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Rockford
LWV Educates Public for Groundwater Protection
Rockford
LWV Educates Public for Groundwater Protection. The League of
Women Voters of Rockford, Illinois confronted the community's
large hazardous waste problem with an extensive groundwater education
program that began in 1991. The League developed partnerships
with a local medical college and television station, led luncheon
discussions of their video in government agencies, businesses,
and civic associations, and enlisted and trained volunteers in
wellhead inspection. Many organizations have now made groundwater
education an important part of their mission, and the county has
revised its codes. Story.
Story:
Rockford LWV Educates Public for Groundwater Protection
Story
prepared by Carmen Sirianni, in collaboration with Elana Cohen
and Lisa Edouard of the League of Women Voters Education Fund.
Based on Protect Your Groundwater: Educating for Action.
When the League of Women Voters of Rockford, Illinois, started
its highly successful groundwater education program in 1991, few
citizens understood or cared about how dependent they were on
groundwater. Today the community has a citizens-government-business
coalition actively working to protect their drinking water.
In 1991 Winnebago County, Illinois, contained 805 active and
170 inactive hazardous waste sites that polluted groundwater in
both public and private wells, the only source of drinking water
in the entire county. Neither Superfund, state Priority Clean-Up
efforts, nor the Illinois Groundwater Protection Act of 1987,
had been able to make a serious dent in this problem. Municipalities
had no groundwater protection ordinances, and nor had the issue
been part of city or county planning. As various city wells closed
down, the amount of usable water had been steadily dwindling.
In response to the ineffectiveness of traditional government
approaches, the Rockford League set up "P.O.W.E.R." (Protect Our
Water and Environmental Resources) as a collaborative effort with
local officials, community representatives, and its own natural
resources committee. They enlisted other partners as well. Volunteers
from the local Medical College analyzed the public survey conducted
by the League at shopping malls and the county fair to demonstrate
the extent of the need for public education on groundwater. A
local television station produced a video, Groundwater Protection
in Winnebago County, for $2600 to use in this campaign.
This video, along with another that profiles successful groundwater
protection efforts in three other communities, became the focus
of a broad civic education campaign. The videos were shown at
luncheons and seminars with the community water department supervisors,
city and county planners, economic developers, realtors, county
board members, the county health department, the chamber of commerce's
Environmental Quality Committee, fly fishers, and at health and
fitness shows in shopping malls. The videos were usually followed
by active discussions about how these different citizens and organizations
could collaborate in solving this common problem. City mayors,
village presidents, and county board chairs were invited to attend
P.O.W.E.R. meetings.
The League's project manager was then appointed to the Winnebago
County Board of Health and developed plans for continuing health
and groundwater public education, and implementing stricter health
codes. The county has revised its sewage disposal code, and P.O.W.E.R.
continues to work with officials on further groundwater protection
options. It continues to show the local video. But, more importantly,
various organizations around the county have now purchased it,
as they take upon themselves responsibility for such community
education and action, including local colleges, water departments,
public parks, state and county health departments, and the Illinois
EPA.
And the League's Education Fund in Washington, D.C., makes sure
that other communities have access to such stories and models
of public education and civic action, so that they too can take
initiative and redefine how government works.
More
Information
Elana Cohen, League of Women Voters Education Fund, 1730 M Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20036. Phone: 202-429-1965; fax: 202-429-0854.
Betty Johnson, League of Women Voters of Rockford, Illinois.
Phone: 815-399-0089.
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