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This book is dedicated to the memory of my
dear friend Eugene "Gene" Knott whose love and
commitment to the water industry, along with
his gift for storytelling, inspired me to write
Gobi and Aguat get Savvy
about Water Quality.
-Malea Ortloff

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Gobi the water drop daydreamed as he floated in
the warm Feather River in California. He was
thinking about the time he fell from the clouds as
a rain drop and landed on top of a house.

As he slid along the roof Gobi felt so cold he
thought he might just freeze. Sure enough, as
he tumbled over the edge of the rooftop he froze
into an icicle.

Gobi hung on the edge of the rooftop until one
sunny day, he felt himself begin to thaw into a
water drop and fall to the ground below. He
remembered feeling the tickle of the warm sun
as he evaporated back to his home in the clouds.

Gobi loved the evaporation process of changing
from a liquid to a gas because he knew it meant
he would end up at his home in the clouds.

4

5

Gobi felt a splash beside him that pulled him from
his daydream. He saw that a little water drop had
landed in the river. He recognized her. She lived
near his cloudbank back home. He noticed that
something was different about her. Gobi started to
laugh when he realized she was raw water. Seeing
Gobi laugh, the little drop quickly swam away.

6

Gobi felt the heat of the sun and before he knew it,
he was evaporating toward the clouds. Plop! Gobi
landed on his cloud. He was happy to be back
home and called out to his best friend, Aguat, who
lived in the same cloudbank.

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Soon the two friends were playing in the clouds,
and Gobi was telling Aguat about the little water
drop he had seen in the river. “She was a raw
water drop!”

“What does that mean?” asked Aguat.

“It means she is not clean enough to be
drinking water. When I saw her I just laughed,”
Gobi responded.

“Oh no,” said Aguat, “do you think that made
her feel bad?”

“I don’t know,” Gobi responded. “I didn’t even
think about that. I hope I didn’t make her feel bad.”

8

9

The two drops decided it was time to head back to
their cloudbank. Gobi’s mom met them and told
them she had just found out they were going to
become drinking water. Gobi and Aguat were
thrilled! They had always
dreamed of becoming
drinking water because
they knew people needed
it to survive.

10

While the two friends high-fived one another,
Gobi’s mom gently told them that before they
would become drinking water, they would have to
get scrubbed and disinfected to be clean enough
for people to drink.

Gobi turned to his mom with a frightened look in
his eyes and asked, “Why?”

She explained that although they were precious
drops of water, he and Aguat were not yet ready
to be drinking water.

“What do you mean?” Gobi asked his mom.

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“Well,” she explained, “drinking water
is what people call ‘potable’ water.
Potable water must go through a
special cleaning process to ensure
the water is safe for people to
drink. Although you and Aguat
are perfect little drops of water,
you are not yet clean enough to
be potable water. By the time
you fall through the atmosphere
to Earth you will be raw water.”

“RAW water?! Oh no!” Gobi cried. “You mean all of
the other droplets will know that I am RAW water???”

“Well of course,” Gobi’s mother replied.
“All water drops that fall to the Earth become
raw water.” She then went on to explain
the basic cleaning process to the two drops.

Gobi remembered the little raw water drop
and how he had laughed at her. Now
he felt so sorry he had been unkind.

12

Gobi’s thoughts
were interrupted when he
heard a loud rumble and his
mother said, “There’s the thunder!
It’s time for you and Aguat to go!”
Gobi gave his mom a quick kiss and
then he and Aguat dashed through
the clouds and began falling to the
State Water Project canal below.

13

When the two drops landed
in the water, they shrieked
with delight as they, and all
of the other drops, flowed
through the canal and into
Lake Perris. Gobi and Aguat
swam wildly to stay out of
the way of the boats and
jet skis on the lake.

WHOOSH! Gobi and Aguat
found themselves in a pipe
filled with other drops that
were all swimming fast.

“Wow it sure is dark in here,”
Aguat called out to Gobi.

“Yes it is,” Gobi replied,
“but I think that’s
why it is so exciting!”

“Hold on!” Aguat
called to his friend.

“I am!” shouted Gobi.

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15

In the distance, the two drops could see light and
noticed a large screen. Aguat asked Gobi where
they were.

“My mom said this is the first place we go to
become clean water,” Gobi replied as he and
Aguat continued their fast ride through the screen.
“It is called pre-treatment and the screen prevents
the large items, like leaves and twigs that are in
with us drops, from getting through to the next
phase of the process.”

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Soon the two friends felt themselves falling again.
This time they landed in a large cement tank with
many other drops. Huge paddles were moving all
of the drops and they were laughing because they
felt as though they were on a wild ride at an
amusement park. They had fun spinning,
swooshing, moving, and churning.

