Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council took part in Imagine a Day Without Water
PETOSKEY — Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council joined elected officials, water utilities, community leaders, educators and businesses participating in the fourth annual Imagine a Day Without Water, a nationwide day of education and advocacy about the value of water.
Led by the Value of Water Campaign, hundreds of organizations across the country will host events and spearhead projects aimed at raising awareness about the crucial need for investment in the nation’s water infrastructure.
An investment in drinking water and wastewater systems is essential to national health, safety, environment and economic prosperity.
Since 1979, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council has been the voice for water resources in Northern Michigan. They work with concerned citizens; prepare educational materials for landowners and developers; prepare policy guidance to local, state and federal agencies; represent Northern Michigan in Lansing and Washington D.C.; and bring scientific and legal expertise to local water resource decisions. The support of their membership allows them to tackle tough issues that threaten Northern Michigan and the Great Lakes.
After decades of underfunding, water infrastructure is aging and in need of investment. Drought, flooding and population changes are stressing water and wastewater systems. A single nationwide day without water service would put $43.5 billion of economic activity at risk. In just eight days, a national water service stoppage would put nearly two million jobs in jeopardy.
While many of these challenges are regionally specific and will require locally-driven solutions, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council asserts that reinvestment in water must be a national priority. This year, Imagine a Day Without Water falls just weeks before the 2018 midterm elections. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 Senate seats, 36 gubernatorial races and countless state legislature and local races are in play.
As citizens go to the polls this fall to vote in the midterm elections, the next wave of lawmakers should make water a priority so no American has to live or imagine a day without water again.
“We are encouraging people to ask their candidates the hard questions about water issues,” said Grenetta Thomassey, watershed policy director for the Watershed Council. “We hope that people make water policy positions one of the things they use to measure whether a candidate deserves their vote or not in the upcoming election.”
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council joined Imagine a Day Without Water to help draw attention to the significance of using their voice and votes to protect Northern Michigan’s valuable water resources.
“We’re thrilled that Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council is a part of Imagine a Day Without Water. This national day of action educates our neighbors and public officials about the essential role water plays in all of our lives, and the threat that aging and underfunded water infrastructure poses to our communities and economy,” said Radhika Fox, CEO of the U.S. Water Alliance and director of the Value of Water Campaign. “Water infrastructure is often out of sight, out of mind. But, the systems that deliver water to and from our homes and businesses require reinvestment and upkeep just like roads and bridges. It is time to take action before we face a national crisis.”
To learn more about the Watershed Council and their efforts to protect local water resources, visit www.watershedcouncil.org.