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NGWA names Groundwater Protector Award recipient
February 29, 2012 By National Ground Water Association
Feb. 29, 2012, Westerville, OH – The National Ground Water Association
(NGWA) recognized U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) with
the 2012 Groundwater Protector Award on Tuesday.
Feb. 29, 2012, Westerville, OH – The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) recognized U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) with the 2012 Groundwater Protector Award on Tuesday.
The Groundwater Protector Award honors people
in government, industry, and the private sector for their public
service efforts in conjunction with groundwater conservation,
protection, and use. McCollum is being recognized for her
leadership in championing a National Ground Water Monitoring Network to
provide information on the source of water supply for nearly 130 million
Americans and approximately 40 per cent of the nation’s irrigation
water.
NGWA executive director Kevin McCray, CAE, lauded McCollum as a visionary regarding groundwater and its importance to America.
“Representative McCollum’s commitment to
protecting groundwater is important and farsighted. She understands how
vital groundwater is to our country’s future, from drinking water
supplies and cropland irrigation to energy production and the health of
our ecosystems,” said McCray. “It is no exaggeration to say that
groundwater is part of the lifeblood of our country. Representative
McCollum’s support of the National Ground Water Monitoring Network is
most worthy of our 2012 Groundwater Protector Award.”
About 44 per cent of Americans regularly
depend on ground water for their drinking water supply. Minnesotans use
almost 863 million gallons of ground water daily — 372 million gallons of
which is used for public water supplies, 78 million from privately
owned household wells, and 216 million for farm irrigation.
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