Nob Hill Elementary students present water-use audit, urge reuse and education

Grayson Valdez, a Nob Hill Elementary student, told the San Marcos City Council on June 10 that the school’s class completed a 14‑week Water Resource Management Leadership program and audited how the campus uses water.

The classroom team measured faucet flow rates, timed handwashing, tested toilets for leaks, and mapped potable, reclaimed, wastewater and stormwater systems on and around campus. “We are here to tell you what we learned about water on our school campus,” Valdez said during the council presentation.

The students said their meter‑based data shows the campus uses about 387 billing units — about 289,476 gallons — of potable water per month, at a monthly cost they reported as $3,792. Students estimated that handwashing accounts for roughly 20% of potable water used in the building and that the school experiences about 3,510 handwashing events per day. Using an average faucet flow they measured (reported as about 1.5 gallons per minute), the class estimated daily handwashing used about 2,632 gallons and about 57,915 gallons per month.

Nut graf: The student team identified simple, actionable steps and site improvements that could reduce water use and expense — particularly by fixing leaking toilets, reducing water flow during handwashing, and using reclaimed water for irrigation where available — and gave the council a written plan with findings and recommendations.

Students reported a campus toilet‑leak rate of about 30% among those they tested at home and at school. They also said the campus currently has one potable‑water meter, uses potable water for irrigation and does not use reclaimed water on campus. The students presented an estimate that switching irrigation to reclaimed water could save the school about $9,031 a year, and noted the school spends about $3,792 monthly for potable water. The students contrasted that with a hypothetical bottled‑water cost they calculated for comparison.

Students described field visits and instruction from local organizations and agencies: staff from the San Marcos Unified School District explained irrigation controllers and components; representatives from Vallecitos Water District and municipal wastewater crews demonstrated pipe‑cleaning trucks and mobile inspection cameras; and a city stormwater presenter led a campus stormwater assessment, noting that runoff from the hilltop campus flows toward Escondido Creek, San Elijo Lagoon and Batiquitos Lagoon.

The class also proposed education and low‑cost equipment to reduce litter and plastic bottle waste on campus: posters, more trash and recycling bins, trash pickers and a reusable water‑bottle distribution program. Nelson Family Orthodontics donated 120 reusable bottles, the students said.

The council presented certificates to participating students and council members thanked the class and partner organizations. Council members and staff did not take formal action on the students’ recommendations during the June 10 meeting; students said they would give copies of their water‑resource management plan to the principal and superintendent and provided one to the council.

Ending: The students closed by asking the council and community to consider simple site fixes and education campaigns, noting the cost and waste implications of current practices and the potential savings from leak repairs and reuse where permitted.