Activity booklet teaches people about our water system

Tacoma Water had illustrated maps in the past, but they were dated and lacking information. The utility needed a valuable outreach piece where people could see where Tacoma’s water comes from and how it gets to them. They also wanted to show how people use water indoors and outdoors. The utility created a new map with help from the TPU Communications Office and employees from across the Water division who provided feedback and testing throughout the design process. The result is a four-page coloring and activity booklet that provides an overview of our water system. One of the project’s objectives was to engage young people and adults to think about how they use water and the people and infrastructure it takes to get from here to there. The utility wanted something fun for kids to do and the ability to learn information about their drinking water they may not have considered. Finally, Water hopes educators will want to use the map to teach about our local water cycle. “It was a joy to work on and see it come to fruition,” said project lead Rochelle Gandour-Rood, Water Program Specialist for Community Engagement and Conservation. She added, “I am thrilled with the final result and hope everyone will consider sharing this with young people, or even adults, who might enjoy it and learn something valuable about our water.” Local artist Chandler O’Leary drew the artwork by hand, text and all. It was an excellent opportunity to help the utility visualize our water systems for students and young readers and make the content engaging and accessible to people of all ages. Chandler worked closely with the Water and TPU Communications teams in a virtual format to break down each step of the process, and each location on the map, to ensure she represented it both simply and accurately while still having fun with the imagery.

“My favorite part was when the (Water) team turned my sketches over to a panel of ‘kid experts’ for review,” said Chandler. “The students had insightful feedback on my illustrations and made several wonderful suggestions for adding icons and elements that made the finished piece even better!”

Chandler also noted her gratitude for the experience because she also has a much better understanding of where our water comes from, and how precious a resource it is. The coloring pages are available on MyTPU.org/Water to print, and educators may request class sets by emailing the utility. When outreach events begin taking place, the Water staff will use them as a fun way to educate the public about our water supply. Coloring fanatics of all ages can color water pipes and tanks, find the many animals in the watershed word search, and look for Sasquatch in the forest.