Imagine your life without water!

Washington State Department of Ecology

Department of Ecology News Release - September 4, 2001

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Imagine your life without water!

WaterWeeks kicks off in Eastern Washington at the Spokane County Interstate Fair

SPOKANE - The entrance to the Spokane County Interstate Fair will be the site of the first Eastern Washington WaterWeeks 2001 event on Sept. 7 - calling attention to the need to treat water with extra special care. The theme is "Imagine your life without water!"

WaterWeeks is the state's annual series of water-related education and action events. Twenty-one events are planned east of the Cascades. The kick-off event will be held inside the fairground gates from 10 a.m. until dusk, featuring:

Give-aways of water-saving kits for inside and outside the house (while they last).
Native drought-resistant plants to take home and incorporate into home landscapes.
Fun kids' activities that will teach younger citizens how to give water the respect it deserves! Includes interactive water models that show how water works in our environment.
Information, information, information! How to conserve water, who's doing what to manage this precious resource and how residents can get involved.
A special appearance by Enuf Already, the beloved (and strangely large) frog from Spokane's Eco-Adventure program.
An interesting glimpse of life without water...Imagine it!

"We've never had more reason to stop and think about our relationship with water - how we use it, whether we use too much of it, and how we might work together and independently to preserve it," said Tony Grover, manager of the Department of Ecology's eastern region.

"We are not only in the midst of a severe drought, but the state also faces the challenge of turning around pollution problems in hundreds of lakes, rivers and streams," Grover said. "WaterWeeks is coming at a very good time."

WaterWeeks 2001 is celebrated statewide Sept. 1 through Oct. 14. More than 165 fun, educational and hands-on activities are listed in the WaterWeeks Adventure Guide, which is available by calling 800-732-9253 or online at www.waterweeks.org. The guide also is available at state parks, libraries, museums, visitor centers and other locations throughout Washington.

Sponsors for the Eastern Washington kickoff event include the Washington state departments of Ecology, Health and Fish & Wildlife; Spokane Regional Solid Waste System; Spokane County Utilities; the city of Spokane; KXLY-TV, and the Spokane Aquifer Joint Board.

Contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, (509) 456-4464; pager, (509) 622-1289

For more information: www.waterweeks.org