Tap Into Water Week: May 4-10

Water Week

Although water may be sparse at times in Utah’s desert state, there won’t be a shortage of activities to celebrate the importance of it during the first week of May.

The second annual Water Week, co-sponsored by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), runs from May 4-10. It will have Utah communities wading in a pond of activities that range from water fairs and golf tournaments to film festivals and brown bag lectures.

“We are trying to make Water Week attractive for people of all ages with local activities that are fun as well as educational,” said Alane Boyd, executive director of the Intermountain Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), which has pledged to spend $20,000 on educational materials and advertising to promote this year’s events.

State water agencies and organizations have helped raise the money and are providing opportunities for the public to participate in events that also include library displays and tours of treatment facilities. Click here for a list of events

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will highlight water during “Bring Your Child to Work Day,” on Tuesday, May 6. At 9:30 a.m. Professor Scatterbrains, otherwise known as Rita Stevenson, the elementary science supervisor for Davis School District, will entertain and educate kids with fun and wacky water experiments. The Living Planet Aquarium’s Water Van also will be on hand.

For the more serious minded, DEQ will sponsor a brown bag seminar from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, May 8 by presenting the documentary “Running Dry,” a film based on the former Illinois Senator Paul Simon’s 1998 book, “Tapped Out,” which warns the public that the planet is facing a water shortage and contamination. Water experts will be on hand to facilitate discussion afterwards.

“We are excited to help facilitate discussions about water, which is vital to all of us,” said Rick Sprott, executive director of DEQ.

Simon’s widow, Patricia, will be in Utah to participate in a discussion of “Running Dry” at the Park City Library, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 6 at the Park City Library and at the Broadway Cinemas, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 7. And, on Thursday, the documentary Sundance film, “Flow for the Love of Water,” will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Post Theater at Fort Douglas on the University of Utah Campus.

Last year, Governor Huntsman signed into a law a bill that created “Utah State Water Week,” that sets aside the first week of May aimed at promoting a better understanding about the varied issues surrounding water.

“This year, we have had a lot more involvement throughout the state,” said Boyd. “There are activities from Layton to St. George. Next year, we hope to build on it by getting more schools involved, particularly the middle and high schools, through a Water Art and Education Program.”