DATE: June 23, 2009
CONTACT:
David Joyner, 843-722-5940, ext. 125
djoyner@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Peter Hull, 843-554-7226, ext. 118
phull@clemson.edu
Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium sponsors first Charleston Water Week
CHARLESTON — During Charleston’s first Water Week, July 6-12, a series of 10 workshops and events across the region will demonstrate why state residents must preserve this most precious natural resource.
Workshops include boat maintenance, harbor tours and water conservation in the home. All workshops are free and open to the public.
The Charleston Water Week is hosted by The Sustainability Institute and Charleston Waterkeeper, and sponsored by the Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium, Carolina Clear’s stormwater pollution education and awareness initiative in the Lowcountry.
Stormwater is one of the greatest threats to surface waters, said David Joyner, Clemson extension natural resources agent and coordinator of the Ashley Cooper consortium.
As development spreads, so do the areas of impervious surfaces, such as roads, roofs, parking lots, driveways and sidewalks. Water that runs over these surfaces picks up pollutants, which are carried to lakes, rivers and estuaries untreated.
“The urban landscape was engineered to drain runoff quickly and untreated to our rivers, creeks and estuaries,” Joyner said. “Incorporating features around your home such as rain gardens and rain barrels helps to reduce stormwater runoff and its associated pollution.”
On Saturday, July 11, at Exchange Park in Ladson, the Ashley Cooper consortium will host “A Day of Rain” and picnic at the Carolina Yard Living Classroom.
Two workshops — rain gardens and rain barrels — originally scheduled July 11 have been canceled.
Also, guided tours of the Carolina Yard will explain the principals of the program, which provides guidance on environmentally friendly home landscaping.
The day’s events include a picnic-style lunch free to workshop participants. The rain barrel workshop is free, but rain barrel kits can be purchased for $75. Participants who purchase the kits get to build and take a finished rain barrel home. Rain barrels typically cost about $100.
On July 6, The Sustainability Institute, in sponsorship with Charleston Water Systems, will host an interactive “water wise” workshop that will demonstrate innovative ways to save water — and money — in the home.
The workshop is from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Charleston Public Library, 68 Calhoun St., in downtown Charleston.
Water Week closes July 12 with a party and celebration at Bowens Island Restaurant.
Bethany Burgee, sustainability consultant at The Sustainability Institute, said the region’s culture and history are based around its waterways.
“Conservation and protection of these natural systems is a primary focus of Charleston Water Week,” she said.
END
On the Web
For more details and full program visit http://www.sustainabilityinstitutesc.org/H2O/.
Carolina Clear
Carolina Clear is a stormwater education and awareness program of the Clemson University Restoration Institute and the Center for Watershed Excellence. The program’s goal is to minimize polluted stormwater runoff by educating the general public, youth, builders, developers, homeowners and government officials about how they can keep water in the state’s streams, rivers and basins as clean as possible. Its Web site is www.clemson.edu/carolinaclear.