Section 2 - Examples of Materials
Ask, "Who provides this service, i.e. whom do we have to pay? How do you know this - what does it say on the hill?"
Write municipal government on the flipchart. Contrast with the other levels of government - provincial or territorial and federal. Identify where the municipal government is located locally, as well as the name of the mayor or reeve. See if participants know the name of the councillor for their area. Write names on the flipchart.
Write Public utilities Commission - PUC - on the flipchart. Ask if participants know where it is located.
Turn the bill over and look at the telephone numbers listed for various inquiries and problems, e.g., emergency, water supply, meter readings, billing, water quality, industrial waste control, waste and water info. Discuss examples of problems that might make it necessary to call any of these numbers. Ask participants about personal experiences of dealing with any of these problems. Role-play examples of such phone calls where relevant.
Referring to the flowchart made during the discussion about the water distribution and sewage system, ask, "What are the various costs in this system?" Record key words and concepts on the flipchart. Distinguish between:
Refer once again to the flowchart developed by the group in Part 1 of this unit. Ask participants to identify the various physical facilities involved in the water system, for example, pumping station, treatment plant, reservoir, pipes and sewage treatment plant. Note that this infrastructure costs money to build as well as to maintain and update.
Ask participants to identify the different kinds of labour required to operate the water and sewage system. Be sure that water testing gets named. Write it on the flipchart. Add water testing to the flowchart in the various locations where it should be carried out - for example, treatment plants, reservoirs, pipes and wells. Add water-testing labs to the flowchart and note that these are also an infrastructure cost.