Get involved - publicmedia

The public

Groundwater is an important natural resource that affects our lives, even if we don’t have a water well ourselves. It is an integral part of life on Earth. Learn more about groundwater and its uses by reading the editorial "Ground Water: Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind" by NGWA Executive Director Kevin McCray.
View sections on Wellowner.org, an NGWA-created Web site for consumers, on "Understanding Ground Water," "The Hydologic Cycle," and "Ground Water Supply and Its Use."
Download an Awareness Week flier for posting or distribution.
Download print-quality Awareness Week logo.
Download Web-quality Awareness Week logo.
Learn how to be a good steward of groundwater, and your water well through proper well construction; regular well maintenance; regular water testing and treatment, if necessary; and groundwater protection. View the three 3-minute educational videos.

Professionals

State organizations, groundwater businesses, and individual groundwater professionals are encouraged to inform their communities about the importance of groundwater as a resource.

Some easy steps you can take to inform your communities about groundwater include the following.

Send a letter to the editor at your local newspaper. Use our sample letter to the editor to copy and paste into a document on your computer. (Note: Many publications accept letters to the editor via e-mail, making letter submittal potentially quick and easy.)
Host an open house at your business during Awareness Week.
Place radio spots on local stations. NGWA has recorded radio ads promoting water well maintenance you may customize. E-mail ctreyens@ngwa.org to order a CD containing the ads and then use our script to add your customized tag line to the spot.
Place an advertisement in your local newspaper promoting water well maintenance. You, or the newspaper, can download the advertisement here or have your the newspaper contact NGWA's Cliff Treyens to get the ad in a different format.
Download an Awareness Week flier or poster for posting or distribution. These can be saved to disk and printed at your local quick print shop.
Customize a news release and send it to your local newspaper. Use our sample news release.
PDFs of consumer-oriented "Clip & Copy" series from Water Well Journal® are also available for downloading and distribution to potential customers and the general public.
Use these three 3-minute educational videos in public presentations as a springboard to talk about the importance of proper well construction; regular well maintenance; regular water testing and treatment, if necessary; and groundwater protection. (NGWA members can order a DVD of the videos.)

Educators

Here are some resources that teachers can use during Ground Water Awareness Week and throughout the year:

NGWA educator resources. NGWA has compiled a list of resources to help elementary and secondary education professionals prepare lesson plans on the subject of groundwater. These resources and materials may also be useful to anyone interested in informing themselves and others about groundwater.
The U.S. EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water has online activities for children.
Wally & Deanna's Groundwater Adventure is an educational book providng a uniquely styled, illustrative approach to teaching children about water resources and the environment, and introduces them to some of the basic issues surrounding groundwater resources protection and management. It can be purchased through the NGWA bookstore. (The book is written by Leanne Appleby and Peter Russell, illustrated by Fortunato Restagno, and published by Waterloo Hydrogeologic Inc.)
Find some of the best Web content on groundwater for children through NGWA's Ground Water Adventurers Web site.