H2O LAB!
H2O LAB! —an innovative classroom experience—is available to public schools, private schools, and scout troops within Sugar Land’s city limits, extra territorial jurisdiction and some surrounding areas. Since our partnership began, more than 40,000 children from more than 100 different organizations have participated in this water conservation programming.
Water Conservation Education
H20 LAB! is administered by Subsidence District staff, who visit classrooms to introduce water-saving concepts to students and provide teachers with supporting educational materials. The program is a combination of water conservation presentations, a curriculum developed for the classroom and a take-home kit for each student. The kit contains information that the student and their family can use at home to apply the water-conserving concepts learned in the classroom and water-efficient technologies including a low-flow showerhead, kitchen faucet aerator, bathroom faucet aerator, shower timer, flow rate test bag, drip/rain gauge, toilet leak detector dye tabs and a thermometer.
Supporting Sugar Land Water Resource Management
The city of Sugar Land’s water resources management strategies include water conservation, water education and converting the city’s water supply from groundwater to alternative water sources such as surface water and reclaimed water.
Sponsoring the “H20 LAB!” program benefits long range water management. The program is not supported by tax dollars but rather funded by the surface water fund created to manage programs and projects essential for compliance with the groundwater reduction mandates. While educating the city’s youth about the importance of water conservation, H20 LAB! increases water supplies available to our community during times of drought.
A school’s participation in the H20 LAB! program and the city’s sponsorship of each student contributes to Sugar Land’s water management strategies in two ways: 1) students and teachers have access to first-rate water education, and 2) the city earns groundwater credits from Fort Bend Subsidence District (FBSD). For every student sponsored, the city receives 84,000 gallons in groundwater credits.
The cost of the program is currently $38 per student or $0.45 per 1,000 gallons in credits earned. The FBSD penalty for exceeding allowed groundwater use is $6.50 per 1,000 gallons. Ground water credits can be redeemed to directly offset this penalty.
Learn more about the City’s long term water resources planning.
For information on the Fort Bend Subsidence District and H20 LAB! visit, https://fbsubsidence.org/education/.