May 06, 2003
Tuesday - 11:25 am

National Drinking Water Week is May 4th-10th. For more than 30 years, the Nation has observed National Drinking Water Week, which is sponsored by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). This year's theme is 'The Wonder of Water'.

In 1988, AWWA brought the event to the attention of our government and formed a coalition along with the League of Women Voters, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Rep. Robert Roe and Sen. Dennis DeConcini subsequently sponsored a resolution to name the first week of May as National Drinking Water Week. The week-long observance was declared in a joint congressional resolution and signed by then President Ronald Reagan.

"A safe, pure, and uninterrupted flow of drinking water remains a commitment of the drinking water profession," said Jack Hoffbuhr, AWWA executive director. "We celebrate Drinking Water Week knowing that North America's water ranks among the cleanest and safest supplies in the world."

Some interesting facts about water include:

• Americans use 341 billion gallons of fresh water per day.
• There are more than 53,000 community water systems in the United States, serving almost 258 million people.
• A person can live for a month without food, but only about a week without water.
• The U.S. uses 100 billion gallons of water per day for crop irrigation.
• There is the same amount of water on Earth now as when the earth was formed.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) which manages the Nation's water resources offers a wealth of water information on the Web. Celebrate water by getting the current water conditions in Ketchikan and other areas, find out if an area is in a drought, or learn more about local watersheds.

Related:

• Science in Your Watershed
• Drought Watch
• Water Watch
• Water Watch - Alaska
• Ketchikan - Current water conditions Fish Creek
• American Water Works Association
• "Water and the Environment" a basic primer about water authored by the USGS and published by the American Geological Institute.

Sources of Information:

USGS
Web Site

American Water Works Association
Web Sitew

 

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