written by Veronica Leasiolagi Lualemagafaigä Barber
illustrated by Wayne Muramoto

O LE Ä LE VAI?

O le vai o le sua e lë lanua ma o le mea pito i telë lea i le lalolagi. E tusa ma le fitusefulu (70%) pasene o le lalolagi e ufitia e le vai. 'A'o le isi 30 pasene o le 'ele'ele.)

O lo'o fa'atumulia e le vai ia le sami, vaitafe, vaitüloto ma vai'eli. O lo'o i totonu o le 'ele'ele 'ätoa ma le 'ea o lo'o tätou mänavaina.

WHAT IS WATER?

Water is a colorless liquid and the most common substance on earth. It covers over 70 percent of the earth's surface. (The remaining 30 percent is land.) Water is capable of dissolving many different substances. It fills the oceans, rivers, and lakes, and it is in the ground and in the air we breathe.

O Ä NI AOGÄ O LE VAI?

A lëai le vai, 'ua lëai fo'i ni mea e iai ola pei o lä'au ma manu, 'ätoa ma tagata. E tatau lava i mea 'uma ia ona lätou maua le vai mo lo lätou olataga. E mafai e le tagata ona ola i le mäsina 'ätoa i le lëai o se mea'ai, 'ae lë mafai e ia ona ola i le vaiaso e tasi pe'ä lëai se vai.

E täua tele i mea 'uma e iai le ola ona lava o le vai. A lëai, 'ua pepë lä'au ma manu, feoti fo'i tagata i le fiafëinu.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE USES OF WATER?

Without water, there would be no living things. Plants, animals and man must have water to live. A man can live without food for more than a month, but he can live without water for only about a week. It is important that every living thing has enough water, or it will die.

I o tatou fale ma 'äiga, e tätou te fa'aaogäina le vai e kukaai, fa'amamä ma tä'e'ele ai.

E fa'aaogäina le vai i le tele o itü'äiga galuega 'ese'ese e iai fa'ato'aga, fale e fufulu ai ta'avale, ma le tineia o afi ma mü.

E femälagaa'i tagata i va'a e o i luga o vai tetele 'ua ta'ua o vasa no'o sami. E mafai e tagata ona fägogota ma 'au'au i ia vai tetele. E fiafia tamaiti e tä'a'alo ma fa'ase'e i le sami ma galu tetele. O isi tamaiti e fiafia i fa'ase'e ma fa'apa'u'ü i mutia susü mai vai o timuga.

In our homes, we use water to cook, clean and bathe.

Water is used in many different types of jobs. These include farming, washing cars and fighting fires. People travel in boats that go on huge bodies of water called oceans. People can swim, fish and snorkel in the water. Kids like to play and surf on the big waves. Other kids like to slip and slide on wet grass when it rains.

O FEA E MÄFUA MAI AI LE VAI?

I le mäfua'aga o le vai, o le iai muamua lea o le vai lava lätou ma le vevela. E tätou te mauaina le vai mai i sami tetele ma le vevela mai i le lä. E föliga mai e mago le vai i ofu susü, 'ae lëai. O le vevela o le lä e liuausa ai le vai. A liuausa le vai, ona mämä lea o lona mamafa ma alu 'ese ai ma ofu susü. E tätou te lë mafai ona va'aia lea tülaga 'auä e lëai se lanu o le vai. I lona mämä, ona alu 'ese lea ma alu 'äga'i le 'ea ma le vänimonimo. Toe o le liuausa o le vai mai le lä vevela ma alu 'ese ai mai ofu susü, ona mamago ai lea o ofu ma lavalava.

E mafai ona 'e mata'i o le vai o pupuna i luga o le ogäumu. 'A'o 'ämata ona vevela o le vai, e liuausa se tasi väega ma 'e te va'aia le alu i luga (rise) o le vai 'ua liuausa. O le tülaga lava e tasi e tupu i ofu susü pe'ä fa'ataupe i le uaea e fa'amamago i le lä.

WHERE DOES WATER COME FROM?

The process of getting water requires water itself and heat. We have water from our vast oceans and heat from the sun. The process where water turns into gas and seems to have disappeared is called evaporation. The heat of the sun turns water into a gas. Water in the form of gas is very light and rises into the air.

You can watch water boiling on top of a stove. As water is heated, some of it turns into gas and rises. An identical process takes place when wet clothes are hung on lines to dry. The heat of the sun turns the water in the clothes into gas and the water rises into the air, leaving the clothes dry.

O vai e liuausa ma mou pe gäalo i le 'ea, e liu i puao. O le 'ala lea e tätou te va'aia ai puao e pei o ni fa'aputugä'asu. 'Ae lëai, o ni fa'aputugävai 'ua liuasu ma 'ua opeopea ai i le vänimonimo. E mäfiafia le puao ona o le tele o le vai e liuausa mai i vasa tetele, vaitafe, vailepa ma vai'eli, 'ätoa ma le 'ele'ele ma lä'au.

Water that disappears into the air becomes clouds. A cloud is a mass of visible vapor or an aggregation of watery or icy particles floating in the atmosphere. Thus, clouds are formed from water that has evaporated from oceans, lakes, and rivers, also from moist soil and plants.

A mälulü le 'ea i le vänimonimo, ona 'avea lea ma mea e toe liuvai ai le ausa po'o puao ma mäfua mai ai le timu. O isi vai o le timu e toe goto i le 'ele'ele, 'a'o isi vai 'ua lepa i tumutumu o mauga ma tafe mai i lalo o mauga i vaitafe. E iai ni vaitafe vua tafe fetaula'i fa'atasi ma maua ai ni vaitüloto. 'A'o le tele atu o le vai o timuga, e toe pa'u'ü lea i vasa po'o sami tetele.

When the air cools, it causes the tiny water drops to become so large and heavy that they fall as rain. Some of the rain sinks into the ground. Some rain water comes down the mountains in streams. The streams come together to make lakes. Most of the rain falls back into the vast oceans.

E tätou te mauaina le vai mai i lalo ifo o le 'ele'ele mai i ni pamu ma ni masini e fausia ma pamu ifo a'i le vai i luga. E tätou te mauaina le vai mai vaitefe ma vaitüloto i le fausia o ni pä tetele po'o ni fa'atänoa e täofi ai le vai. Ona fau lea o ni fale i ona tafatafa ma fa'aaogäina ni paipa e fa'asau ai le vai i fafo.

HOW DO WE GET WATER TO USE?

We get water to use from the ground or from the rivers and lakes. Dams are built on the rivers to hold the water behind them. Lake water is drawn up by pipes. Ground water is pumped from under the ground. These are then treated and piped into the homes and buildings to be used by people.

O se galuega fitä le 'avatuina o le vai i le miliona o tagata. E tatau ona lava le vai mo le to'atele o tagata o lo'o soifua nei, 'ätoa ma le to'atele o tagata o lo'o fa'aopoopo i tausaga ta'itasi. E tatau fo'i ona fa'amamä lelei o le vai. Fa'atoä fa'apaipa ai lea i fale ta'itasi, ofisa, fale gaosimea ma fale talimalö, 'ätoa ma falema'i. E lë gata i lea, 'ae tatau fo'i ona iai oni isi paipa e fa'asau 'ese ai le vai 'ua 'uma ona fa'aaogä mai ia fale 'ese'ese.

The job of supplying millions of people with water is tremendous. There must be sources of plentiful water to meet the demands of increased population. The water must also be purified. Next, it must be piped into every house, office building, factory, hotels and hospitals. The used water must also be piped away.

I le 'äga'i pea i luma o le tele o fale gaosimea ma le tele o tagata, e fa'apea fo'i ona täua ma tatau i tagata 'uma ona fa'aaogä lelei o le suävai. 'Auä a lëai le vai, 'ua lëai ni tagata po'o ni isi mea e iai le ola e totoe i le lalolagi.

As industry and population continue to increase, the challenge becomes greater for man to make good use of his water. Without water, there can be no man or any other living thing on earth.