By Dawn Burleigh

The Orange Leader

 

Mel Moreau had a vision of a hands-on teaching tool, which would help with Science Techs and STARR testing while showing the hazards of debris in the waterways.

“We were at a meeting and talking about developing something to help young people and teach about drainage,” Moreau said. “I wanted something that could be taken into the classrooms throughout Orange County.”

Moreau said the final product was beyond her expectations.

“One thing I emphasized was that it had to be hands-on,” Moreau said. “They nailed it.”

Orange County Drainage District presented the model to the Lower Sabine-Neches Soil & Conservation (SWCD) District #446 at its Tuesday meeting.

Moreau, the former Field Technician for SWCD, consulted with Orange County Drainage District Assistant General Manager Jerry Hood about the specifications for the model.

Hood then told his wife what he would like and she ‘took off’ with it.

After 336 manhours, the model was complete.

“I used Styrofoam to keep it lightweight and easy for transport,” Shelby Hood said.

The entire display is coated with polyurethane to ensure it was waterproof.

Using household items such as cocoa powder or drink mix powders to simulate oil or trash on the ground, one can see the flow from a yard to the river.

On one section of the model, a house is surrounded by a trench. However, when a toy ball is in the trench as it fills with water becomes blockage for a culvert.

Exact details on how the model will be used or how teachers will be able to ‘check it out’ for their classroom are details are not available at this time as the board has not discussed the policies for it as yet. Tuesday night was a demonstration of the completion of the model.

See video below: