Clean Water Current
Water Week Elevates the Importance of Water During COVID-19 Pandemic
(May 1, 2020) – Today marks the end of Water Week 2020 and caps an incredibly successful week of education and advocacy that brought together thousands of water stakeholders from across the country to highlight the importance of clean, safe and reliable water.
The significance of Water Week was only underscored by the significant role the water sector is playing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The week involved webinars, congressional outreach, media coverage, social media campaigns, and many virtual gatherings – all to celebrate and advance the key role water plays in our Nation.
The centerpiece of the week was the Water Week 2020 webinar, which hosted almost 1300 participants and featured remarks from senior members of EPA’s Office of Water, video messages from key Members of Congress, and presentations from leading groups in the water sector outlining the important steps they have taken to help elevate the importance of water during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The webinar also featured the results of the 5th annual Value of Water Poll and highlighted a list of key Water Week advocacy priorities signed on to by 13 Water Week partners. Many state and regional water associations also hosted their own virtual events during Water Week to promote the importance of water and encourage their members to use available Water Week resources to advocate with Congress.
Additionally, Water Week featured an op-ed in The Hill, a well-read political publication popular on Capitol Hill, emphasizing the crucial importance of water services during the current public health outbreak and the need for federal support of the Nation’s public water and wastewater utilities. In line with this was a one-pager distributed to Water Week participants outlining the immediate financial assistance needs for both drinking water and clean water utilities as a result of the pandemic, along with an estimate of the potential projects the water sector could initiate to help put Americans back to work if Congress embarks on an infrastructure investment package.
Water Week also featured a sustained campaign on social media with content and graphics to highlight the amazing work of the nation’s water sector workforce and utilities under the hashtag #WaterWeek2020.
NACWA thanks all of its members, and all of the Water Week partners and sponsors, for helping make Water Week 2020 such a success. We look forward to seeing you all in person next year for Water Week 2021.