What would a day without water be like? No water to drink or wash hands our hands. No water to shower or flush toilets or do laundry. No water for coffee or cooking. No water for farmers or ranchers to raise our food. No water for hospitals or firefighters to use. Scary thoughts, for sure.
Norman joins elected officials, water utilities, community leaders, educators, and businesses from across the country as part of the eighth annual Imagine a Day Without Water, a nationwide day of education and advocacy about the value of water. Led by the US Water Alliance’s Value of Water Campaign, over a thousand organizations across the country will join Imagine a Day Without Water on October 20, 2022, to raise awareness about the role of water infrastructure in our lives and the importance of investment. 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.
“The City of Norman provides reliable, resilient water and wastewater service to over 40,000 locations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” stated Chris Mattingly, Director of Utilities for the City of Norman. “Our staff operate our water treatment plant and water wells, our water reclamation facility, and repair and replace our water and sewer lines in all weather conditions to ensure that our customers receive the high level of service that the City of Norman deserves. However, similar to other utilities throughout the nation and the world, infrastructure upgrades will be critical just to replace existing pipes and facilities that have already exceeded or will exceed in the near future their expected useful life. Specifically for Norman, just under 50 percent of our 640 miles of our water distribution system is cast or ductile iron pipe that has shown a high incidence of failure due to corrosive soil conditions in our area. Utility rates for our customers are the lowest compared to other similar cities in our area and we strive to find efficiencies in all we do to maintain our high level of service at the lowest rates possible. Additional funding through rate increases will be needed as we move forward to maintain, repair, and replace our assets as they deteriorate. We hope the City of Norman can work together to establish appropriate funding to help us ensure our continued high level of service.”
“We’re grateful to the City of Norman for being a part of this year’s Imagine a Day Without Water,” says Oluwole (OJ) McFoy, Board Chair of the US Water Alliance. “Raising awareness about the state of water infrastructure is a crucial step to ensuring water systems keep flowing for generations to come. Even though we cannot see the pipes and sewers beneath our feet, water cannot be taken for granted. High-quality water service is a critical part of every thriving community. Today, we encourage everyone to take a minute to learn more about their local water system, where their drinking water comes from, and where their wastewater goes.”
Imagine a Day Without Water was envisioned as an advocacy and education day that asked Americans to think about what it would mean to go without water for a day. There are already two million Americans living without water service, and with the stress of climate change and the challenges of maintaining water infrastructure that is a century old in some places, there is growing concern about the stability of water supplies and service.
The City of Norman invites the public to tour both treatment facilities to learn about the treatment works and meet the hard-working staff. Tours are scheduled for October 20th at 9:00AM, 1:00PM, and 5:30PM. Visit www.GreenNorman.org for more information.
Learn more at imagineadaywithoutwater.org and follow the conversation on social media at #ValueWater.