Online site registration is now open for World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) 2007. Held annually from September 18 through October 18, WWMD is an international outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging communities in performing monitoring tests on local rivers, streams, estuaries and other water bodies.
“As awareness of issues such as global water supply and environmental stewardship continue to increase, it is more important than ever to find ways of connecting people to their local water bodies,” said Bill Bertera, executive eirector of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). “This program is an excellent way of demonstrating the role each of us has in the health of our water supply and the importance of working together to preserve it both now and in the future.”
An easy-to-use test kit allows everyone from children to adults to sample local water bodies for a core set of water quality parameters including temperature, acidity (pH), clarity (turbidity) and dissolved oxygen. Field results are then put into an international database and summarized on the program's Web site.
“Last year we collected data from 3,900 sites in 39 countries and hope to build upon that success,” said Linda Kelly, WEF’s managing director of public communications. “In 2007 we’re aiming for 6,000 sites with a goal of engaging one million people in monitoring their local water ways by 2012.”
Designed to be an accurate, yet accessible technology for all levels of experience, the WWMD kits ($13.00 plus shipping & handling within U.S.; international costs may vary) contain a step-by-step instruction booklet, one set of hardware (collection jar, pH test tube, DO vial, Secchi Disk decal and a thermometer) and enough pH and dissolved oxygen reagent tablets to perform 50 tests. A Material Safety Data Sheet is also included.
Developed in 2002 by America’s Clean Water Foundation (ACWF), the program was formally adopted by the Water Environment Federation in July 2006 to provide a larger platform for program delivery. Coordinated by WEF and the International Water Association (IWA), the program receives support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, CDM, CH2M HILL, Smithfield Foods and ITT Corporation.
For more information about the program, site registration and to order monitoring kits, please visit www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org.
Source: WEF
