On April 24, approximately 325 students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade attended a College and Career Day Fair at Whitewater Middle School in Charlotte. This was an opportunity for the young scholars to explore amazing career fields, discover what high school pathways would best serve their career interests, hear from career professionals about what daily life on the job is like and enjoy free giveaways. Charlotte Water’s Stowe Regional Water Resource Recovery Facility had a presence at the event, as did Charlotte Water Workforce Development, Charlotte Water Environmental Management Division, our engineering partner HDR, as well as our construction partners Haskell Company, Garney Construction and Crowder Constructors.
Charlotte Water has built and maintained a strong relationship with Whitewater Middle School throughout the construction of Stowe Facility, a wastewater treatment plant that will be located a little more than two miles down the road from the school. We care deeply about forging strong bonds in the community and keeping the public informed about this impressive feat of engineering and all the benefits it will bestow on the community in the years to come.
To that end, Stowe Facility includes an educational component as a part of its Community Benefit Project. We are cultivating ongoing partnerships with area schools with the goal of crafting collaborative programs that teach future generations what it takes to build and maintain a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant through field trips, presentations, interactive nature trail exhibits and more. Attending career fairs is a key way to connect with students, answer their questions and open their eyes to the possibility of pursuing careers in the engineering, science, mathematics and construction fields.
Our team was excited to interact with the students and introduce them to this high-tech wastewater treatment facility. Stowe Facility will initially have the capability to process 15 million gallons of wastewater per day, and that number eventually will grow to 25 million gallons of wastewater processed daily at a time when the Charlotte region’s population is booming. During the fair, the students learned how Stowe Facility will provide more localized wastewater treatment for Charlotte Water customers in northwestern Mecklenburg County and were able to consider Charlotte Water, HDR, Haskell Company, Garney Construction and Crowder Constructors as possible future places to work. Thank you so much to the wonderful team at Whitewater Middle School who welcomed us and made the event possible!