EcoEducation: Water Connects Us

We Minnesotans have been blessed with amazing water fortune.  We have 11 million acres of wetlands, over 11 thousand lakes, 90 thousand miles of streams, 80 watersheds, and 70% of the state has abundant groundwater.  With that water fortune comes great responsibility.  98% of the water in Minnesota originally fell on Minnesota - ie we are downstream from almost no one - ie the health of our water is determined by our actions.  

 

John Stine, Executive Director of FreshWater spoke to us about some of the actions being taken by FreshWater and other organizations around the state to ensure our water legacy and a few actions that we can take as Minnesotans.  He also pointed out that the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment expires in 2034.  

 

First he asked us to remember that all water is one water.  Meaning that drinking water, waste water, storm water, ground water, surface water  - these are all part of the same water resource.  What we do that affects one affects all. 

 

Second he wants everyone to know what watershed they live in and where their drinking water comes from.  80% of Minnesotans get their water from a community water system (the rest get water from private wells).  Most of these systems use ground water.  Find what your community uses.  

 

Finally he listed several easy ways that we can conserve water - and inspired us to choose water conservation as our next EcoChallenge.