Conservação de água potável com ênfase na educação ambiental em uma escola municipal – estudo de caso

Abstract

Altogether, the school should play a prominent role in educating citizens about the sustainable use of water, with a view to reduce their consumption, given that trends in the demand for potable water destined for a growing and urban population of the world generate serious concerns. In this context, this work contains a case study carried out in a municipal school of primary education in the city of Vitória-ES, aiming at water conservation, with emphasis on the implementation of an environmental education program. The methodology used consisted of monitoring the water consumption based on the installation of water meters at the main points of use at the facility for a period of seventeen months, between June / 17 and October / 18, with analysis of the Reconciliated Water Balance of the building, besides the calculation of consumption indicators, and of the Consumer Consumption Per Pupil of 14.52 L / day / student, for example. In addition, the environmental education program was developed with the pedagogical team of the school, in which the results showed that there was a reduction in the consumption of drinking water in the building after the insertion of environmental education in the students' daily life. However, it was evidenced that the program did not raise awareness among the school staff, judging by the increase in average consumption in the kitchen and service area, as well as perceiving that in the last month of comparison (October) the percentage reduction of 15.23% was much lower than the order of magnitude of the previous months (July, August and September), of 39.89%, 64.36% and 40.54%, respectively, which may indicate, generally, the gradual loss of people's engagement in the project. It was also highlighted the need to have environmental themed training and continued education courses for primary and secondary school teachers, emphasizing the importance of the school's role in inserting this concept in school routine with projects focused on environmental education, which are of essential importance for the development and formation of student awareness in preserving the environment