If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that water professionals and the services they provide are essential to a community’s health and quality of life. The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (MNGWPD or Metro Water District) continues to promote this message, including to middle school students through their annual Essay Contest.
The Metro Water District challenged middle school students throughout the agency’s 15-county region to write a 300- to 500-word essay addressing the theme: “Water is Essential.” Among those 15 county winners of the Metro Water District’s Essay Contest for the 2020-21 school year is Strong Rock Middle School student Brody Spann, who was recognized as the Henry County winner.
Brody’s winning essay was titled: “Water Machinist.” As one of more than 650 entries in the Metro Water District’s Essay Contest, Brody had the choice of focusing on how safe water is more important than ever during a pandemic; or, researching and writing about an essential job of a water professional.
Brody and the 14 other county winners received a $100 check and award certificate from the Metro Water District for their respective award-winning essays, while as Henry County’s winner, Brody received an additional gift card and HCWA swag from the Authority.
This was the 19th year the Metro Water District has hosted an Essay Contest for middle school students across the Atlanta region. According to District officials, this outreach activity has challenged thousands of middle school students to think critically about the conservation and protection of water resources in the region.
“Hats off to this year’s essay contest participants,” says Glenn Page, Metro Water District Chairman. “Their work demonstrates an understanding that safe, clean water is absolutely essential for the public health and safety of us all, and that it’s the critical work of water professionals regionwide that ensures our continued access to this vital resource.”
HCWA General Manager Lindy Farmer noted that the Authority’s efforts to educate the public about the essential work water professionals provide the community is reflected in Brody Spann’s essay.
“During the pandemic, the role of water professionals to continually provide clean, safe drinking water for the communities we serve has often been overlooked, but it has been no less essential in the fight against Covid-19,” says Farmer. “When you consider the many ways in which clean water is even more critical during a pandemic, you see how fortunate we are to have the water professionals and water resources that we have in Henry County and throughout the state of Georgia.”
