Kids

Hey Kids! You can have an impact on water quality too! Things you do everyday can help to keep our streams and rivers clear. Would you like a laminated Flint River Watershed map for your classroom? If so, please contact the Genesee County Drain Commission.

To become a member of the EPA’s Environmental Kids Club click below:

Coloring Pages

More Games

Scavenger Hunt

Code Busters - Our Lawns Pollute

Crossword - Stormwater Runoff Challenge

Maze - Storm Drains

Connect the Dots - River Wildlife

Crossword - Nature's Wonder

Word Search - Household Hazardous Wastes

How much water does it take to:

Brush your teeth? - 2 to 5 gallons
Wash the car? - 50 gallons
Use the dishwasher? - 8 to 15 gallons
Flush the toilet? - 1.5 to 4 gallons (each flush)
Take a shower or bath? - 17 to 24 gallons
Run the washing machine? - 35 to 50 gallons (each load)

What you can do to protect our water:

• Don't keep the water running while you're brushing your teeth.
• Take shorter showers. Make it a game. Keep an egg timer in the bathroom and see who can get their showers down to three minutes. (And still get clean!)
• Fill a gallon plastic bottle with water and place it in your toilet tank. (The part in the back!) It will take up the same space as the water usually does, but in a year, it will keep 5,000 gallons of water from going down the drain.
• Stop throwing away so many batteries. The mercury in old batteries will eventually leak out and poison the water it runs into. What can you do? Buy rechargeable alkaline batteries. They can be charged 25 times. That means 25 batteries you didn't have to buy and throw away.
• Clean sidewalks and driveways with a broom--not the water hose!
• Don't let the water run constantly while you're washing or rinsing dishes. 
• Use a stop valve on the hose when you wash the car or dog and are soaping them up rather than leaving it running on the ground.  And remember to wash them on the grass, not on the pavement of the patio or driveway.
• Fill a pitcher with tap water and put it in the fridge, rather than running the tap every time you want a cold drink!
• Always scoop your pets poop and throw it in the garbage when taking them for a walk.