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General
See some Local Pennsylvania projects funded through WREN Grants that you can use or modify for your own project.
New Drinking Water Web Site for Kids
EPA's new site contains games, activities, and animated classroom experiments, following along with a new character "Thirstin." Highlights include the interactive water cycle, and the Aquifer in a Cup activity. http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/.
New EPA Web Portal on Mercury
EPA's new Mercury web portal http://www.epa.gov/mercury/index.htm includes information for consumers, schools, parents, health care providers, and business and industry. The web portal is also available in Spanish at http://www.epa.gov/mercury/espanol.htm
Crossword Puzzle in Scholastic News Earth Day Publication
The Office of Science and Technology (OST) within the Office of Water created a crossword puzzle for students titled "Healthy Waters start with Water Quality Standards." Scholastic News selected the crossword puzzle to include in their Earth Day publication. This crossword puzzle teaches readers about healthy streams and rivers and how water quality standards are the foundation of clean and safe water. This eye catching crossword puzzle is available at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/KidsStuff/.
 Protecting Surface Water Quality with Conservation Easements
The Land Trust Alliance's new publication, Protecting Surface Water Quality with Conservation Easements, offers a process guide for land trusts, landowners and public agencies. Prepared with the advice of easement practitioners from land trusts across the country, the guide includes examples from successful easement programs and samples of specific easement language that can be used to address a range of water resource protection goals. To order, visit http://www.lta.org/publications/easement_lib.htm#swq.
Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water
 Lots
of concern has been raised about recent studies which
have detected pharmaceutical and personal care products
as well as hormones in drinking water. Most of today's
wastewater treatment plants are not geared to remove these
contaminants. On November 8, 2004, it hit the
national news when NBS Nightly News covered a story
about male fish developing female sexual organs.
Here
are some recent articles on the topic:
1. Male
Fish becoming female - NBC News story 11/8/04
2. Think
Before you Flush that Pill
3. USGS
Fact Sheet #FS-027-02 - "Pharmaceuticals, Hormones,
and other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in U.S. Streams"
4. "Certain
chemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, fuel additives,
and detergents, are routinely found in groundwater
and surface water. These chemicals can interfere with
the balance of normal hormone functions in animals, including
humans. See On Tap's Winter 2003 cover
story "Endocrine
Disruptors: What are they doing to you?" Published
by
National Drinking Water Clearinghouse
"Wellhead
Protection - Big Benefits for Small Systems" - On Tap Magazine's Nancy Zeilig discusses
the value of small water system wellhead protection.
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