(WESTERVILLE, OH — September 27, 2012) Hydrogeologist Stephen Baker of Nevada City, California, has received a 2012 Special Recognition Award from the National Ground Water Association.
The award is presented to an individual or organization that demonstrates dedication, service, and commitment to the groundwater industry and community through involvement and achievement on a local or regional level. It will be presented in December at the NGWA Groundwater Expo and Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.
For five years, Baker has produced radio segments of Water is a Many Splendid Thing for broadcast on National Public Radio stations in northern California.
“Steve Baker realized that technical expertise does not translate to the policymakers and the community without proper communication,” said nominator James A. Jacobs, PG, CHG, REA II, CPG, and chief hydrogeologist for the Clearwater Group in Richmond, California. “To bridge this chasm, he developed his series of more than 200 professionally written and produced three- to eight-minute water broadcasts.”
More recently, Baker, along with his sister, has launched Operation Unite® Water Alliance, which has as its mission “Developing public collaboration, adaptability and responsibility by providing a platform for communicating challenges and expediting their solutions.”
Jacobs said Baker is deserving of the award for his “long-term efforts to bring attention to the issue of groundwater, especially in the western United States, over the past five years.”
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NGWA, a nonprofit organization composed of U.S. and international groundwater professionals — contractors, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, scientists, and engineers — is dedicated to advancing groundwater knowledge. NGWA’s vision is to be the leading groundwater association that advocates the responsible development, management, and use of water.
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