FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Skit Makes Need to Save Water Clear to Students

After viewing a skit on water conservation this week, 11-year-old Amy Maali decided she is through with 45-minute showers.

“I think I will try to cut down to 10 or five minutes,” said Maali, 12.

A trio of actors from the Minnesota-based Small Change Original Theatre Troupe presented “Aquatic Decisions”--a play designed to teach students the importance of water conservation and the hazards of water pollution--to students at Kazuo Masuda Middle School on Tuesday.

They came away with a valuable lesson: That water is a precious resource and they can make a difference by using less.

“It’s important to save water. If you don’t save it, there will be no water to drink,” said sixth-grader Jeff Stanton, 12. “We should only use the water we need, and not waste it.”

The Municipal Water District of Orange County is sponsoring the educational theater program. Students at other county middle schools will see the performance this month.

Kira Woodruff, the water district’s public affairs representative, said the program delivers a message that wise water use must be a permanent way of life for Southern California residents.

Beverly Crowe, the water district’s education coordinator, said despite heavy rains in recent weeks, it is still unclear how much water will be available this summer and winter. Much of the region’s water comes from northern California.