Ed Programs
Educational Programs
Rainbow Water thrives on innovation and lifelong learning to expand knowledge and pave the way for success. As a public agency, Rainbow Water is committed to working with the community to educate students about water conservation, local water supplies, sustainable alternative resources, water quality, current events, and STEAM careers in the water industry.
Rainbow Water partners with local schools to bring a comprehensive education program that includes classroom presentations, field trips, hands on demonstrations and water poster contests to expand water awareness with the goal to inspire students.
Rainbow Water has partnered with San Diego County Office of Education to bring two exicitng opportunities for interactive lessons about water and sustainable plant production. The program is funded by Rainbow Water District and available for public and private schools in our service area.
Green Machine Lab
The lab brings science to life by delivering interactive, standards-aligned lab experiences directly to schools, sparking curiosity through hands-on exploration. The Green Machine Lab is available for grades K-3rd and up to four classes for a one day onsite school visit. Students will understand about the improtant role the ecosystem, soils and water play in the growth of plants.
Book your Green Machine Lab visit by contacting the San Diego County Office of Education at (619) 590-3911 for more information and to schedule a visit for your class.
Educational Field Trips for Grades 7-12
Rainbow Water partners with local schools to bring a comprehensive educational program aimed at providing students with a peak at careers in the water industry. A variety of opportunities area available for grades 7-12 that includes classroom presentations, field trips, and hands on demonstrations.
STEM Field Trip
Rainbow Water Headquarters field trip takes students through a rotation of departments to showcase STEM careers in water. The team at Rainbow Water guide students to various stations throughout the headquarters office and yard to view demonstrations from construction, water operations, engineering, information technology and wastewater.
Students will visit Rainbow Water meters team to explore how they capture water usage across 344 miles of pipelines and 9,000 metered connections to ensure the delivery of safe and clean water to the community. The field trip allows students to see live demonstrations of water pressure followed by a student learning opportunity to test water flow through a meter.
Careers in Water Field Trip
The City of Oceanside and Rainbow Water host students for a tour of the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility (SLR WRF) to get an upclose view of the water reclamation process. Students in grades seventh through 12th can tour Oceanside’s SLR WRF to understand how wastewater from Rainbow Water and communities east of Interstate 5 is treated to produce recycled water. Students are led by a water expert on a two-hour tour of the facility with an in-depth look at how Rainbow Water’s wastewater travels through 12 miles of underground service lines to the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility.
Rainbow Water partners with Bonsall Unified School District’s STEM career field trips, which aim to provide students with potential pathways for future career opportunities. Students who attended the field trips gained a deeper understanding of the wastewater treatment process and educational pathways to pursue careers in the water industry.
The program is available in the spring and field trips are arranged by Rainbow Water staff in partnership with Oceanside.
Book Your Field Trip
Field trips and in class presentations are available to schools in the Rainbow Water service area. To learn more abut high school field trips, please contact pr@rainbowmwd.com
Volunteer Opportunities
Rainbow Water’s volunteer program offers high school students the opportunity to become more involved in their community and learn about the water industry. Volunteers can earn community service hours by signing up to work at any of our seasonal events which include:
- Annual Fallbrook Avocado Festival in spring
- New! Plant Program
- North County Fire Open House in fall
For more information and to volunteer visit the Volunteer Program page.
Guest Speaker Series
Rainbow Water employs a talented team of professionals with decades of expertise in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) and we share this knowledge with students through our Speakers Bureau program. The program provides guest speakers to high school students as a way to bridge the gap between class curriculum and real-world application. By engaging with students ito explain the fields of engineering, information technology, cybersecurity, communicaitons & design, leadership, engineering and water operations. Our team explains complex fields, educational pathways, salary and benefits with a goal to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in the water industry.
This program is available to schedule in the fall at Bonsall High School, Fallbrook High School and Sullivan Middle School.
Rainbow Water works collaboratively with the community as a steward of water, to expand outreach efforts and educate students about the importance of water as our most valuable natural resource. One such project is the North County Water Agencies (NCWA) Annual Poster Contest.
At the beginning of each year, Rainbow Water works with the North County Water Agencies promote the poster contest to fourth grade public, private, charter and home school students. The students are tasked to help with this water awareness activity by creating an original poster with the theme "Love Water, Save Water." The posters are submitted to the contest, and water agencies vote for the best entry to then be published in the following year’s calendar.
Forms are distributed to schools beginning in January and entries are to be returned by April. A complementary 20-minute classroom presentation on water awareness is also available upon request.
The winners are announced in Spring/Summer and students are recognized for their artistic achievement at the Communications and Customer Service Committee Meeting at the Rainbow Water office.
For more information and to schedule classroom visit complete the form on this page.
ACWA Scholarship Opportunities
Rainbow Water is a member of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), a leading voice on California water issues. ACWA provides water education for students and water agenies through the ACWA Foundation and began offering scholarship programs in 1961 to motivate committed students to join the effort to ensure California’s water quality through sound management policies. The scholarship program is all about investing in future water leaders.
ACWA offers scholarship programs for graduate and undergraduate students. The 2026-’27 scholarship applications are now open. Learn more and apply using the links below.
Undergraduate scholarships
- Arthur L. Littleworth Best Best & Krieger Scholarship
- Clair A. Hill Scholarship
- Edward G. “Jerry” Gladbach Scholarship
Graduate scholarship
Fellowship
For questions about ACWA’s Scholarship Program, please email scholarships@acwa.com.
Get Started
Field trips and in class presentations are available to schools in the Rainbow Water service area. To find out more about our educational programs or talk to someone about a potential projects or classroom visit , please complete the form below.
