Town Engineer Visits 5th Grade Classroom

As part of the EPA mandated MS4 permit, Town Engineer John Klipfel, visited the 5th grade in the E. Ethel Little School to help run the “Keeping Water Clean” program. This program is funded by the town, set up by Greenscapes and is run by both the Ipswich River Watershed Association and the Salem Sound Coastwatch. Public outreach is a large component of the permit.

Six “stations” were set up that groups of 5th graders rotated through over the course of two hours

Each station was aimed at educating as well as informing the students about watersheds, surface waters and ground waters and how they can help protect the water supply that they use in their own homes. Students learned about how their septic systems work and what happens after they flush the toilet. They also learned about rain gardens as well as permeable pavement and how important it is to have as much water recharge directly into the ground as possible. John ran the watershed map station which showed the children a map of the entire town and identified the rivers, streams, ponds and wetlands. There were also five parent volunteers that took time out of their days to run the other stations.

North Reading has a very large amount of surface water and the entire town is within the Ipswich River watershed. The students learned that the Ipswich River begins as far east as Burlington and flows all the way to Plumb Island Sound at the Atlantic Ocean in Ipswich and provides over 350,000 people with drinking water.

It was an excellent program and very eye opening for the children. Most students related to having wetlands or streams in their back yards and were surprised to learn that those waters effect so many people.