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Gobi noticed a man standing next to the tank,
talking with a group of children about the process.
“This is what we call the floc basin,” Mr. Waters
explained to the students. “It’s where we add a
chemical called aluminum chloride to the water.
The aluminum chloride causes all of the large dirt
particles in the water to stick together and then

sink to the bottom of the tank.
Those particles are sent to the
sewer for treatment, while the
water continues on to the next
area for cleaning.”

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Suddenly the drops were being pulled toward a
large filter that looked like a bunch of long
spaghetti noodles. Another man, Mr. Lewis, was
talking with a group of people saying, “These long
strands are known as membrane filters. Each
strand has millions of tiny little holes
that are so small (hundreds of times
smaller than a human hair), the
bacteria in the water are
unable to pass through. The
only thing that can get through
this filter is clean water.”

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Mr. Waters and Mr. Lewis spent their day monitoring
all of the water droplets that came in to be cleaned
and disinfected. They were able to keep track of the
drops by watching information on computer screens
and by sending some of the drops out for testing.

Gobi and Aguat were pulled through the filter
into an area that looked like a water park. Little
water drops were flowing through a mini canal that
snaked through the area known as the Chlorine
Contact Basin. In this area the slow moving drops
were sprinkled with a small amount of chlorine,
which made them feel fresh.

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Gobi remembered his mom told them the chlorine
was used to disinfect the water to make sure all of
the bacteria were completely gone. She said it
would prepare them to become drinking water.
She also said if there were one million teaspoons
of water, only three teaspoons of chlorine would be
added. She told them it was enough chlorine to get
the little drops all the way from the filtration
building, through the pipes, and to the water faucets.

Gobi looked around and saw the little water drop
he had seen in the river. He wanted to talk with
her and tell her he was sorry for laughing, but she
flowed right by him and then she was gone.

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Gobi and Aguat felt the pull once again and soon
they were in a water pipe. This pipe seemed
different from the first one they had been in because
it looked cleaner. The two friends flowed through
the pipe into a gigantic tank, where they would be
stored until they were needed. It was nice to take
a rest in the tank for the night.

The next day Gobi and Aguat felt another WHOOSH,
and they were off again, flowing through the clean
pipes. As they swam, Gobi looked around and he
saw her. The little water droplet he had laughed at.
At first he almost didn’t recognize her. She looked
so clean. She smiled when she saw Gobi.

22

“Hey!” Gobi called to her. “My name is Gobi, and
this is my friend Aguat. What’s your name?”

The little water droplet smiled and said, “My name
is Savannah, but my friends call me Savvy.”

“Wow! You sure look great! I am so sorry I laughed
at you when I first saw you. I was on my way to
becoming a raw water drop myself, and here I was
laughing at you!”

“It’s ok,” she replied. “I knew you would find out soon
enough and then we would become great friends!”

“I saw you at the water park and then you were
gone. Where did you go?” Gobi asked.

“I had to be tested to make sure all of us water
droplets are safe to drink,” she replied.

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Savvy told them she had been sucked
up into a container, put into a crate,
and felt herself sloshing this way and
that. She looked up and saw a sign
that read “Laboratory”and felt herself
being carried through the door.

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Savvy saw a hand reaching for the container. The
next thing she knew, she was in a test tube spinning
around fast while people wearing large goggles
put special drops into the tube with her. She heard
Mr. Marshall telling one of the people that Eastern
Municipal Water District (EMWD) does many tests
on the water to ensure it is safe for people to
drink. He went on to say EMWD water has to meet
strict rules set by the Environmental Protection
Agency, which ensures the water is safe to drink.
Savvy was proud to know she would be high
quality drinking water.

Gobi and Aguat learned Savvy had passed all of
the tests,which meant they were all ready to be
used by people.

The three friends sped through the pipe, not exactly
certain of where their adventure would take them.

25

Eugene laced up his running shoes and headed
to the water fountain to fill his water bottle before
the race. A couple of years before, people called
him the “Water Waster” because he was wasteful
with water. He realized it takes a lot of work to
clean and disinfect water before it reaches our
faucets. He also learned that because he lived in a
dry area, the water was imported from far away,
through canals and a filtering process before it
reached his home.

He was amazed that with everything that goes
into making sure tap water is clean and safe to
drink, it sill only costs less than one penny per
gallon. Once he learned the importance of water,
he made a promise to never be a “Water Waster”
again. He kept his promise by filling recyclable
bottles with water.

Eugene knew a full bottle of water would quench
his thirst after the race. He put his water bottle
under the faucet and turned the handle. Gobi,
Aguat, and Savvy fell into the bottle and gave a
loud cheer. They did it! Finally! They were now
high quality drinking water.

