Media Advisory: Update on January 17 Events in Month of Water

Media Advisory                                                                                             January 13, 2015

Contact:
Janet Keating, OVEC, 304-360-4201 or janet@ohvec.org
Paul Dalzell, ASWS, 304-539-2383 or stillyoung77@gmail.com
Paul Epstein, AWARE, 304-343-5074 or pepstein@suddenlink.net

Update on Next Events in January: A Month of Water

What /When:            

Saturday, January 17 in Charleston, WV

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Safe Water System Leadership Training

2:00 p.m.                     Water Unites Us: Rally for Clean Water Statewide

5:00 p.m.                     After Rally/ Party Dinner

Where/ Why:

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Safe Water System Leadership Training (lunch provided) at St. Marks United Methodist Church, 900 Washington St E.). This leadership training, hosted by Advocates for a Safe Water System, aims to inform participants on what a safe water system is and how they can involve others in improving the Kanawha Valley’s water system.  Register at bit.ly/WaterLeadershipTraining.

2:00 p.m. Water Unites Us: Rally for Clean Water Statewide, on the Kanawha Blvd. side of the capitol building.

~Contaminated wells—Chemical spills—Acid mine drainage—Dead streams—Water table drop—Selenium—Slurry spills—Cracked wells—Leaky settlement ponds—Inadequate municipal water systems—Liquid fracking waste~

The entire state has suffered a water crisis for years, but it has been ignored because no single incident has affected as many as the water crisis in the Charleston area. Everyone in the state has the right to clean drinking water from their taps. Our rivers and streams should be clean enough for recreation and fishing. West Virginia is thirsty for clean water!

Janet Keating, executive director of OVEC, says, “The water crisis gave people in the Charleston area a small taste of what people living in coal mining areas have been exposed to for decades, and what people living near deep shale fracking operations are facing. If the crisis taught us one thing, it’s that we should never play politics with water. Since the crisis, more of us are working to ensure the safety of water across West Virginia.”

Members of the public are encouraged to make and bring their own signs.

5:00 – 8:00 p.m. After Rally Party/Dinner, at Fireside Bar and Grill (above Little India, 1604 Washington St. E.), suggested minimum donation $15. Proceeds benefit the WV Water Roundtable*. Visit www.aware.org to register.

More Info:     

Another upcoming event for January: A Month of Water takes place on the 23^rd and 24^th:
Looking Forward: Summit on Chemical Safety in WV. For details, contact Maya Nye, People Concerned About Chemical Safety, at 304-389-6859 or maya@chemsafety.org.

*Organizations that have participated in the WV Safe Water Roundtable meetings over the past year include: Advocates for a Safe Water System / Artists Working in Alliance to Restore the Environment (AWARE) / American Friends Service Committee / Aurora Lights / Citizens Actively Protecting the Environment / Covenant House /Fairness WV / Friends of Water / Healthy Kids and Families Coalition / Keepers of the Mountains / NAACP / OVEC – Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition / Our Children Our Future Campaign / People Concerned About Chemical Safety / Sierra Club / The Alliance for Appalachia / Unitarian Universalist Clean Water Task Force / WV Center for Budget and Policy / WV Citizen Action for Real Enforcement / WV Citizen Action Group / WV Clean Water Hub / WV Council of Churches / WV Environmental Council / WV FREE / WV League of Women Voters / WV Moms for “SAFE” Water / WV Rivers Coalition / WV Sustainable Business Council

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