The Water Environment Federation (WEF) will join with the International Water Association (IWA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other partnering organizations to celebrate World Water Monitoring Day 2008 on Sept. 18 at Hains Point Park in Washington, D.C. This year’s program will feature a special hand-washing campaign to recognize the United Nations’ International Year of Sanitation.
World Water Monitoring Day is an international outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world. Held annually between Sept. 18 and Oct. 18, the program engages communities in monitoring the condition of local rivers, streams, estuaries and other water bodies. Worldwide participation is expected to surpass that of last year's event, in which more than 46,000 people tested water quality in 43 countries. The program coordinators, WEF and IWA, plan to expand participation to one million people in 100 countries by 2012.
Following brief opening remarks and a safety demonstration, a diverse group of attendees will conduct hands-on testing of both the Anacostia and Potomac rivers for water quality indicators including dissolved oxygen, acidity, temperature and turbidity. Results are reported online, tabulated and presented in a year-end report that documents program participation.
Event speakers include: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.); Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator for water, EPA; WEF President Adam Zabinski; Ase Johannessen, development program officer for IWA; Eddy Perez, senior sanitation specialist for World Bank D.C.; and Jerry Johnson, general manager of the DC Water and Sewer Authority.
In addition to WEF, IWA, EPA and USGS, participating organizations include PerkinElmer Instruments, Smithfield Foods, CH2M HILL, ITT Corp., U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Forest Service, Naturalist Audubon Society, Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital, Earth Day Network, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the National Environmental Education Foundation.
For more information about World Water Monitoring Day 2008 and the latest event details, visit www.worldwatermonitoringday.com.
