World Water Day 2014

by Lori Davison, The Groundwater Foundation

In 1993 the United Nations declared March 22^nd as World Water Day to highlight the importance of water and to advocate for the sustainable management of water resources. 

Did you know:

 

1 in 10 people lack sufficient access to water

1 in 3 people lack sufficient access to sanitation

1.5 million children die from a lack of clean water and safe sanitation every year

 

It’s hard to imagine that in 2014 that there is still a struggle to provide clean, safe water supplies to people around the world.  World Water Day is behind us, but you can act every day in your household and community to protect and conserve all sources of water, including groundwater.   The Groundwater Foundation’s mission is to educate people and inspire action to ensure sustainable clean groundwater for future generations.   Check out The Groundwater Foundation’s website to learn how you can help protect the world’s water!   www.groundwater.org/action/

Is It Time To Fix That Leak?

By Cindy Kreifels, The Groundwater Foundation

The faucet has been leaking for a while now and you just haven’t had a chance to fix it.  Sound familiar?  A little drip here or there is easily ignored.  Not a big deal, right?  WRONG!  That little drip combined with thousands of other little drips add up to be a lot of wasted water.   For example, a leaky faucet that drips at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons per year.  That's the amount of water needed to take more than 180 showers! 

This week, March 17-23, is National Fix A Leak Week!  This is the perfect time to check around your home for a potential leak.  It may be coming from a faucet, a shower head, or even your toilet.  So become a detective this week, find those leaks and get them fixed.  Not only will it save water, it will save you money. 

To learn more, visit EPA's Watersense.  For additional ways to conserve water, visit The Groundwater Foundation.

 

National Groundwater Awareness Week

By Heather Voorman, The Groundwater Foundation

Since March 9-15 is National Groundwater Awareness Week, this week’s blog post is dedicated to ideas for spreading groundwater awareness in your community!
One of the best ways to spread groundwater awareness in your community is to educate your family, friends, and neighbors about the water we rely on every day! Below is a list of community project ideas to help teach others about groundwater and ways they can protect it.

Groundwater Basics:

·       Lead a groundwater education campaign.  Activities could include: hosting or presenting a groundwater 101 lecture, creating and distributing educational materials throughout the community, writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or writing and recording a public service announcement for a local radio station.

·       Hold a mini-groundwater festival for local residents. Form teams to demonstrate groundwater concepts through hands-on activities. For activity ideas, visit the Try This! and Girl Scout Resources sections on our website.

·       Host a Test Your Well event in your community.  This event allows well owners to have their water screened for common contaminants such as nitrates and offers opportunities to raise awareness on pollution prevention.

 

Water Conservation and Pollution Prevention:

·       Design and install a rain garden for your school or other community spaces to capture rain water and reduce storm water pollution. For more information about installing a rain garden, visit the All About Rain Gardens section of our website.

·       Share water conservation and pollution prevention messages that encourage the protection of groundwater supplies.  Examples could include performing a play or writing a story about the importance of protecting groundwater supplies. Click here for an example of a story!

·       Get permission from the city to stencil messages on storm drains to help prevent chemicals and oil from being dumped down them.  These chemicals pollute both surface and groundwater and are dangerous to aquatic plants and animals.

 

                                                                           Image credit: epa.gov

 

Creating long-lasting groundwater awareness and protection efforts:

The Groundwater Foundation has some great programs that help communities continue their groundwater awareness and protection efforts. Click on the links below to learn more about becoming a Groundwater Guardian or getting your green space involved in Groundwater Guardian Green Sites!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Groundwater Guardian        

 

 

 

 

Groundwater Guardian Green Sites   

For more information on National Groundwater Awareness Week, visit the National Ground Water Association Website.

What Data is Important to You?

The Groundwater Foundation uses US Geological Survey (USGS) publications and data on an ongoing basis to ensure the information delivered to you is scientifically accurate.  Do you use USGS products and materials?  If so, we want to know how – take this short survey and tell us.  The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and will help us to understand the need for these types of scientific data.

If you are not familiar with USGS, check it out here.  I know you will find many items of interest.  Happy reading!