WATER OPERATORS:
DELIVERING SAFE WATER EVERY DAY
CAREER DAY

Help Jamie show her friends how her dad keeps our water safe every day!

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Today is career day at Springside Elementary School. Adults are here today explaining what they do all
day long, from lawyers to bakers and teachers to electricians. Jamie sits down with her friends, Marcus
and Kate, for lunch.
Well, I want to be
a doctor!
When I grow up,
I want to be a
firefighter!
What about you
Jamie? What do you
want to be when you
grow up?
I want to be a
WATER OPERATOR
just like my dad!
Water operators are
heroes! Have you ever imagined
what would happen if we didn't
have water, even for just one
day?
Don t you want to
be a hero like us?
Water Operators, like Jamie's dad, help
make sure we have safe, clean water every day.

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Crack the Code
Decode the answers to the questions below.


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Question 1: What do police officers, firefighters and paramedics have in common with water operators?
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Question 2: What do hospitals, first responders, firefighters, power plants, schools and homes need every day?
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Imagine a Day without Water
At school, ^
the water fountain on the
playground would not
work.
r	And it would be ^
even worse at home! Without water,
we couldn't shower, brush our teeth
. or even flush the toilet!
Without water,
firefighters couldn't put
out a fire.
Without water we couldn't get our
favorite flavors of ice cream from the
shop in town, because they wouldn't
be able to stay open.

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Maze
Follow your water through each step of the water system from
start to finish. The answer key at the back of the activity book
will allow you to review your responses.
Tell an adult if you see
a leaky faucet.
3 STORAGE TANK
WATER SOURCE
41 HOMES-BUSINESSES
^¦1 L^,
	*|r, K
2 WATER TREATMENT
PLANT
5 WASTEWATER
TREATMENT PLANT
6 RIVER


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Behind the Scenes: Delivering Water Services
WATER TREATMENT PLANT
*
* *
M
Q
My dad and other water
operators test the lake water for
POLLUTANTS before it goes to the
water treatment plant.
The water treatment
plant gets our water from
Springside Lake.
Water sources include streams, lakes, rivers and underground water. Sometimes there are substances in this
water that can make it unsafe to drink or to use for cooking or cleaning. These are called pollutants and are
removed from the water before it gets to our homes.
*
drain and flows through pipes
to the wastewater treatment
plant.
he water for cooking, cleaning
and flushing the toilet, it is
called WASTEWATER
Wastewater is water that has been used to bathe, wash your hands, flush the
toilet and prepare our food. Once the water is used, it flows out of our house in pipes
on its way to the wastewater treatment plant.
This plant takes water that
people have used and
removes the pollutants.

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Spot the Difference
Can you spot the six differences between these two pictures?
Hint: One picture shows problems that can happen in a water distribution system.
*
*


*

Did you know? If wastewater isn t properly
treated, it can pollute lakes and streams.
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Emergency Response and Recovery
It sounds
your dad is
really busy!
is, and when there are
emergencies,
he gets even busier!
n
Well, sometimes pipes can
break and water can't get to our homes.
Remember when Thomas' birthday party
was canceled? Since the restaurant
couldn't get water, they couldn't make
pizza.
What type of
emergencies?
My dad monitors the tanks
and pipes and pumps to make sure
CONTAMINANTS don't get into the
water after it leaves the water treatment
plant.
He figures out where a
problem might come
from, then fixes it to make
sure everyone's water is
safe.
Contaminants are things in the water that might make the water look funny or taste or smell bad, or might
make you sick. They could be chemicals or germs.

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Emergency Response and Recovery
* What about that
flood last year, Jamie? There
was so much water
everywhere; it was higher
than our mailbox.
Illilila
Definitely! When flood water got
into the water treatment plant,
the power went out. Without
power, water couldn't be treated.
Some of the floodwater even
mixed with clean water, making it
unsafe to drink.
8
My dad got the electricity back on at the plant
with a generator. Once he could power the
machines and pumps, he was able to treat the
water.

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Crossword
Complete the crossword by filling in a word that fits each clue. The answer key at the back of the activity
book will allow you to review your responses.
ACROSS
2.	Items such as dirt, leaves and germs that water
operators remove from drinking water.
3.	Water that has been used by people for
washing, flushing and cleaning.
6.	Where water is held after treatment but before
people use it (two words).
7.	What everyone needs to do to make sure they
are ready for a water emergency.
DOWN
1. The person who provides safe drinking
water for a community.
4.	Pipes that take water from the treatment
plant to homes, schools and other buildings
(two words).
5.	The number of gallons per person of
bottled water you should have at your
house in case of an emergency.
0


\

WORD BANK


Water Operator
Three

Pollutants
Storage Tank

Wastewater
Prepare

Water Mains
Community


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9 7

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Emergency Preparedness

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Water Preparedness Quiz
Test your knowledge by answering the questions below about water emergency response, recovery and
preparedness at home and in your community. Work with a parent to help you find the right answers.
1. Do you know where your water comes from? A company or a well in your yard?
2. How much extra water should you keep at home in case there is a water emergency?
3. Who should you call if your water smells funny or tastes weird? Add this number to your
emergency contact list.

4. How many gallons of water are lost every year due to water main breaks?
A.	2.1 thousand gallons
B.	2.1 million gallons
C.	2.1 billion gallons
D.	2.1 trillion gallons
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Local Heroes
Thanks for telling us all
about what your dad does as a
water operator, Jamie! I never
knew how much he does to keep
^	us safe!	^
Your dad is
definitely a hero!
ANSWER KEY
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To learn more about the value of water visit:
www.epa.gov/waterresilience.
v>
B>A
Office of Water (4608T)
EPA-817-K-19-002
December 2019

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