Rep. Smith Honors Water Conservation Essay Award Winners at State Capitol

ATLANTA – State Representative Lynn Smith (R-Newnan) recently honored the winners of the 2015 Metro Water District Essay Contest at the State Capitol on Wednesday, December 16, 2016.  The Middle School Essay Contest encourages sixth, seventh and eighth grade students in the 15-county water district areas to think about water resources, conservation and preservation.

Rep. Smith with the 2015 Metro Water District Essay Contest Winners
Rep. Smith with the 2015 Metro Water District Essay Contest Winners

“It was an honor to be a part of this ceremony that recognizes the winners of this year’s metro district water conservation competition,” said Rep. Smith.  “Natalea Whitley, Coweta County’s winner, was surrounded by her mother, Destiny Whitley; grandmother, Linda Whitley; sister, Anslea Whitley; teacher, Mrs. Tammye Hicks; and principal, Mr. Keafer Triplett. This kind of support re-enforces the importance of learning.  I congratulate Natalea and all of Coweta’s students who participated.”

At the awards ceremony, Rep. Smith honored contest winners from all of the 15-counties that make up the District and the City of Atlanta.  Colton Woodring of Gwinnett County was the 2015 District-wide winner, and Jolee Northrop of Cobb County was the 2015 District runner-up.  The contest winner from Rep. Smith’s district, Natalea Whitley, was also recognized during the ceremony.  Natalea is in seventh grade at Smokey Road Middle School.

The Essay Contest is conducted annually by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (MNGWPD), with 2015 marking the 14th year MNGWPD has sponsored the contest.  The topic of this year’s essay contest was “Why is storm water pollution a problem and what can you do to prevent it?” MNGWPD received over 1,900 essay submissions for this year’s contest.

The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District is staffed by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) and includes 15 counties and 92 cities. It is the only major metropolitan area in the country with more than 100 jurisdictions implementing a long-term comprehensive water management program that is required and enforced.

For more information on the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, please click here.


Representative Lynn Smith represents the citizens of District 70, which includes portions of Carroll and Coweta counties. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 1996, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Natural Resources & Environment Committee. She also serves on the Appropriations, Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment, and Rules committees.

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