HCWA Announces Winners of Model Water Tower Competition

 (McDonough, GA – Nov. 18, 2024) The Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) has
announced the winners of the 2024 Henry County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition –
an annual engineering, design and build project for middle school students in Georgia.

 The Authority, in partnership with the Georgia Section of the American Water Works
Association (GAWWA) and the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP), hosted this
regional event recently at the Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant.

 The Henry County Middle Schools with participants in this year’s Model Water Tower
Competition included: Hampton, Stockbridge, Impact Academy, Ola, Dutchtown, Austin Road,
McDonough, Woodland, and Locust Grove. This Henry County regional event is one of several
held across the state, with the top two winning towers now qualifying for the Georgia Model
Water Tower Competition, to be held at The Water Tower in Buford on April 12, 2025.

 This year’s winners of the Henry County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition are:

•  First place – Elijah Adkins, Austin Road Middle School; Teacher Garynne Parks
•  Second place – Angel Jenkins, Austin Road Middle School; Teacher Garynne Parks
• Third place – Nix Dunn, Stockbridge Middle School; Teacher Kira Ellison
•  Most Artistic Design – Zara Barcliff and Mila Brazell, Ola Middle School; Teacher Christopher Vernon
•  Most Imaginative Design/Outside the Box – Allyson Green, Impact Academy; Teacher    Dr. Demetria Dixon
•  Best Interview/Presentation – Riley Jenkins and Tiffany Andrews, McDonough Middle School; Teacher Navitha Boda

 The first-place winner received a $300 gift card, while the second-place finisher received
$200 and third place $100. The three superlative winners – Most Artistic Design, Most
Imaginative Design, and Best Interview – each received a $50 gift card.
 The Georgia Model Water Tower Competition was founded to provide information to
young students about water resource engineering, infrastructure, water production, storage, and
distribution, as well as to advocate for the importance of water conservation. The event also is
designed to introduce students to job responsibilities and career opportunities in the water
industry.

 “We were excited to have nine schools participating this year, which is the most we’ve
ever had,” says Lindsey Sanders, HCWA Communications and Regulatory Coordinator, who
organized the event. “Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all the teachers who
took the time to educate their students about the importance of the water industry. We are
looking forward to the state competition.”

 During the Georgia Model Water Tower Competition, students learn there are three main
components to a water tower – an elevated tank, a riser pipe, and a structure to elevate the
tank. Participants are challenged to design and build water towers with specific size and height
requirements from various household materials, while being rewarded for creativity and
engineering excellence. The student model water towers are judged based on three criteria –
structural efficiency, hydraulic efficiency, and design ingenuity.

 In addition, contestants must complete interviews with a panel of water professionals
from the HCWA and educators from the Henry County Board of Education, answering questions
about what they learned during the design and construction of their model water tower.
The Georgia Model Water Tower Competition requires students to develop an idea into a
functioning water tower, just as water professionals do within the state’s water industry. The
competition ultimately engages students in hands-on learning of STEM curricula – what they are
studying in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.


Media Contact: Chris Wood, Ph.D.


Students from nine Henry County Middle Schools participated in the recent Georgia Model
Water Tower regional competition at the HCWA Tussahaw Water Plant.



Angel Jenkins (center), a student at Austin Road Middle School, won second place at this year’s
Henry County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition.


Nix Dunn (center), a student at Stockbridge Middle School, won third place at this year’s Henry
County, Georgia Model Water Tower Competition.