Students from schools taking part in Power and Water’s That’s My Water! program have been putting their new knowledge to good use, identifying leaks at their schools that helped save a staggering 18 million litres of water over Term 3 alone.

Among the participating schools, students from Leanyer, Larrakeyah and Alawa primary schools as well as Dripstone Middle School, have become water-saving super sleuths – uncovering everything from leaking toilets to a major irrigation pipe failure and resulting in their combined efforts totalling 18 million litres of water saved.

650 students from eight schools across Darwin have taken part in the initiative this year, achieving a new milestone of 5,000 students who have now completed That’s My Water!

‘This program not only benefits students through its curriculum-aligned teaching framework; it also benefits school communities as a whole, with the expertise and technology we can provide delivering significant water savings,’ Power and Water’s Water Sustainability Educator Naomi Rea said.

‘These water savings can mean potentially significant financial savings too, which can allow for other priorities to be resourced.

‘We’ve seen inspiring and creative ideas from students who have taken part in That’s My Water! this year, translating their knowledge into real-world application. This has included their new observation skills to detect leaks and interpret data from smart technologies.’

As part of the program, which has an emphasis on inspiring students to study STEM as a way to solve future challenges, students have been investigating Darwin’s water story.

Undertaking social action projects, students have maximised their creativity through a range of forms including models, apps, videos and prototypes for detecting leaks, filtering water, reducing evaporation and improving irrigation systems.

Larrakeyah Primary School Senior Teacher Carmel Spruhan said her students felt empowered to enact change after participating in That’s My Water!

‘Through this program students have a voice, and it is powerful as they are the future,’ she said.

‘Two of our students in particular loved the data they had access to, showing the daily water use at our school. The Power and Water team had told us how to respond if we identified a leak and so when the students saw very clearly from the data that we had a leak, they delighted in immediately letting our business manager know.

‘The graphs that showed the spike in water usage were such a powerful tool to engage our students and then seeing how swiftly this came down after the leak was repaired was very rewarding.’

Power and Water has partnered with the Department of Education to deliver That’s My Water! since 2016.

Schools interested in taking part in the 2025 That’s My Water! program can register their interest.

Charlie Brooks, age 11.

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