Continuous learning in the water space

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When I was in college, I had a friend whose family owned a house near the shoreline in Delaware. The first time she invited me, we could take the boogie boards out and catch some waves. It was a couple years later when I had the opportunity to return, but this time, the waves weren’t the same. I later learned why: The shoreline in Delaware was receding, and the state was forced to add sand altering the beaches and the waves.

Water spaces are changing constantly, and rapidly, because of changes in our climate and environment. People who work in the water space have to be agile, always learning and adjusting to this powerful, ever-changing, ever-flowing resource.

This week’s top submissions teach us something, or are from people who teach others about water. Some of the contributors are on the ground, working in communities to improve their water and their water education. As we prepare for World Water Day, we want to remind everyone of their efforts.

Remember the audience

Mina Gholizadeh of Iran shares an important lesson about water, technology and combining the two, useful to all who work in the water space.

Smart meters! This is a new story of using technology for management of groundwater, in Iran. Now I’m working as a smart meters supervisor. We had installed them on agriculture wells while the farmers didn’t like them because of limitating available water. There are many lessons can be learned. But one of them is very important. Before using any kinds of technologies, you should analyze the stockholders. I want to say predicting social behaviour of humans is definitely more vital than using new technologies.

Different perspectives

Cory Wright shared this powerful water story, to help us all remember that people have different relationships with water where they live.

Water facts–Dead Sea edition

The Water Places Project schools us on the Dead Sea with one Instagram post.

"Dead Sea," 2014… . The surface and shores of the Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea, are 423 meters (1,388 ft.) below sea level, making it Earth's lowest elevation on land. It borders Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west… The ancient and salty Dead Sea is the site of both history and healing. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great). Yet in the past 40 years, the lake has shrunk by a third and sunk 80 feet. Experts believe it could disappear in as little as 50 years, due to neighboring countries drawing water from the River Jordan (the Sea's only water source). . UPDATE, The Guardian, March 20, 2015: "Jordan, one of the most water-scarce states, is facing a perfect storm of pressures including chronic water scarcity, overuse, waste and a surge in demand caused by refugee arrivals, according to a report by Mercy Corps, an NGO. "To add to the water stress, the country is undergoing the driest rainy season in decades. One proposed solution is to be implemented by mid-2018, after Jordan's signing of a controversial water-sharing agreement with Israeli and the Palestinian authorities in December, after decades of discussions…paving the way for the Red Sea Dead Sea water conveyor (RSDSWC) project…" . #thewaterplacesproject #waterplaces #thedeadsea #deadsea #israel #riverjordan #jordan #westbank #palestine #waterscarcity #redsea #dryseasons #waterconveyance #waterislife #refugeecrisis #mywaterstory #contemporaryart #worksonpaper #climatechange #watersharing

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Passing on water knowledge

Melinda Alfano shares a tweet about her water story, passing on knowledge to primary school children in Barbados.

Reminder from water

Here’s a tweet from @grigomcmahon of photos during a journey. A reminder that no matter how often you take a certain path, there’s something new to see every time.

If you want to share water knowledge with young people close to you, check out our water education resources, provided by the Project WET Foundation.

The roles of government and community in ensuring clean, safe water

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Each community government has an obligation to make sure clean, safe water comes into our homes. One of the best ways the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has gotten each community and its citizens involved is watersheds or drainage basins. According to the EPA, there are over 2,110 watersheds in the continental U.S. and another 150 on Alaska and Hawaii.

Here in Indianapolis, we have six different watershed groups that are made up of individuals, volunteers, foundations, local agencies, among other groups that ensure improved water quality and the environment surrounding the watershed, according to Citizens Energy Group.

These groups are an important part to communities’ water quality and use of watersheds. Each group has a different approach depending on their particular watershed source, but all are concerned about water conservation and quality. Watershed groups are a good start for future conservation and assuring that citizens as well as government are involved in water conservation.

This post was submitted by Jennifer Walters of Indianapolis, Indiana.

An account of the California drought from a Midwest transplant
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Originally a Midwesterner, Jennifer Werkowski shares her perspective on a water issue where she currently lives — California.

“Moving from the Midwest to California was a real eye opener for how much we take water for granted. I am not used to having to buy water to drink for my home because the water taste like dirt.

“California has been suffering from a severe drought for a long time now, which has affected farmers and of course caused many fires throughout California this summer. I was surrounded by four fires happening at one time which makes for bad air quality.

“It’s still shocking and sad to see so much brown grass where a large mass of water used to be. People are encouraged everyday to reduce water by recycling water from the limited rain we get, planting certain types of water resistant plants and trees, adjust sprinklers, install drip irrigation and use mulch. Many are hopeful, with the grass finally turning green and lakes filling up from the long awaited rain, that the drought will soon be a thing of the past.”