Activities on Tap for Water Week May 6-12

Water Week - May 6-12

State water agencies and organizations are planning a week-long series of activities, May 6-12, to provide an opportunity for Utahns to tap into the water all around us.

Earlier this year, Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. signed HB 20 into law, commemorating the first full week of May each year as State Water Week. The bill, sponsored by House Minority Leader Ralph Becker (D-Salt Lake), is intended to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation, quality and supply in the state.

“This is an important opportunity to look at ways we can conserve water, such as through more efficient landscaping, while also participating in a number of educational activities that underscore the importance of safe drinking water,” said Dianne Nielson, executive director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Stephanie Duer, water conservation coordinator for the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities, worked in partnership with the Intermountain Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Rural Water Association of Utah, along with other agencies, including DEQ, to promote a Water Week for the state.

“Water is a basic and essential need of every living thing and is a finite natural resource of great value and importance to everyone in Utah,” Duer said. “We want to celebrate the essence of water and what it means to all of us.”

Ken Bousfield, director of the Division of Drinking Water, sent a letter to all water systems in the state, encouraging them to be involved by organizing activities, such as tours of water treatment facilities, to highlight the importance of water in the state.

“In connection with this effort, there are a number of things that individual water utilities can do, and I encourage your participation to make this a meaningful event from year to year,” Bousfield said.

Alane Boyd, executive director of the Intermountain Section of AWWA, is planning an advertising blitz to correspond with Water Week. Six-foot banners announcing Water Week will hang in schools, libraries and government buildings. Newspaper and radio advertisements will carry the theme, “Only Tap Water Delivers.” The Web site www.waterweek.org will link people to different activities during the week.

Other activities include:

May 4, Poetry Slam, sponsored by Barnes and Noble, IMS-AWWA, and KRCL Radio Free Utah in Sugarhouse. Poetry will highlight water and all of its benefits with prizes and awards given.
May 10, Spring Water Quality Symposium for college students at Metropolitan Water Districts. Two $500 scholarships will be awarded to students who present their research to drinking water industry professionals.
May 11, golf tournament at Talons Cove Golf Course in Saratoga Springs to raise money to support the Kuntaja Water Project in the Rualblantyre District of Malai. Last year’s tournament raised more than $6,000 to support a new water system and deep wells that provide 6,500 people in three villages with safe drinking water.

There also will be exhibits at various local libraries. Elementary schools will include lessons about water conservation and protecting watersheds in their curriculum during Water Week. And, the Utah League of Cities and Towns will have their water seminar during Water Week.

“We are excited the Legislature and Governor set aside one week each year to highlight the great successes of Utah’s water systems,” said Dale Pierson, executive director of Rural Water Association of Utah. “Water Week should be a week marked by celebration of the value of water and educational programs relating to the importance of water conservation.”