More than 1,000 organizations across the country — including two right here in Northern Kentucky — are participating in a campaign to raise awareness about the role of water infrastructure in our lives and the importance of investment in those services.
Sanitation District No. 1, known locally as SD1, and the Northern Kentucky Water District will join the national Imagine a Day Without Water education and advocacy campaign on October 20.
The campaign drives home the importance of clean water in the community.
The focus of this year’s event is to invite people to take the #OneWaterPledge and learn more about where our water comes from and where our wastewater goes.
Imagine a Day Without Water is an advocacy and education day that asks Americans to think about what it would mean to go without water for a day.
“When a community experiences water contamination or shortages, they have no water to drink, prepare meals, bathe their children, wash their hands, flush the toilet, or do laundry,” said Lindsey Rechtin, president/CEO of the water district. “Firefighters can’t put out fires, and farmers cannot water their crops. Hospitals would close without water. NKWD is to be the most sustainable and innovative utility in the region. We work 24/7 to ensure that our community members can go about their every day lives without having to wonder if their water is safe to drink or will come out of their tap when they turn it on.”
SD1 and the water district work 365 days a year to ensure Northern Kentuckians never have to actually experience a day without clean water. The agencies also work to keep local waterways clean and healthy.
Executive Director Adam Chaney said SD1 treats about 35 million gallons of wastewater a day.
Chaney said a network of nearly 1,700 miles of wastewater pipe connects nearly 350,000 residents to a treatment plant, where wastewater undergoes up to 30 hours of biological and chemical processes to transform dirty water into water fit for the Ohio River.
SD1 also collects and treats millions of gallons of wastewater from the community’s schools, hospitals and industries.
Over the next 20 years, SD1 will invest nearly $1 billion in innovative wastewater and stormwater management solutions to keep the community safe and clean for generations to come.
“Our Clean H2O40 program balances the need to keep local waterways clean and safe with the need to provide affordable services in Northern Kentucky,” Chaney said. “That balance is at the heart of our commitment to making our community a better place in which to live, work and play.”
The Northern Kentucky Water District serves nearly 300,000 people in Campbell, Kenton and portions of Boone, Grant and Pendleton counties, as well as the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport.
The water district is the largest in Kentucky and is the Commonwealth’s third largest water provider, with a capacity of 64 million gallons per day.
It operates from its headquarters in Erlanger and has three water treatment plants in Taylor Mill, Fort Thomas and Newport.
Learn more at https://imagineadaywithoutwater.org and follow the conversation on social media at #ValueWater.