EPA Region 7 Administrator, Brody Middle School Students to Increase Awareness of Water Quality Oct. 3 in Des Moines, Iowa

Release Date: 09/30/2014 Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, 913-551-7557, lancaster.kris@epa.gov

Environmental News

NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY

(Lenexa, Kan., Sept. 30, 2014) - EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks will be in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday, Oct. 3, to visit with Brody Middle School seventh grade students about EPA’s role in protecting water quality. Brooks’ visit will include a role-play exercise featuring six groups of students representing EPA, scientists, farmers, concerned citizens, Des Moines Water Works, and non-profits. Afterwards, a group of students will participate in a water quality testing exercise at Des Moines Water Works Park.

Brooks will discuss the importance of EPA’s partnerships to protect water quality in Iowa, and the Waters of the U.S. proposal. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a draft proposal in March to strengthen protection for the clean water that is vital to all Americans.

The students are learning about Iowans’ water pollution reduction efforts, Iowa’s nutrient reduction strategy, and best management agricultural practices to improve water quality.

Brody Middle School serves about 780 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students within the Des Moines Public School District. Brody is an International Baccalaureate candidate school where learning is incorporated with an understanding of how individuals fit into the world and how their actions affect others. Approximately 120 seventh graders have been learning about water quality at Brody.

The Des Moines metropolitan area’s 500,000 residents receive their drinking water from Des Moines Water Works, which draws water from the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers. The quality of these rivers is fundamental to providing safe drinking water for the public health of the Des Moines community.

WHO: Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 Administrator

WHAT: Remarks, role-play student exercise, and students learning about water chemistry. (The events are open to the press.)

WHERE: Brody Middle School, 2501 Park Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50321; and Des Moines Water Works Park, 412 Fleur Drive, Des Moines, Iowa 50321

Directions to Des Moines Water Works Park from Brody Middle School: Travel east on Park Avenue and turn left (north) onto Fleur Drive; Water Works Park will be on the left. Turn into the park off Fleur Drive across the street from the Gray’s Lake north entrance. After entering the park, watch for signage to the pond.

Directions to Water Works Park from downtown: Travel west on West Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and then turn left (south) onto Fleur Drive; Water Works Park will be on the right. Turn into the park at the intersection across the street from Gray’s Lake north entrance. After entering the park, watch for signage to the pond.

WHEN: Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 – 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Brooks’ remarks and activity at Brody Middle School; 2:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., Water quality testing at Des Moines Water Works Park.

Clean water is important for drinking, swimming, farming, fishing, businesses and communities. Sixty percent of streams and millions of acres of wetlands across the country aren’t clearly protected from pollution and destruction. One in three Americans – 117 million of us – get our drinking water from streams that are vulnerable.

To help celebrate October as Children’s Health Month, EPA works with parents, teachers, and health providers to promote environmental education and healthy environments for children. EPA recognizes the importance of educators’ in incorporating environmental education in their classrooms and teaching methods.