Water Protection Video Workshop to Air Nationwide March 19

Date:  March 10, 1997
Editor: D'Lyn Ford  (505) 646-6528, dlford@nmsu.edu

LAS CRUCES -- Polluted drinking water affects everyone. To help communities learn how to manage drinking water supplies to prevent contamination, the Tools for Drinking Water Protection Video Workshop will air nationwide March 19.

"The video workshop is an opportunity for cities and communities to plan strategies to protect their drinking water supplies," said Marsha Wright, water quality specialist with New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service. "It will offer steps communities can take to make pollution prevention a regular part of their activities so that prevention becomes a routine."

The workshop should interest town planners, elected officials, business leaders, educators, environmental personnel and water utility staff. "People who are licensed in waste water treatment can receive three and a half credits for attending the program," Wright said.

Topics will include making land use decisions, establishing monitoring programs in sensitive areas, organizing public education and awareness activities, and preparing contingency plans for polluted areas.

"Some land uses obviously have the potential to affect water supplies, such as those that use large quantities of water or discharge waste water," Wright said. "A business or industry using solvents, fuels or chemical inputs may impact water quality if those substances are not handled properly."

But it's not only businesses and industries that need to be concerned with water quality. Residential areas that are not serviced by a municipal or community water supply likely have domestic wells and septic systems.

"A few domestic systems spread over a large area is usually not a problem," she said. "But when home sites are concentrated in a small area, the septic systems associated with each house contribute significant amounts of pathogens and nitrates to the groundwater."

The video conference, sponsored by NMSU's Cooperative Extension Service and the League of Women Voters, will address these issues. In New Mexico, the workshop will be broadcast to at least 19 locations including Farmington, Raton, Grants, Hobbs, Roswell, Santa Fe and Silver City, Wright said.

The broadcast will begin at 12:30 p.m. March 19. For more information or to locate the conference site nearest you, contact the New Mexico Environment Department's Bureau of Drinking Water in Santa Fe at (505) 827-2844.