According to the United Nations, 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water, and 2.4 billion people live in water stressed countries. The global water crisis, exacerbated by climate change, impacts all of us.
That's why in honor of World Water Day tomorrow, Keep Waco Beautiful and the city of Waco Watershed Protection will be hosting a river clean up and educational outdoor festival at Indian Springs Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. along the Brazos river.
The event, in conjunction with the global observance, not only provides an opportunity to clean up Waco’s water, but to educate the community on sustainability and the importance of clean water.
Carole Fergusson: “It’s really important because as we all have experienced in the last several years, water restrictions actually play a vital role in our life. The longer that we go without rain, the more issues we have pertaining to access to clean water. There’s a lot of chances that we will start to see that to develop more. While thank god we have a full lake right now, there is still a drought happening across Texas and across the country.”
Carole Fergusson, Executive Director of Keep Waco Beautiful, says her main goal with this event is to emphasize to the public just how important water is to a community.
Carole Fergusson: “Water relates to everything in our lives. Whether you are a person that enjoys splash pads or a person who goes to your local car wash dealership or coffee shop. All of that involves water, and being able to use it and have clean water especially is a huge, huge privilege that we have here in the United States.”
Event attendees will get the opportunity to test the river water quality using Earth Echo sampling kits, looking for things like temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen.
The event is free to the public and you can find more information at keepwacobeautiful.org.