The Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) visited École secondaire catholique de Casselman Pavillon Intermédiaire on June 6 to present the Agency’s OneWater® Education Program. This province-wide program sees OCWA’s water and wastewater operators in the classroom helping students discover the power of their choices when it comes to impacting our water systems and environment through hands-on learning. In Casselman, OCWA’s Stephane Barbarie and Mathieu Carriere presented a certificate to the school for their completion of the program while joined by special guests, Casselman Chief Administrative Officer Yves Morrisette, Communications Officer Amine Haddad, and Mireille Groleau of Communications and Economic Development.
The Municipality of Casselman obtains its drinking water from the South Nation River. This water is treated at the Casselman Water Treatment Plant by OCWA before being distributed to more than 3,600 people. OCWA also operates water systems under contract with Champlain Township, East Hawkesbury, Alfred and Plantagenet, and North Glengarry.
The OCWA Onewater Education Program was born in 2014 out of a desire to strengthen and formalize OCWA’s commitment to water literacy and to the communities we serve every day. Working with an enthusiastic team of educators and OCWA operators from several communities across Ontario, the agency developed a free program that is geared towards Grade 8 classes and is designed to complement the Ontario curriculum by introducing students to the water cycle, water and wastewater treatment processes, as well as how to make smart choices about what goes down their pipes.
To date, more than 4,800 students from more than 70 schools across Ontario have participated in the program.
The Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) is a provincial crown agency established in 1993 that reports through the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation & Parks and is a trusted leader in water for more than 300 communities across Ontario.
