Water World
Family friendly festival is Saturday

Lisa Lopez, in red, and other students from Mrs. Forman's fifth-grade science class at Red Rock Elementary School throw dice representing places where water is stored in the environment. Elizabeth Barriga, the water conservation coordinator for the City of Gallup, visited the class to demonstrate one of the games that will be played during the upcoming McKinley County Youth Water Awareness Day on Saturday. (Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent)

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Although the Four Corners region has experienced a wetter than usual winter and spring, water shortages may be a reality for area families in years to come.

Because of this, the City of Gallup and the Bureau of Reclamation are sponsoring a family friendly McKinley County Youth Water Awareness Day on Saturday, April 30. UNM-Gallup is hosting the water festival, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Gurley Hall. The event is scheduled to offer many hands-on activities for elementary school children and educational information for older students and adults.

Elizabeth Barriga, the water conservation coordinator for the City of Gallup, is helping to coordinate the water festival. Barriga said other cities typically send fourth graders on field trips for similar water awareness events. In contrast, she said, Gallup decided to sponsor a family- oriented water festival to involve all area children, K-12, and their families.

"The child can actually help teach the parents," she said of the philosophy behind the event.

New Mexico is one of the states most affected by a lack of water, and Gallup is particularly vulnerable to shortages since the city has no surface water sources, she said. All of Gallup's water is located 900 to 3,000 feet underground, she explained, in aquifers that are not rechargeable.

Barriga believes that without serious conservation efforts, Gallup faces possible water shortages as early as five years from now.

"We have to learn how to respect our water," she said. Many cultures have held the view that water is sacred - a concept that Barriga believes Americans need to adopt.

Barriga said one of the main goals of the Water Awareness Day is to get children and adults considering the question: "How do we protect and conserve the water that we have?"

"It's a lot cheaper to save water than to find extra water," she said.

According to Barriga, the children's activities for the water festival are based on curriculum from Project WET, or Water Education for Teachers.

For elementary school children, the festival organizers will offer morning and afternoon sessions featuring Project WET games, activities, and hands-on demonstrations. The morning session will run from 9 -11:30 a.m., with registration at 8:30 a.m., and the afternoon session will run from 1:30-4 p.m., with registration at 1 p.m. Registration will be on a first-come-first serve basis, and parents must accompany all K-5 grade students.

Activities will include the Rolling River Trailer with hands-on watershed activities, the Incredible Water Cycle Journey dice game, a Ground Water Flow Model that shows how water flows underground, and the Long Haul water hauling competition and learning game.

Local clubs and government agencies will sponsor informational booths for adults and teens on water-related topics, including aquifers, watersheds, conservation, McKinley County's water demands, and xeriscape gardening. The Gallup Plateau Sciences Society is also scheduled to offer tours to homes that utilize water-wise gardening and water-saving technologies in their households.

In addition to the water festival activities, students from across the county will be presenting their "Exploring Science" projects to local judges for review. At noon Mayor Bob Rosebrough will announce the winners of the McKinley County "Exploring Science" competition.

For more information about the McKinley County Youth Water Awareness Day, contact Elizabeth Barriga at 863-1393.