Go to "Year of Clean Water" web site

NRCS Participates in "Year of Clean Water" Observance

NRCS is joining with other Federal agencies, States, and private sector organizations to sponsor the national celebration this October of the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.  The October anniversary marks a milestone in the efforts to protect our nation's water resources, and also presents an opportunity to enhance the public's appreciation for the importance of our water resources.

As part of the "Year of Clean Water," the America's Clean Water Foundation (AWCF), a Washington, D.C. nonprofit organization, is leading a series fo events designed to celebrate our successes as a nation to date in addressing water quality issues, build a better understanding o f the remaining water quality challenges and solutions, rekindle the public's stewardship ethic, encourage public involvement in and support for watershed protection programs and build a base of commitment and cooperation that will carry on and grown in subsequent years.

National Water Monitoring Day (NWMD)
The first National Water Monitoring Day will be held on October 18, 2002, the actual 30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act.  This event will bring water quality monitoring staff from federal, state, interstate, tribal and local government agencies together with established volunteer monitoring organizations and first-time citizen monitors to conduct a nationwide water testing activity.  This first year's testing will focus on the four basic parameters of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and clarity/turbidity.

Professional water monitors and volunteer monitoring organizations will use their existing monitoring equipment.  citizen monitors including families, classrooms, civic organization and service clubs an participate and sample using an inexpensive test kit that has been specifically chosen for its simplicity and safety for first-time monitors.  These test kits may be purchased through the Year of Clean Water web site.

Participants will register their monitoring locations before October 18th on a database system designed to support this event.  After completing their tests, participants will enter their data into this same database.  Data will be available for view online and used to issue a "snapshot" report summarizing he event and celebrating he role and accomplishments of the participants.

National Youth Watershed Summit
ACWF and the Smithsonian Institution are hosting a national forum to bring together students and teachers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, October 6 through 10, 2002, at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland.  This Youth Watershed Summit will consist of a series of educational, work group and plenary sessions on technical and policy issues concerning watershed protection.  Additionally, a teacher workshop will be conducted for the teachers attending eh forum in order that they can receive continuing education credit for participation.  The objective of this forum will be to focus attention and encourage support for the protection of the nation's watersheds through the involvement and participation of America's youth.

Seniors Watershed Summit
ACWF is cooperating with the Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement (EASI) as they host a national forum to bring together senior volunteers from across the nation for work group and plenary sessions on watershed protection topics, October 28 through 30, 2002, at Sandy Cove, Maryland.  The objective of this forum will be to focus public and private sector attention on the nation's watershed resources through the involvement and participation of America's senior citizens.

World Watershed Summit
In cooperation with the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators, the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies, the Smithsonian Institution, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations University, and others; ACWF is hosting a World Watershed Summit October 30 through November 1, 2002 in Washington, D.C.  This forum will bring together national and international government and private sector leaders for educational, work group and plenary sessions that will focus on how to protect and ehance the wodl's precious water resources.

Web Site
To learn more about the Year of Clean Water events, or order publications or posters, visit the Year of Clean Water web site at www.yearofcleanwater.org