Water Observances

National Groundwater Awareness Week

Overview

Logo for National Groundwater Awareness Week National Ground Water Awareness Week is sponsored by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA). The primary focus during this week is to stress the importance of ground water as a valuable resource and to focus attention on yearly water testing and well maintenance to prevent waterborne illness.

Ground water, which is obtained by drilling wells, is water located below the ground surface in pores and spaces in the rock, and is used by approximately 78% of community water systems in the United States, supplying drinking water to 32% of community water system users (1). EPA also estimates that approximately 15% of the U.S. population relies on private ground water wells (2).

People use ground water every day for a variety of reasons, including drinking, recreation, agriculture, and industry. Most of the time this water is completely safe and not a cause for worry. However, during 2003 and 2004, 30 waterborne-disease outbreaks related to drinking water were reported to CDC. These outbreaks resulted in 2,760 cases of illness and 4 deaths. Seven of these outbreaks (23%) and 1,830 cases of illness could be attributed to improperly treated or untreated ground water used for drinking purposes; two of these outbreaks involved private wells (3).

Official Website

http://www.ngwa.org/public/awarenessweek/index.aspx (NGWA)

Dates of Celebration and Additional Resources

2009

March 8-14, 2009

2008

March 9-15, 2008

Environmental Protection Agency. Factoids: drinking water and ground water statistics for 2007. March 2008, April 2008. Available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/data/getdata.html.
Environmental Protection Agency. Private drinking water wells. Available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/privatewells/index2.html.
CDC. MMWR: Surveillance for Waterborne Disease and Outbreaks Associated with Drinking Water and Water not Intended for Drinking. United States, 2003-2004. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5512a4.htm.

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