges wastewater into Boston Harbor, as
have prior agencies and residents of the area since colonial times.
The burden of waste material over the years has contributed to the degrada-
tion of Boston Harbor, leading federal regulators to require substantial upgrading
of the treatment system. Part of MWRA's mission, when it was created in 1985,
treated efflu-
was to build a secondary treatment plant and an outfall tunnel for
ent, to cease the discharge of sludge by 1991 and to address the problem of com-
bined sewer overflows. The Boston Harbor Project is a huge undertaking, over
ten years in planning and. construction, with an estimated cost of $7 billion.
Down The Drain is intended to explain wastewater treatment processes, detail
the goals of the Boston Harbor Project and describe the responsibility of indi-
vidual citizens to the revitalization of the harbor environment. The classroom
activities in Down The Drain are supported by a program of guest speakers and
tours of MWRA facilities.
Young people can make a difference, not only in today's effort to reclaim
Boston Harbor, but throughout their lifetimes as protectors of the environment.
With everyone's help, the harbor can be a vital resource for future generations of
Massachusetts citizens.
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DOWN THE DRAIN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
About Down The Drain
i
How to use this curriculum and program.
Materials List
ii
Printed and audio/visual materials available from the MWRA for
classroom use.
PART I: WASTEWATER IN GREATER BOSTON
Drawing on collective wisdom
1.
Students learn that they are connected to Boston Harbor. The exercise
includes a basic overview of wastewater treatment, the level of treatment
in place in Boston Harbor today and plans for the future.
Who dirtied Boston Harbor?
An activity demonstrates the progressive pollution of receiving waters. In
an optional second section, students confront the problem of cleaning
polluted water.
Combined sewer overflow
3.
Through a simple demonstration students learn the function of a CSO.
Boston's wastewater history
4.
Newspaper articles from nearly 100 years ago reveal that Bostonians have
faced many of today's issues before.
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PART II: RESIDUALS FROM A WASTEWATER
TREATMENT PLANT
Residuals: Deciding what to do
5.
A role-playing activity in which students read about different use/disposal
options for sludge and then argue for their use/disposal option to be
adopted by the "Board of Directors."
Using sludge fertilizer pellets
6.
Students learn about the appropriate application rates of fertilizer pellets
through three math problem solving activities.
PART HI: HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE: WHAT YOU
CAN DO TO PROTECT BOSTON HARBOR
What are household hazardous products and household hazard-
7.
ous waste?
An introduction to types of hazardous products and their effects. Activities
include an introductory question sheet, a reading for basic information and
a demonstration of the effects of waste motor oil on the marine environ-
ment.
Reading product labels
8.
Students learn to interpret the information that manufacturers are re-
quired to include on hazardous products.
Home hazardous product survey
9.
Students and their families compile an inventory of hazardous products in
their homes. They compare their results in class to estimate the total
amount of such substances in their community.
Safer alternatives to household hazardous products
10.
Students examine advertising for common household products, then learn
and try some safer alternatives.
Home Safe! Board game
11.
Reinforce facts and concepts from previous sections through a board game
available from MWRA.
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PART IV: GUEST SPEAKER PROGRAM
As a follow-up to these classroom activities or as an introduction to the
subject, speakers from MWRA will visit your school. For best results,
please let the speaker know what areas and questions especially interest
your students.
PART V: TOURS
As a further follow-up, tours of MWRA facilities can be scheduled through
Sewerage Division personnel.
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About Down The Drain
Down The Drain has three components. The most important of them is this
curriculum guide for dassroom activities. The second, is a guest speaker pro-
gram. After a speaker has visited your school, you may wish to use the third
component, a tour of an MWRA wastewater facility. The contact person for all
materials and services is Meg Tabacsko at [phone].
1. The curriculum guide is a series of activities on three main topics: waste-
water operations, wastewater residuals and household hazardous waste. The
activities are written at a junior high reading level, but can be used by older or
younger groups as well. Supplementary print materials and videos can be bor-
rowed from MWRA.
Each activity contains an introduction for the teacher explaining the goals,
concepts, materials and procedures for conducting the lesson. These teacher
pages, with the darker color, are followed by student pages, with the lighter color,
containing student readings, question sheets, homework assignments and any
other materials to be copied and used in the course of the activity.
Down The Drain is written and arranged so that it can be used front to back
as a comprehensive unit on wastewater. We recognize, however, that few teach-
ers have the flexibility to insert such a large body of work into already crowded
programs. Therefore, each activity is also intended to stand on its own as a single
lesson. Even if you don't have time to teach all of Down The Drain, we encourage
you to look through the table of contents for an activity or two that appeals to you
or that might especially suit your class. You might choose to do the first activity
in each major section, to give students the overall picture, and then follow their
interests into subsequent activities.
MWRA personnel are available for teacher training sessions to introduce the
program. We will demonstrate selected activities and provide additional back-
ground information on the Boston Harbor Project. Workshops can vary in length
to suit the time available and can be scheduled at your convenience. Also, our
library and its staff are available for additional reference and research.
2. Once you have introduced your students to Down The Drain, you may wish
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