Questions to guide your initial fact-finding and choice of a focus:

In your community:

• What is needed to protect your local bodies of water? What can you do to get involved?
• What planning is underway at your water utility?
• What work is being done to reduce public water consumption?
  

At your school:

• Where does your water come from?
• Is there enough water for people, agriculture, industry, and the environment?
• After you use water, where does it go?
• Do you know of ways to save water and re-use water?
• Is it possible to visit the watershed for your area, or have a speaker from the water utility at your school?

A process of planning for the future can be done by a local government on behalf of the community, or by an organization that works for broad citizen input and involvement, or by a group of community members who come together around an issue of common interest and work to create change.

A community planning process:

• is based on the assumption that citizen involvement with an issue benefits the community as a whole. Citizen involvement can offer a balance to pressure from special interest groups, spreads awareness and participation, and has the potential to bring change more effectively than a mandate.
• seeks to involve a variety of interested parties and perspectives. Value is placed on the steps of holding open discussion, showing respect and listening to the needs of others, and working towards consensus decision making.
• looks to identify roles for a variety of organizations, groups, and individuals in working towards a common goal for a shared future. The process usually depends on voluntary efforts. It assumes that collective efforts by a broad base over the long term can bring real change.
• acknowledges that many issues can be solved locally, and rejects one-size-fits-all answers in favor of taking its own unique qualities into consideration.