City of Lamar: Celebrate Drinking Water Week with a Cold One & Scavenger Hunt
Description: The City of Lamar is marking Drinking Water Week by engaging the community in understanding the vital role of clean, safe water in daily life, including its importance for public health and environmental protection.
CELEBRATE DRINKING WATER WEEK WITH A COLD ONE
The City of Lamar joins communities across North America in celebrating Drinking Water Week, an annual observance led by the American Water Works Association. Observed on May 5-11 in 2024, Drinking Water Week gives the City of Lamar the opportunity to highlight the importance of safe drinking water, reassess its water infrastructure, and recognize the tireless efforts of its City Water professionals who keep it flowing around the clock in our community. The City encourages citizens to discover water’s journey from its source to your faucet and the efforts that go into ensuring safety and high quality. Understanding our water is the first step to conserving and protecting it.
With future plans to expand outreach activities for Drinking Water Week, it has started with a scavenger hunt for 2024’s Drinking Water Week. Participants need to take photos of 1) two fire hydrants; 2) a water meter pit/lid cover; 3) a water faucet or fountain; 4) the Lamar Swimming Pool; 5) the Waterman dispenser (on 3rd Street and Poplar); 5) and the Public Works Building. Once all those photos have been taken, participants can stop at the Public Works Office to show staff the photos and claim a prize.
The City of Lamar gets its water from its well field in the Clay Creek alluvial aquifer; it serves approximately 8,000 customers annually within and outside of the city limits. On average the City’s Water Department processes 1.5 M gallons per day or 543,000,000 gallons per year. This small but mighty department is comprised of ten employees, including five certified water professionals within the City’s Public Works division.
The City of Lamar is marking Drinking Water Week by engaging the community in understanding the vital role of clean, safe water in daily life, including its importance for public health and environmental protection.
Staff recently participated in Parkview Elementary’s Career Day and mentored a student interested in learning more about Lamar’s water system.
This year's celebration also coincides with a historic milestone – the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in the United States, a landmark law designed to safeguard the public by setting high drinking water quality standards. The SDWA provides a scientific framework to identify potential risks to drinking water and address them in partnership with states and water utilities.
