World Water Monitoring Day was established in 2003 by America's Clean Water Foundation (ACWF) as a global educational outreach program. The program, subsequently named the "World Water Monitoring Challenge" and "EarthEcho Water Challenge," aims to build public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by empowering citizens to carry out basic monitoring of their local water bodies. [1] Roberta (Robbi) Savage, ACWF's President and CEO created WWMD, and Edward Moyer was the first WWMD Coordinator.
Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, ecology, earth science, atmospheric science, mathematics, and geography. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) states that EE is vital in imparting an inherent respect for nature amongst society and in enhancing public environmental awareness. UNESCO emphasises the role of EE in safeguarding future global developments of societal quality of life (QOL), through the protection of the environment, eradication of poverty, minimization of inequalities and insurance of sustainable development. The term often implies education within the school system, from primary to post-secondary. However, it sometimes includes all efforts to educate the public and other audiences, including print materials, websites, media campaigns, etc.. There are also ways that environmental education is taught outside the traditional classroom. Aquariums, zoos, parks, and nature centers all have ways of teaching the public about the environment.
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A simple test kit enables everyone, children and adults, to sample local water bodies for a set of water quality parameters including temperature, acidity (pH), clarity (turbidity) and dissolved oxygen (DO). Information on purchasing low-cost test kits is available from the current sponsoring organization, EarthEcho International, and the results of monitoring events are then shared with participating communities around the globe on the sponsor's website. [1]
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through treatment of the water, can be assessed. The most common standards used to assess water quality relate to health of ecosystems, safety of human contact, and drinking water.
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.
Oxygen saturation is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium. It can be measured with a dissolved oxygen probe such as an oxygen sensor or an optode in liquid media, usually water. The standard unit of oxygen saturation is percent (%).
World Water Monitoring Day was originally celebrated annually on September 18. This date was initially chosen to be a month later (October 18) to recognize the anniversary of the US Clean Water Act, which was enacted by Congress in 1972 to restore and protect the country’s water resources. In 2007, the date was changed to facilitate participation in parts of the world where temperatures reach freezing conditions at that time.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources ; recognizing the responsibilities of the states in addressing pollution and providing assistance to states to do so, including funding for publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of wastewater treatment; and maintaining the integrity of wetlands. It is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws. As with many other major U.S. federal environmental statutes, it is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with state governments. Its implementing regulations are codified at 40 C.F.R. Subchapters D, N, and O.
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the Federal Government of the United States. The legislature consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
In 2006, ACWF transferred the coordination of the event to the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the International Water Association (IWA). The collective goal was to expand participation to one million people in 100 countries by 2012. In January 2015 the management of World Water Monitoring Day was transferred to EarthEcho International.
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization of more than 34,000 individual members and 75 Member Associations (MAs) representing water quality professionals around the world. WEF, which was formerly known as the Federation of Sewage Works Associations and later as the Water Pollution Control Federation, and its members have protected public health and the environment since 1928. As a global water sector leader, the organization's mission is to connect water professionals; enrich the expertise of water professionals; increase the awareness of the impact and value of water; and provide a platform for water sector innovation. WEF members include experts and specialists in the fields of:
The International Water Association (IWA) is a non-profit organization and knowledge hub for the water sector, with over 60 years' experience connecting water professionals worldwide to find solutions to the world's water challenges. As a network of water professionals and companies, IWA has a membership comprising utilities and leading companies in the fields of water services, infrastructure engineering and consulting as well as more than 10,000 individuals. IWA works across a wide range of issues covering the full water cycle, with three programmes that work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing the threat to sustainable water supplies posed by climate change. The IWA is headquartered in London, with a global secretariat based in The Hague and offices in Beijing, Bangkok, Nairobi and Singapore.
2008 saw students from Indonesia [2] to Arkansas [3] taking part in water sampling to bring attention to the importance of water quality.
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres, the 14th largest by land area and the 7th largest in combined sea and land area. With over 261 million people, it is the world's 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, contains more than half of the country's population.
Arkansas is a state in the southern region of the United States, home to over 3 million people as of 2017. Its name is of Siouan derivation from the language of the Osage denoting their related kin, the Quapaw Indians. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta.
As of 2018, EarthEcho International encourages participants to conduct their monitoring activities as part of the "EarthEcho Water Challenge" during any period between March 22 (World Water Day) and December of each year. [1]
World Water Day is an annual UN observance day that highlights the importance of freshwater. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. World Water Day is celebrated around the world with a variety of events. These can be educational, theatrical, musical or lobbying in nature. The day can also include campaigns to raise money for water projects. The first World Water Day, designated by the United Nations, was commemorated in 1993. Each year many countries celebrate World Water Day.
