Published on September 24, 2026
By Aidyn Clark, Arlington Water Utilities
More than 1,200 fifth graders at 19 Arlington schools learned about the importance of conserving water by participating in the Conservation Captains program in the 2025-2026 school year. The program, which is in its fourth year, is a collaboration between Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) and Arlington Water Utilities. The program is available to schools in the Arlington ISD, as well as schools with Arlington addresses that are part of other districts.
When teachers sign up for the program, they receive free classroom lessons as well as Water Conservation Kits and workbooks for students to take home. The free conservation tools, along with classroom activities, help students learn different ways they can save water. The Conservation Kits include water-saving devices such as a shower bucket, digital shower timer, pan scraper, water flow rate bag, and toilet leak detector tablets. Lesson plans are also designed to coincide with 5th grade Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, also known as TEKS.
Conservation Captains is free for schools with limited spots opening each school year. For more information about the program, or if you need to register your classroom visit Elementary School Programs – Save Tarrant Water.
A recent annual report from the Conservation Captains program said updates were made during the 2025-2026 school year to help “improve accessibility, program implementation, and water-savings reporting.” Data showed students remained engaged in the Conservation Captains themes throughout the year, both at home and in the classroom.
Some highlights included:
1,004 students in Arlington completed online homework exercises for one or more Conservation Captains lessons.
Students completed 2,691 Water Conservation Kit activities at home with water-saving devices and reported their actions through the program’s online platform.
Based on student-reported data, participating households will save an estimated total of 11,942,508 gallons of water annually if they continue practicing conservation behaviors learned during the program.
Students submitted a total of 3,305 water conservation pledges, committing to specific actions to reduce water use in their daily lives.
Teachers were also satisfied with the program, with more than 90 percent of them teaching all five lessons that make up the program. The report said educators appreciated the hands-on STEM activities and digital resources provided, with one teacher saying: “Students enjoyed learning about how to use the tools in the kit. Understanding how much water they spend on a regular basis was eye-opening for them. They feel excited about doing the activities at home with the bucket kit.”
In addition, 97 percent of the parents surveyed indicated that their family started conserving water in new ways thanks to the programs.