Singing Hills Elementary students learned an unexpected lesson over the past two weeks — conservation. The school began experiencing issues with the main water pump Sept. 29, which lead to a complete break-down. Without the pump working, the school was forced to get all its water from an outside source and also focused on conserving as much water as possible.

McDonald Farms out of Longmont provided 6,000 gallons of drinking water every two days to the school. The company brought the water in a large tanker truck, which was then poured into the school’s water tank. The water was tested three times before going into the school. Even though the water was safe to drink, the water fountains throughout the school were covered to conserve water.

Bottled water also was brought in to save water. On a regular school day, the school uses about 5,000-6,000 gallons of water, but with the conservation efforts the school was able to run on 3,000 gallons per day.

Brian Schenck, operations maintenance coordinator for Elizabeth School District, said everyone in the school did a great job pitching in to save water.

“I think we handled the situation great. We immediately got bottled water because we didn’t want to send home kids early,” he said. “Everybody was hand-in-hand and we made it through that first day.”

The school received a new water pump at the end of last week, and various tests were done Oct. 11-12 to ensure the pump was working correctly and the water was up to par and safe for drinking.

The pump was last replaced in 2004, but because of the size of the pump, it was not uncommon for it to go out, Schenck said.

“This is a 50-horsepower pump and usually they only have a one-year warranty and there aren’t that many around,” he said. “It’s getting a lot of hard use.”

Singing Hills principal Danelle Hiatt said the parents were supportive and responsive during the issue.

“It has been smooth sailing,” she said.