Every school day after lunch, the custodian at Humphreys Avenue Elementary School in East Los Angeles washes down the lunch benches. His green hose, patched with tape, allows a small water leak. Water escapes between the hose and spigot. Runoff trails down the asphalt, soon evaporated by the afternoon sun.
With a serious lack of rainfall, California is still in a serious drought. In January, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in California. At the end of June, the National Integrated Drought Information System reported that almost 80 percent of California was under extreme drought conditions.
The State Water Resource Control Board (SWRCB), on July 15, 2014, announced strict water conservation requirements for all of California. The statewide emergency water regulations have five rules regarding outdoor use of portable water. 1) Don’t wash down sidewalks and driveways 2) Don’t allow runoff from your property 3) Don’t wash motor vehicles with a hose, unless it is fitted with a shut-off nozzle 4) Don’t operate fountains or decorative water features unless the water is recirculated 5) Don’t water more than three days per week in the summer and two days per week in the winter.
Despite Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Sustainability Initiatives, the custodian at Humphreys Avenue Elementary School continues to wash down the eating areas after lunch. SWRCB asks for people to refrain from hosing down hard surfaces, and Los Angeles County recommends watering lawns after 4 p.m. to reduce evaporation. The lunch benches are hosed down right after lunch, around 1 p.m. The custodian declined to specifically comment on the issue.
Jose Rodriguez, who teaches a combined fourth and fifth grade class at Humphreys Avenue Elementary School, emphasizes the environment in his science lesson plans. While emphasizing the difference between problems and solutions, Rodriguez had his students draw pictures depicting solutions to help the California drought.
He taught his students about the current drought and asked them how the school could help conserve water. His fourth and fifth graders were the ones that noticed that each day after lunch the custodian hoses down the lunch benches, wasting gallons of water. “My kids said we need to do something about this… the plant manager is doing this everyday,” Rodriguez said.
“It’s important to clean the benches off,” retired Humphreys Avenue Elementary School teacher Ralph Sanders said. “But they could probably get a pressure washer and do the job a lot more efficiently.”
Instead of approaching administration himself about the issue, Rodriguez decided to let his class take action. He taught his students about making changes through public service announcements and letters. His class will choose representatives to write a letter to their school principal. “We’re trying to build some citizenship skills for the kids. How do you act on what you see?” Rodriguez said.
“I want to tell the janitor to stop using water, and to put tape [on the hose],” student Ixtli said.
Moving forward, Rodriguez hopes to practice water conservation at Humphreys Avenue Elementary School in more ways than just after lunch. “There’s so many things as educators that we can do to raise awareness about the drought,” Rodriguez said.