2013 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Tory Okemow and Dwight Kennedy noticed that their school used a lot of water as a result of taps left carelessly on in the bathrooms. They proposed that automatic taps would use less water and would be cleaner, safer, and more environmentally friendly than regular taps.
These students also live on school residence, and noted even more wasted water: “the Student Lodge does waste a lot of water all year round with students leaving the water on when brushing teeth.” The benefits of automatic taps include being “easy to operate; stopping the spread of germs and bacteria; preventing water overflow; preventing scalding; and saving water and money.”
An automatic tap was installed in one of the bathrooms at Southeast Collegiate, thanks to Nutrien. The students hope to monitor the difference between the automatic tap and regular taps at the school to demonstrate the need to change all of the taps in the school and at the residence.