Elon University’s Center for Environmental Studies will examine issues critical to water quality and conservation during a seminar titled “A River Runs Through Us,” which will be held from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14 in McKinnon Hall, located in Moseley Center on the Elon campus.
The seminar will offer a forum for discourse on water quality and public health. Government experts, scholars and representatives from various organizations will explore ways to protect the Cape Fear River Basin, which is the main source of water for almost a third of North Carolina residents. The Center for Environmental Studies will also release the results of a recent telephone survey of more than 700 local residents about local water resource issues.
Seminar speakers include Bill Holman, director of the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund; Dennis Tierney, senior scientist with Syngenta, an agribusiness company in Greensboro; and Rick Dove, founder of the Neuse River Foundation.
“The state estimates that if this area grows at the current rate, we’ll have no more water in 20 years – and that’s even if every reservoir in the planning stages is built,” says Janet MacFall, coordinator of Elon’s environmental studies program and director of the Center for Environmental Studies. “It is incredibly important to get a handle on water issues.”
Established in 2000, the Center for Environmental Studies promotes environmental education, responsibility, stewardship and leadership while providing opportunities for students and faculty to work with individuals and organizations outside the university. The center is involved in the creation of a database of organizations which monitor the water quality in the Cape Fear basin, streamlining efforts to maintain the watershed’s health.
The registration fee for the seminar is $15 and includes six morning speakers, three afternoon breakout sessions and lunch. Professional engineers, water treatment operators, wastewater treatment operators and educators can earn continuing education credit by attending the entire seminar.
Co-sponsors for “A River Runs Through Us” include the North Carolina section of the American Water Works Association, the North Carolina Water Environment Association and Alamance Community College.
More information about the seminar and speakers can be found at www.elon.edu/academics/environ/fallform/ariver.htm.
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