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Eugene peered into the bottle
and saw it was full of clean
water. He smiled and winked
because he thought he saw a
couple of water drops that
looked awfully familiar.

27

Through their adventure Gobi, Aguat, and Savvy
learned many interesting details about water
filtration. The most important thing they learned
was that raw water is not intended to be used for
drinking water. First it must be cleaned and go
through a filtration and disinfection process
before it can become tap water.

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It was crystal clear to the three drops: EMWD
provides high quality, safe drinking water to their
customers.

Gobi, Aguat, and Savvy knew that soon they would
be home again in the clouds, waiting for another
adventure. But that’s another story!

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Fast Facts:

• EMWD does not supply "raw" water
to customers.

• EMWD filters and disinfects water to
make it safe to drink.

• EMWD conducts many tests per
month on drinking water to ensure
it is safe to drink.

• EMWD water costs less than one
penny per gallon.

• EMWD water is environmentally
smart to drink.

Acknowledgements

Eastern Municipal Water District
Education Specialist Malea Ortloff
created the award-winning
Write-Off program to encourage the
wise use of water through literature.
The first Write-Off contest produced
the water use efficiency story Gobi’s
Adventure, written by then sixth grade
student Lucas Pfeiffer. In the new
story, Gobi and Aguat get Savvy about
Water Quality, the focus is on water
quality and the original characters are
joined by newcomer Savannah (Savvy)
Water Drop. Lucas collaborated with
Malea to develop the activity sheets
for the curriculum packet that
accompanies the story.

Eastern Municipal Water District
wishes to thank the following
students, advisors, and graphic
designer for their collaboration and
contributions in the development
of this book.

Author

Malea Ortloff

Student Advisor

Lucas Pfeiffer

Advisors

John Dotinga

Scott Lewis

Ken Marshall

Jeremy Waters

Student Illustrator

Kayleigh Frederick

Book Design

Jennifer Drexler

JD Design

Vocabulary Words

Aluminum Chloride–Chemical used
in drinking water treatment facilities to
help remove particles and bacteria
from the water.

Cement–A powdery substance made by
combining lime and clay, mixed with
water to form mortar or mixed with sand,
gravel, and water to make concrete.

Chlorine–A gas that is added to water
supplies to kill bacteria.

Disinfect–Treatment to destroy
harmful microorganisms.

Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)–A governmental agency
responsible for the enforcement of
environmental protection laws.

Facility–Permanent industrial property
such as a building, plant, or structure
built for a specific function.

Filtration–The process of passing
through a filter.

Imported–Something that originated
in one region and is transferred to
another region.

Laboratory–A workplace for the conduct
of testing and scientific research.

Membrane filtration–A soft pliable
filter that is used to separate particles
from a liquid to purify it.

Microfiltration–A filtration process
which removes contaminants from
water through membranes.

Monitoring–To observe and check the
progress or quality of (something) over
a period of time.

Potable–Suitable for drinking.
Raw Water–Water that has not been
purified.

State Water Project–The nation's
largest state-built water and power
development and conveyance system.

Survive–Continue to live or exist.

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Biography

Kayleigh Frederick–Hi, my name is Kayleigh Frederick
and I'm a freshman at Chaparral High School in Temecula,
CA. In my free time I love to draw, play soccer, listen to
music and hang out with my friends. I would like to thank
my family for always supporting me with everything I do
and the Eastern Municipal Water District for giving me this
wonderful opportunity to illustrate yet another Gobi
book! Enjoy :)

Lucas Pfeiffer–Hi, my name is Luke Pfeiffer, and I’m the
creator of Gobi. When I first wrote Gobi’s Adventure I was
an incoming sixth grader at Margarita Middle School. I am
now a freshman at Chaparral High School. While a lot has
changed since then my love of writing creatively is still
going strong (that, and my love of hockey, of course).

Malea Ortloff–Hello! My name is Malea Ortloff and I am
the Education Specialist for Eastern Municipal Water
District. I have the honor of providing the water education
program for students in 11 school districts and private
schools in our service area. From water use efficiency to
water quality, it is essential that our youth learn and
understand these concepts as they are our future
community leaders. I am blessed with a wonderfully
supportive family that includes my husband Don,
daughters Lisa and Lori, son-in-law Jeremiah,
and granddaughter Savannah.

Copyright pending. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or quoted in whole
or in part by any other printed or electronic means,
or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, or for presentation on
radio, television, videotape, or film without
written permission from Eastern
Municipal Water District

This book is intended for educational,
artistic, and water quality purposes.
Permission is never granted for
commercial purposes.
Manufactured in the United
States of America. The printing
of this book was sponsored in
part by Rancho California
Water District (2012).

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