Water supports healthy communities, productive places and thriving environments. During National Water Week, educators across Australia are making those benefits visible and helping people understand the systems, ecosystems and shared responsibilities behind them.
From 19 to 25 October, National Water Week invites Australians to reflect on an enduring message: Water is Life. Safe drinking water protects health. Water supports food production, homes, businesses and public spaces. Rivers, wetlands and coastal ecosystems sustain wildlife, livelihoods and cultural connections to Country.
These benefits reach into almost every part of daily life, yet many of the processes that make them possible happen out of sight.
To celebrate National Water Week, we asked members of the Australian Water Association’s Water Literacy & Education Specialist Network how they help people understand water’s value and the work behind it.
For Griffith University’s Dr Dushanthi Wanninayake, water literacy begins with seeing what happens before water reaches a tap and after it leaves a home.
“Water literacy is important because much of our water system is invisible. We turn on a tap, flush a toilet or use water at school without seeing the infrastructure, treatment processes and people that make these services possible,” she said.
Sydney Water Senior Advisor Water Literacy and Education Ryan Besgrove sees the same challenge in the reliability of the service itself.
“We turn on the tap, and water is simply there. For me, water literacy brings that connection back into view. It helps people understand, appreciate and conserve water so it remains available now and into the future,” he said.
In the high-rainfall Northern Rivers of NSW, it can be easy to assume that water will always be plentiful. For Rous County Council’s Regional Water Education Officer, Alex Dowling, water literacy is about challenging that assumption and building a deeper connection to water as an often overlooked and largely invisible resource.
“By helping students and communities better understand where their water comes from, the journey it takes from source to tap, and the value of conserving this finite natural resource, water literacy can provide an important foundation for improved water efficiency and informed conversations about how to secure the region’s water supply into the future,” she said
Sydney Water’s Wonders of Water Discovery Tour takes water education across Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra. Its mobile education van creates opportunities for people to stop, ask questions and learn more about the services they use every day.
Besgrove said the van helps start conversations, while Sydney Water’s specialist Discovery Team makes those exchanges worthwhile by listening and responding to what visitors want to know.
“For me, its success comes down to meeting people where they are. The interaction might be unexpected, but when someone approaches the van with a question, they are curious and ready to engage,” he said.
Some questions call for a closer look. At Sydney Water’s Purified Recycled Water Discovery Centre in Quakers Hill, visitors can see treatment technology firsthand and speak with educators about an option being explored for Greater Sydney’s future water supply.
Free one-hour tours are open to schools, families and community groups, and a virtual tour is available. The chance to inspect a process and ask questions can help people understand the choices involved in securing water for the future.
“I think there is real value in being able to look at what is being proposed for your city rather than only hearing about it from a distance,” Besgrove said.
At Urban Utilities, Victoria Zdraveski has seen how water learning can move from the classroom into conversations at home.
“When students learn about the journey of water, it often sparks curiosity and conversations at home. Kids love sharing what they've discovered, and before long they're reminding their families to save water and how precious it is,” she said.
One of the programs she has worked on is the Water Stories Workshop, delivered with First Nations artist Ambrose Killian from Amiwarre. It combines the urban water cycle with storytelling, culture and connections to Country.
“You can see students making connections as they realise water isn't just something that comes out of a tap. It has shaped communities, culture and the environment for generations,” she said.
perspectives with participants as part of the Water Stories Workshop.
Zdraveski said the conversations that follow allow students to share their own perspectives and think more deeply about what water means to them. For families and teachers wanting to continue that learning, she recommends Urban Utilities’ free Water Savvy Schools Knowledge Hub.
It offers activities, videos and experiments for primary-aged children. Zdraveski particularly likes the hands-on Smelly Science activities because they make the lessons memorable.
At the UNSW Water Research Laboratory, Dr Laura Montano Luna and the Project Halo team have used a miniature wave flume at open days to demonstrate the benefits mangroves provide. Visitors can see how these ecosystems relate to coastal protection, water treatment and habitat, while accompanying cards translate their benefits into familiar professions.
“This makes scientific knowledge tangible and accessible, helping community members understand the important role mangroves play in supporting people and the environment,” Monanto Luna said.
Through her work with mangroves in the Pacific, Montano Luna has also encountered a powerful way of understanding water’s role in community life.
“The ocean acts as a ‘bridge’, bringing communities and islands that are geographically far apart closer together,” she said.
That perspective sits alongside the physical benefits mangroves provide. Caring for water and coastal environments supports places that people depend on and value for many reasons.
Water education is strongest when it reflects the place where people live. In Western Australia, Water Corporation recently held hands-on waterwise sessions for more than 700 Karratha primary school students. They explored the Pilbara’s climate, local water sources and practical ways to conserve water.
And in Victoria, Melbourne Water’s educator-led excursions take students to sites including the Western Treatment Plant and Edithvale–Seaford Wetlands, giving them a closer look at water services and living environments.
Wanninayake suggests a local mapping activity that can work for students, families or community groups. Participants can trace where their water comes from, how it is treated, where wastewater goes and how nearby ecosystems depend on it. The exercise gives people a way to investigate both the infrastructure and the environment around them.
“Understanding where water comes from, how it is managed and why conservation matters helps communities make informed choices and value this vital resource,” she said.
For Wanninayake, the aim is to help people recognise their own part in caring for water, whether by reducing unnecessary use, preventing pollution or protecting waterways.
“I would like students, families and communities to understand the effort and infrastructure required to provide safe and reliable water services, and to see themselves as active water stewards,” she said.
Montano Luna hopes that curiosity about water may also lead more young people towards careers in science and engineering. The field offers many ways to contribute, from studying water in a laboratory to designing the structures that help manage it.
“Whatever your role, working with water means supporting communities. If you are looking for an impactful career, becoming a water professional can give you the opportunity to make a meaningful difference, and contribute to a fairer world,” she said.
There is no single activity that will reveal every connection water makes. A question beside a mobile van, a story shared in a classroom or a demonstration of mangroves in a wave flume can each give people a place to start.
As Besgrove put it, “My key message would be simple: take the time to notice water, value it and stay curious about where it comes from and where it goes.”
The National Water Week website has ways for schools, families, workplaces and communities to take part. Explore the School Participation Kit, connect a school with a Water Ambassador, enter the primary school poster competition, try a Connection Quiz or register a local activity.
A small classroom discussion, workplace conversation or waterway walk is a way to begin.