Outreach

Southern Maine Children’s Water Festival
PWD is a sponsor of the SMCWF. Each year, more than 600 students attend this exciting event; geared towards 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students and their teachers. The Festival features presentations, exhibits, quiz and stage shows; all focused on water. Students engage in hands on activities about topics such as wetland habitats, lakes, wildlife, groundwater, and aquatic life. Free materials are available in a teacher resource room. The Water Festival is active, fun, and very educational.

The Festival's principal objectives are:
 To demonstrate water’s properties, value, and protection methods,
 To provide student and teacher interaction with resource professionals,
 To provide teachers with resource materials and classroom activities,
 To develop career interest in environmental protection and education.

Schools in York, Cumberland, Androscoggin, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Kennebec,
Franklin, and Oxford counties are eligible to apply.

Water Festival Invitation

Application

Click here to find out more about past Festivals


Drinking Water Week
Each year, across the United States, water utilities, professionals, organizations, and entire communities, celebrate the essential role that our most precious natural resource plays in our every day lives. The American Water Works Association and it members have been celebrating this event for more than 30 years. Drinking Water Week is commemorated through festivals, presentations, and activities, all focusing on the vital need for clean and abundant water sources and providing tips on how to protect and conserve our water. Portland Water District observes Drinking Water Week by offering daily public events throughout the first full week in May.
 

Conferences, Fairs, Exhibits
The Portland Water District education team attends a variety of conferences and events to share information with the public. A couple of our educational exhibits include:
Water: Your Clear Choice
An interactive display aimed at raising awareness in children (and adults) about the sugar contents of beverages they may consume on a daily basis. Did you know a single 20 oz. bottle of soda can contain up to 22 teaspoons of sugar?
Flushables
Disposable cleaning wipes and personal care wipes have become common household items and often are flushed down the toilet. These wipes may be flushable, but can cost water utility companies, and thus consumers, thousands of dollars to repair pumps and unclog pipes; not to mention the added waste to filter out and send to a landfill. With this display, we hope to remind the public to not treat their toilet as a trashcan.
Maine Project Wet
The Project Wet display offers information and materials for teachers about the Project Wet curriculum and upcoming Project Wet workshop opportunities.