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WaterNews for June 24, 2003G. Tracy Mehan, III WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water. Inside this week’s WaterNews
Assistant Administrator Calls on Partners to Energize Water Quality Monitoring ProgramsG. Tracy Mehan III, Assistant Administrator for Water at the Environmental Protection Agency, called on partners at the federal, state and local level to join with him to energize the nation’s water quality monitoring programs. Mehan noted that the United States has made real progress in reducing pollution in our streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, and coasts. However, when asked to characterize the condition of waters and watersheds in the United States, Mehan cited the just-released Draft Report on the Environment 2003, which found that “At this time, there is not sufficient information to provide a national answer to this question with confidence and scientific credibility.” Said Mehan, “we risk flying blind if we aren’t able to get dramatic improvements in water quality monitoring and data to support wise management decisions.” The Draft Report on the Environment 2003 follows in the footsteps of several recent reports by the General Accounting Office, the National Research Council, the National Academy of Public Administration, and the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment. Together, these reports point to the need to use a combination of tools (such as probability-based assessments, predictive models, targeted monitoring and remote sensing) to better characterize the quality of the nation’s waters at multiple scales. Said Mehan, “These tools would help states target their actions to make the most of each dollar they spend on clean water. And for the first time, we would also be able to produce a scientifically-defensible overall picture of the quality of the nation’s waters.” Addressing the challenge of improving water monitoring nationwide is a task far greater than EPA can undertake alone. “Success will require a sustained and coordinated commitment from many partners,” said Mehan, “and our work together is just beginning.” Investment in improved monitoring, he noted, will yield significant social cost savings by pointing to the most cost-effective steps to improve water quality at the national, state and local levels. Assistant Administrator Gives Keynote Address In PhiladelphiaAssistant Administrator G. Tracy Mehan III gave the keynote address to the American Society of Civil Engineers 2003 World Congress held on June 23 in Philadelphia, PA. He discussed “Water Challenges In the 21st Century.” To read the speech visit http://www.epa.gov/water/speeches/. Office of Water’s 2003 National Safe Water Protection (SWP) Conference– Huge SuccessMore than 450 people attended EPA’s Office of Water’s recent National Source Water Protection Conference. Participants, who came from 47 states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces, represented all levels of government agencies from local to federal, utilities, technical assistance providers and health care workers, and private citizens. The conference's opening on Monday, June 2, featured G. Tracy Mehan III, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Water, who gave a speech entitled "Challenges and Opportunities of Source Water Protection." Keynote speaker, former Senator Paul Simon, discussed the importance of protecting water resources. Two Partners in protection– Mike Baker of the Ground Water Protection Council, and Jeff Stuck of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators–provided their organizations' perspectives. During twelve breakout sessions, participants topics of interest to them which included the following:
The conference also featured additional plenary sessions on partnerships, financing and public health protection. Participants interacted and learned at the conference's Resource Fair, which gave speakers, states, local staff, and others an opportunity to share their ideas and successes with their colleagues. Many participants also took advantage of in depth training courses offered on the final day on topics ranging from Best Management Practices to EPA's WATERS Database. Resources and Publications
For more information, please contact Beth Hall at 202-564-3883. These documents and proceedings will be posted website later in the summer at www.epa.gov/safewater/protect/swpconf.html . In the meanwhile, hard copies may be obtained free of charge by calling the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791, or by e-mailing hotline-sdwa@epa.gov. Subscribe to WaterNewsPlease forward this message to your friends and colleagues who share an interest in water-related issues and would like to hear from EPA's Office of Water. To subscribe to the WaterNews listserve: Send an email message, leave the subject line blank, and address it to: In the body of the message write: Subscribe WaterNews firstname lastname (Please leave one blank space between each word, do not include any other message, and use A welcome message will appear in your email box once you are officially subscribed. Following your welcome message, you will begin to receive WaterNews once a week.
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