Date: Feb. 18, 2004

Water district engineering connection with local students

SAN JOSE — Santa Clara Valley Water District employees will join thousands of engineers, students, teachers and government leaders across the country to celebrate the 53rd National Engineers Week, Feb. 22-28.

Partnering with CH2M Hill, an engineering consulting firm, water district engineers and technology professional will visit two San Jose high schools to focus on the importance of engineering in our everyday lives and to show the students that engineering is an exciting, fun and rewarding career choice.

Water district engineers will participate in hands-on engineering activities and experiments at Independence and Yerba Buena high schools in San Jose. They will also make presentations to encourage students to take math and science-based courses, and consider engineering as their career choice.

National Engineers Week, celebrated first in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, was founded to celebrate engineering excellence. In the United States, Engineers Week is celebrated during the week of George Washington’s birthday because the nation's first president—a military engineer and a land surveyor—has also been described as America’s first engineer.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages Santa Clara County's wholesale drinking water resources, coordinates flood protection for its 1.7 million residents and provides stewardship for the county's 10 reservoirs and more than 800 miles of streams.