Media Release: Waikato Regional Council, 4 March 2014
A top Raglan university student with a passion for keeping waterways clean has won Waikato Regional Council’s prize for water science.
The prize for $500 of book vouchers was presented to 21-year-old Raglan local Amy Waters at last Thursday’s council meeting.
“Water quality is the big issue that we face going forward and we need science to underpin it,” said council chairperson, Paula Southgate, during the ceremony.
“It’s a nice part of council work to reward clever people who are doing wonderful things in our community and who will go on to share their expertise,” Cr Southgate said.
The water sciences prize started in 1990 and is awarded to the top Bachelor of Science student enrolled in the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of Waikato.
Ms Waters majored in earth science and quickly realised she enjoyed hydrology, taking every paper in natural water that she could during her final two years of study.
“I like how it relates to daily life. We all drink water from the tap everyday and I want to help make sure it is clean and free of contaminants now and for generations to come,” she said.
Ms Waters graduates in April and then intends heading to Europe for a couple of years, before returning to the University of Waikato to do her Masters, with a focus on groundwater.
“I would eventually like to do some work in Africa to help with the provision of clean drinking water, but I’d rather go there with more knowledge,” she said.
Ms Waters, who attended Raglan Area School and became head girl in her final year, says her degree combined her love for both science and the outdoors.