For most elementary school students, clean water simply flows freely from the tap.

That’s the beginning and the end of the story.

But Glenn Littleton with the Alabama Clean Water Partnership knows there is much more to it, such as filtration necessary to produce clean water and people’s byproducts that contaminate an area’s water supply.

Littleton spoke to the Rotary Club of Chilton County on Wednesday about the Chilton County Water Festival, which is one of the Partership’s efforts to educate children about an important topic.

“Everything we do affects water,” Littleton told the club at its meeting at Clara’s Country Cafe. “You can only clean so much. There’s a finite amount of water, and we have to protect it.”

The water festival is scheduled for March 15 at the local Jefferson State Community College campus and the adjoining Clanton Conference and Performing Arts Center.

Littleton said organizers hope to have 100 percent attendance from all fourth grade students in the county, which would number about 650. The age group is targeted because the water cycle is taught as part of the fourth grade curriculum and the students are still forming habits they will carry through the rest of their lives.

Each class will participate in three hands-on activities: Fantastic Filtration, where students learn about how water is filtered; Edible Aquifers, where students learn how water is contaminated; and Water Cycle Bracelets, where students create their own bracelets that serve as reminders of important lessons about water.

The program will conclude with an environmentally focused magic show.

“It’s a worthwhile project,” Littleton said.

The festival, which is the first in Chilton County and is modeled after others held across the state, carries no cost for schools. Even transportation is provided.

Volunteers are still needed to help with the event. Those interested should email Littleton at cahabacwp@hotmail.cwp.