Stowe Regional Project STEM/STEAM School Outreach
As part of the ongoing partnership with local communities, the Stowe Regional Project team continues to engage with the local Whitewater schools. During the month of May, CLTWater staff and Stowe team members participated in several activities at the school.
On May 3, CLTWater made a big splash at the Whitewater Middle School Career Fair. This STEM magnet school has been a great neighbor to our new Stowe Regional Water Resource Recovery Facility. CLTWater representatives from Engineering, Field Operations, Customer Service, Laboratory, Learning and Development, and Stowe contractors met with students to talk about career opportunities and what it’s like to work in the water industry.
The Career Day also provided the Stowe Team with an opportunity to meet schoolteachers and staff to begin planning for ESTEM education (environmental, science, technology, engineering and math) opportunities in the 2023-24 school year.
Water Week Celebration 2023
On May 6, over 60 Charlotte Water staff, 7 external exhibitors, and over 400 members of the public celebrated Drinking Water Week at the Quest Center in Huntersville. It was a day of education and celebration to recognize all of the hard work that goes into bringing safe, clean, and reliable water services to our community.
The free, open-to-the-public, family fun day included indoor and outdoor activities and our Water Wagon’s re-launch! Director Angela Charles greeted the public and conveyed the importance of Drinking Water Week in our community. To formally kick of Water Week, Charles read the proclamation that signifies Charlotte’s dedication to clean water for everyone. Attendees of the celebration enjoyed yard games, face painting, snack vendors, information booths and more. External partners included Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, Stormwater Services, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Sustain Charlotte, Carolina Raptor Center, Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, and 811.
Thank you to all those at Charlotte Water who made this event a huge success. It takes a tremendous amount of teamwork to safely gather hundreds of people for a festival and engage meaningfully. Many members of the public (including Miss Huntersville!) conveyed how impressed they were with our engaging and kind staff.
On-going Charlotte Water and DSS Collaboration
On May 7, CLTWater and Department of Social Services’ (DSS) representatives attended a Community Baby Shower sponsored by District 2 PHA OES and non-profit organization Dream Xperience. The recipients of the baby shower goods were young & pregnant mothers in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Charlotte.
During the event, Dee, Charlotte Water’s Financial Aid Program Coordinator and DSS liaison was there to assist members of the public with their water bills. Dee looked up water accounts, explained bills, enrolled customers in payment plans if needed and let customers know what agencies in the community help with water bills. DSS provided applications and information for guests to apply for and receive information about DSS resources.
All excess baby supplies were donated to Angel House Maternity Home.
Charlotte Water and DSS will continue to look for opportunities such as this one to help connect residents who may need help to resources and assistance.
Stowe visits Whitewater Middle School for concert
On May 9, Whitewater Middle School held their year-end orchestra band concert. The Stowe Team attended to provide backpacks, water bottles, and activity books to students as well as project information to parents. This type of outreach has been performed during a variety of extra-curricular activities throughout the school year to engage different groups of parents and students.
Stowe at RiverFest in Belmont, hosted by Catawba Riverkeeper
On May 13, the Stowe Project team went to Belmont and had an awesome time attending RiverFest. The Stowe project team talked to about 200 attendees about the new Stowe facility, the partnership with Gaston County, and how it would benefits the northwest communities and residents. Display boards illustrated how wastewater pipelines had been installed connecting Mount Holly to the new Stowe Facility, as well as the location of the new Belmont Pump Station and the Paw Creek Pump Station it will connect to, in order to inform residents about routing and construction process. We are thankful for our partners at the Catawba Riverkeepers, for inviting us.