Nestlé Waters today announced efforts to increase awareness about water quality and sustainability in support of the World Water Day 2010 theme, “Clean Water for a Healthy World.” World Water Day is celebrated on March 22.

Continuing Nestlé’s ongoing commitment to educate children about issues related to managing and protecting water resources, Nestlé’s Macon County Bottling Facility today partnered with Project WET to provide water education kits to a 5th grade classroom at both Lafayette Elementary and Red Boiling Springs School. Each kit included a Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide Sampler for the classrooms’ teachers, while students received five activity booklets and posters regarding the quality and conservation of water.

In addition to elementary education efforts, the plant also hosted two plant tours with local high schools. At 10 a.m., the plant hosted juniors and seniors from Red Boiling Springs High School, including the school’s Envirothon Team, a team of students that has successfully competed with state schools on areas such as, aquatics, wildlife, and ecology. At 1p.m. the plant hosted an afternoon tour with 40 juniors and seniors from Macon County High School.

“Along with our parent company, our plant is proud to support World Water Day and to partner with Project WET to help promote and educate the importance of water conservation in our local community,” said Tony Dexter, plant manager of Nestlé’s Macon County Bottling Facility. “A part of our mission is to continue to remind the next generation of their responsibility to conserve.”

This opportunity was made available to only those communities where their Nestlé Waters facility has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications. Nestlé’s LEED is an internationally recognized certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that measures how well a building performs across various sustainability metrics, including water efficiency, energy savings, CO2 emissions reduction and stewardship of resources. The Macon County Bottling Facility was among the first to receive a LEED certification out Nestlé’s nine certified plants.