HAMLET — Third-grade students from Monroe Avenue Elementary School were treated to a tour of the Hamlet Water Treatment Plant bright and early Thursday morning. Department Superintendent Robert Brown led the tour accompanied by City Manager Marcus Abernethy.

Math teacher Kathleen Wilderman and science teacher Sharyl Gross brought the group of 36 for an up-close look at what goes on behind the scenes to keep safe and healthy drinking water flowing through the city. And it was more than a sight-seeing tour, since the concepts discussed touched on state standards in each subject and emphasized their importance.

“What do you have to learn about most to become a water man?” one student asked in the crowded room.

Brown gestured around the entire room with the sweep of an arm.

“Everything you see here, all of this lab equipment, chemicals and the meters that give us information on a daily basis are important,” Brown said. “I would have to say the two most important subjects you’d need to focus on are science and math. Not that the other subjects aren’t important, too, but this is mainly science and math.”

Brown also pointed out that technical knowledge is needed to understand the readings from the instruments in the monitoring station.

He said that the lake that is the source of Hamlet’s water supply is at a higher elevation than the treatment plant.

“So it works using gravity,” he said as hands shot up into the air.

Gross was quick to reinforce the connection to learning back in the classrooms.

“We have learned about gravity,” she said. “Remember how we studied why water runs down instead of up?”

Kristin Little and Amy Wooslsey, also teachers at Monroe Avenue, helped round up the curious kids as Brown led them out of the crowded room through a back exit in single file as they approached the water tanks on the grounds. Several students grew wide-eyed as they looked up at the metal stairs and catwalk above.

“Are we going up there?” a girl asked. “I’m scared of heights!”

A few of the others chimed in with their agreement, but mostly the students were eager to ascend and get a view from the “top of the world.” To third-graders, 15-20 feet off the ground seems pretty high up.

So up they went, single file, using the “both hands on the rails” protocol as directed by Brown and the four teachers who were spaced equally between smaller groups of the students.

No one appeared to be afraid of heights once they reached the top and discovered that the catwalk crossed one of the large, round water tanks, allowing them to look down and see water much closer to them than the ground was.

“You see that water?” Brown asked. “That’s pretty deep water. We take water that comes from our lake and test it, and treat it the way I showed you inside. All the tanks out here play a part in getting the water ready to go to people’s homes.”

At one point, an environmentally concerned student raised his hand to ask Brown a question.

“What if a train derailed and chemicals spilled out in the ground?”

One teacher whispered, “Who asked that?” as she peered over the heads of the large group. She said it was a good question.

“That is a good question,” Brown said. “Back in the 1980s we did have a spill, and the chemical was formaldehyde. For months, the EPA and the state worked with us, testing the water and checking for contamination. Fortunately, our water supply was not affected that time because our lake was far enough away from the spill site. But those kinds of things have happened in other places and can be extremely dangerous.”

Reach reporter Melonie McLaurin at 910-817-2673 and follow her on Twitter @melonieflomer.

Melonie McLaurin | Daily Journal Third-graders ascend the metal stairs leading to a catwalk atop one of the city of Hamlet Water Treatment Plant’s tanks. From there, they were able to look down into the open vat of water beneath them.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_GoingUp.jpgMelonie McLaurin | Daily Journal Third-graders ascend the metal stairs leading to a catwalk atop one of the city of Hamlet Water Treatment Plant’s tanks. From there, they were able to look down into the open vat of water beneath them.

Melonie McLaurin | Daily Journal City Manager Marcus Abernethy and teacher Kathleen Wilderman discuss the importance of keeping municipal water safe and answer questions from students.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Abernethy-and-Wilderman.jpgMelonie McLaurin | Daily Journal City Manager Marcus Abernethy and teacher Kathleen Wilderman discuss the importance of keeping municipal water safe and answer questions from students.

Melonie McLaurin | Daily Journal The sky was the limit for a group of third-graders from Monroe Avenue Elementary School Thursday morning when they climbed the stairs and stood above one of Hamlet’s water containment tanks.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_View.jpgMelonie McLaurin | Daily Journal The sky was the limit for a group of third-graders from Monroe Avenue Elementary School Thursday morning when they climbed the stairs and stood above one of Hamlet’s water containment tanks.

Melonie McLaurin | Daily Journal Robert Brown, superintendent of the Hamlet Water Department, demonstrates the steps involved in treating water from the city’s reservoir lake so that it’s safe for use in homes.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_RobertBrown.jpegMelonie McLaurin | Daily Journal Robert Brown, superintendent of the Hamlet Water Department, demonstrates the steps involved in treating water from the city’s reservoir lake so that it’s safe for use in homes.

By Melonie McLaurin

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