MERIDIAN, Idaho — “So every time you turn on your water from the time it turns on to the time that you know it gets flushed or down the drain there’s all of these things you gotta learn about and it’s just it’s really cool,” said BreAnna Clifford, a communications specialist with the City of Meridian.
Educating residents on what makes Meridian function; The 15th annual Public Works Expo allowed attendees to have fun by running through water from fire hydrant, while learning where that water comes from.
“The City of Meridian has their water sourced from wells, so this is kinda to demonstrate the importance of wells, [and] how it recharges back into the system,” said Vicki Ly, a Staff Engineer with the City of Meridian.
“Whether it’s a 5-year-old or an 85-year-old; there's a lot to learn, there's a lot to see, and it gives the community a really good understanding about the importance of public works and the infrastructure that we actually provide,” said Clifford.
The city’s Vactor Truck, a system that cleans our sewage lines daily, also being demoed to show how important it is to only flush these three things down your toilets.
Other interactive learning activities included testing your excavator skills, building a hand-held aquifer, touring the inside of Ada County Highway District vehicles, and much more.
Bob Parsley is just one of the many local public works professionals sharing their knowledge with attendees. He’s been a traffic signal specialist with ACHD for over a decade.
“Those are the actual size of a traffic signal light,” Parsley said as he handed a ‘green light’ to a young expo attendee.
He says rain, wind or shine, he loves getting to be in the bucket everyday ensuring traffic signals are maintained for the thousands of drivers on our roads.
