Back to Index

World Water Monitoring Day commemorated
Environment Africa
October 19, 2005

Environmental issues, particularly access to clean water, are among the most pressing challenges facing the planet. A global educational exercise designed to raise awareness and stimulate interest in the importance of clean water for everyone on the planet, World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD), was commemorated for the first time in Zimbabwe yesterday.

World Water Monitoring Day teaches all members of the global community that it is not only the responsibility of government, local authorities and the corporate world to safeguard the world’s freshwater supplies, but of every man, woman and child.

Sixty grade 6 pupils from Twin Rivers Primary School participated in this year’s commemorations coordinated by Environment Africa along Avondale stream. The pupils were taught the basic properties of fresh water, its importance and uses so as to develop a sense of responsibility towards the environment. The month-long monitoring period will allow the pupils to develop awareness of the condition the stream and to take action to rectify problems. The water-testing exercise also complements the environmental science (content) curriculum.

Environment Africa donated two water-testing kits to the school and encouraged pupils to be responsible custodians of their local water resources. EAfrica also underlined the importance for every living creature to have access to clean, safe and sustainable supply of water.

WWMD is a co-ordinated global event, involving efforts of both amateur and professional water-testers. The practical, fun activity encourages volunteers to go to their local rives, lakes and streams and perform a simple test measuring 4 basic water properties: temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity (water clarity). Results of these tests are recorded on the World Water Monitoring Day website, www.worldwatermonitoringday.org ultimately contributing to a useful resource of knowledge about the world’s waterways.

Visit the Environment Africa fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP