Water towers. They’re all around us, but what do they do?

Following the first-ever Model Water Tower Competition hosted by the Forsyth County Department of Water & Sewer on March 22, 11 students from Riverwatch Middle School can likely tell you all about water towers.

Nishat Sial, Community Outreach Specialist with Water & Sewer, said this is the first year Forsyth County has taken part in the competition, though it has been held in other counties across Georgia before.

“The Model Water Tower Competition provides students with the opportunity to interact with working water professionals and create a connection between the incoming workforce and the current one,” Sial said.

Towers were judged based on three criteria: structural efficiency, hydraulic efficiency, and design ingenuity/interview presentation.

“Through the competition, the students were able to practice valuable life skills, such as critical thinking, communication, problem solving and public speaking," Sial said. “And, of course, they were able to increase their engineering skills and knowledge.”

Before the competition, Sial said she reached out to the public Forsyth County middle schools to see if any teachers would be interested in participating.

Jennifer Pegues, engineering and technology teacher at Riverwatch, said her students would be thrilled to take part in the competition. Chris Clark, a Senior Associate with Hazen and Sawyer, mentored students and gave engineering advice as they worked to create functional model water towers.

“That was something the students were judged on – their water towers had to function,” Sial said. “Their tower had to be able to pump water, hold it, and then release it.”

Volunteers from the Forsyth County Water and Sewer Department assisted with scoring during the event.

The students whose teams placed first, second and third won $300, $200 and $100 respectively.

First place: Sai Vikhyath Belda and Tejus Peri

Second place: Darsh Patel, Rylen Shanks and Ahmad Tariq

Third place: Aadhithya Arunachalam, Aryaman Singh Dhanjal, Aarav Shah and Vighnesh Tuniki

The teams who placed first and second in the local competition will also go on to compete at the state level on April 12 in Buford. Sial said 12 counties including Forsyth County will be represented at the competition.

After a successful first year of county-level competition, Sial said she is excited to work with her department and even more schools to make it an annual event.

“I’m glad that students got to interact with real-life water professionals and recognize how important the water industry is,” Sial said. “Water is something we can often take for granted; there is a lot that goes into the process of getting it from the source to your tap, and this competition allows students to become familiar with a critical part of that process as water towers are essential for providing water pressure and storage. I am grateful that students got the hands-on experiences constructing their own towers as well as the opportunity this competition presents to educate the younger generation about water.”