The upcoming August 29 anniversary of Hurricane Katrina seems to always gets people thinking and talking (or in my case, blogging). Among the many things it’s come to symbolize, like failure of government emergency response, Katrina will always be a tragic reminder to me of the vulnerability of our water resources and the critical nature of the work we do as water quality professionals. I’m sure I’m not alone in remembering news accounts of individuals who did their best to keep their facilities operating under the most extreme circumstances, sometimes staying on the job while surrounded by flood waters in New Orleans. I was in awe of those heroic efforts and proud to be involved in water quality protection, and I salute everyone who worked to maintain the availability and safety of water during that difficult time. (In fact, please feel to share names and stories of “Katrina Water Heroes” by responding to this blog; I’m sure everyone would enjoy hearing about them.)
While we have fortunately not faced an environmental calamity on Katrina’s scale since then, there is still a huge, essential, and ongoing challenge to preserve and protect our water resources. It’s a job that demands real commitment and a genuine desire to protect public health and the environment through clean water. It is also a job that is done every day by members of the Water Environment Federation. We protect our families, our neighbors, and people we will never meet from the dreaded water borne diseases that are the scourge of most of our planet. Katrina symbolizes our achievement because even in those opportune conditions, we had no outbreaks.
I’d invite you to take a moment to read through some of the personal statements from our own WEF Water Heroes, water quality professionals who are working hard to keep our water clean and safe—all day every day. While (thankfully) there are no major wet weather events occurring on a regular basis, professionals in facilities across our country and around the world are ready. And they’re operating water and wastewater facilities to protect and deliver clean water, 24/7, every day. I’d call that heroic, too.
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