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Samuel Adams, a sixth grade student at Liberty Middle School, is the Forsyth County winner in the eighth annual water conservation and water quality essay contest, sponsored by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (Metro Water District).

Forsyth County Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlie Laughinghouse will present the county award to Samuel at Liberty Middle School on Monday, November 2, 2009. Chairman Laughinghouse said, "Forsyth County works hard at educating our residents about the importance of conserving and protecting our water. Students are great vessels to carry out conservation and protection messages, and Samuel's essay does a great job of giving examples of how we all can become good stewards of our environment. Samuel's essay encourages us to conserve our water by simple behavior changes, such as installing rain barrels to collect water in order to water your plants and gardens."

The contest was open to sixth, seventh and eighth graders in Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Forsyth,
Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale counties. Each participating school submitted its winning essay for the county competition, and one
overall winner was selected from among the county winners. The district winner receives a check for $100. The county winners receive a $25 check
along with a certificate presented by a county representative.

This year, the Clean Water Campaign/Water Use It Wisely Essay Contest is dedicated to the memory of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale. John was an employee of the Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA) and a member of the Georgia Army National Guard. In June, John was killed in Afghanistan, while serving in the Georgia Army National Guard. John worked for CCWA as a stormwater management technician, where he was instrumental in setting up inspection procedures for illicit discharge and illegal connections. John was an integral part of the CCWA's public education efforts. He enjoyed speaking to students of all ages about the cycle of water, careers in the water industry and preventing stormwater pollution. Because of John's outstanding dedication to educating others about stormwater pollution prevention, the Metro Water District is dedicating the essay contest in his memory.

The Metro Water District, sponsor of the essay contest, brings together 15 counties, 91 cities and 61 water utilities to develop and implement plans to
manage water supply and water quality in metro Atlanta. The Clean Water Campaign and Water Use It Wisely are public education campaigns designed to educate and promote behavior changes in water conservation and water quality.

Each year the two campaigns, Clean Water Campaign and Water Use It Wisely, team up to encourage children and parents to raise awareness of the need to conserve water and prevent water pollution. Students research and share their ideas about why healthy rivers, lakes and streams are important for the future and why residents of the region should conserve. The main goal of this program is to encourage students to create inventive solutions to water conservation and water quality in metro Atlanta region.

To see the complete list of winners, please visit the Clean Water Campaign's Web site (www.cleanwatercampaign.com).

About the Campaigns
The Clean Water Campaign (www.cleanwatercampaign.com) is a cooperative, multi-agency education initiative spearheaded by local governments in metro Atlanta, supported by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District and managed by the Atlanta Regional Commission. Its mission is to build awareness of water quality problems and solutions in the 15-county District.

Water- Use It Wisely (www.wateruseitwisely.com) is a program that educates consumers about simple water conservation measures. It is a multi-state
program that is being sponsored in the metro Atlanta area by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District.

Liberty Middle School is located at 7465 Wallace Tatum Road, Cumming, GA 30028. For more information about the school or student, please call
770.781.4889.