HCWA - Henry County Water Authority
11/25/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/25/2024 20:52
HCWA announces winners of Model Water Tower Competition
HCWA announces winners of Model Water Tower Competition
The Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) has announced the winners of the 2024 Henry County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition - an annual engineering, design and build project for middle school students in Georgia.
The Authority, in partnership with the Georgia Section of the American Water Works Association (GAWWA) and the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP), hosted this regional event recently at the Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant.
The Henry County Middle Schools with participants in this year's Model Water Tower Competition included: Hampton, Stockbridge, Impact Academy, Ola, Dutchtown, Austin Road, McDonough, Woodland, and Locust Grove. This Henry County regional event is one of several held across the state, with the top two winning towers now qualifying for the Georgia Model Water Tower Competition, to be held at The Water Tower in Buford on April 12, 2025.
This year's winners of the Henry County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition are:
* First place - Elijah Adkins, Austin Road Middle School; Teacher Garynne Parks
* Second place - Angel Jenkins, Austin Road Middle School; Teacher Garynne Parks
* Third place - Nix Dunn, Stockbridge Middle School; Teacher Kira Ellison
* Most Artistic Design - Zara Barcliff and Mila Brazell, Ola Middle School; Teacher Christopher Vernon
* Most Imaginative Design/Outside the Box - Allyson Green, Impact Academy; Teacher Dr. Demetria Dixon
* Best Interview/Presentation - Riley Jenkins and Tiffany Andrews, McDonough Middle School; Teacher Navitha Boda
The first-place winner received a $300 gift card, while the second-place finisher received $200 and third place $100. The three superlative winners - Most Artistic Design, Most Imaginative Design, and Best Interview - each received a $50 gift card.
The Georgia Model Water Tower Competition was founded to provide information to young students about water resource engineering, infrastructure, water production, storage, and distribution, as well as to advocate for the importance of water conservation. The event also is designed to introduce students to job responsibilities and career opportunities in the water industry.
"We were excited to have nine schools participating this year, which is the most we've ever had," says Lindsey Sanders, HCWA Communications and Regulatory Coordinator, who organized the event. "Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all the teachers who took the time to educate their students about the importance of the water industry. We are looking forward to the state competition."
During the Georgia Model Water Tower Competition, students learn there are three main components to a water tower - an elevated tank, a riser pipe, and a structure to elevate the tank. Participants are challenged to design and build water towers with specific size and height requirements from various household materials, while being rewarded for creativity and engineering excellence. The student model water towers are judged based on three criteria - structural efficiency, hydraulic efficiency, and design ingenuity.
In addition, contestants must complete interviews with a panel of water professionals from the HCWA and educators from the Henry County Board of Education, answering questions about what they learned during the design and construction of their model water tower.
The Georgia Model Water Tower Competition requires students to develop an idea into a functioning water tower, just as water professionals do within the state's water industry. The competition ultimately engages students in hands-on learning of STEM curricula - what they are studying in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Please visit our website photo gallery here for images from the 2024 Henry County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition.
Captions for photos (top to bottom):
Students from nine Henry County Middle Schools participated in the recent Georgia Model Water Tower regional competition at the HCWA Tussahaw Water Plant.
Elijah Atkins (center), a student at Austin Road Middle School who is pictured with (left to right) his teacher Garynne Parks and Lindsey Sanders, HCWA Communications and Regulatory Coordinator, won first place in this year's Henry County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition.
Elijah Atkins (far right), winner of this year's Henry County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition, puts his winning tower through testing and judging by HCWA water professionals at the Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant.
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Media Contact: Chris Wood, Ph.D.
P: 770-757-1681