By April Day, Director of Publishing for Save The Water™ | August 2, 2019
The mission of Save the WaterTM is simple. Our mission is to conduct research to identify and remove harmful chemicals from water; to improve water quality and human health; and to apply this research toward the education of present and future generations. Each of these three aims has two aspects. Let’s look at them briefly. We will also highlight one recent activity for each of these aspects.
Identify and Remove Harmful Chemicals
The first aspect of the Save the WaterTM mission focuses on research. What is the point of this research?
First, the research determines which chemicals are harmful, and which aren’t. Also, the research would determine where the harmful chemicals are. For example, Save the WaterTM has authored a proposal to fund scientific research to monitor the Everglades.
Second, the research focuses on ways to remove harmful chemicals. Save the WaterTM has four proprietary technologies that can remove harmful chemicals at a cost lower than traditional treatment technologies. You can learn more about those here.
Improve Water Quality and Human Health
The second aspect of the Save the WaterTM mission focuses on improvement. We want to improve two things: water quality and human health.
First, we want to improve the water quality for the environment. What is water quality? According to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, water quality is a term that “describes the condition of the water, including chemical, physical, and biological characteristics, usually with respect to it suitability for a particular purpose such as drinking or swimming.”1 This is very important, especially in coastal places with harmful algae blooms such as South Florida.
Next, this aspect of the Save the WaterTM mission selects human health as our highest priority. For example, in the proposal to study the Everglades, we highlight different health impacts of potentially harmful chemicals such as endocrine disruptors, which can increase risks of fatal diseases such as cancer.
Educate Present and Future Generations
The third aspect of the Save the WaterTM mission focuses on education. Within this aspect, we focus on two generations: the current one and the future one. We publish articles and attend talks about water to raise public awareness about different, current water issues. We also have a Day in the Life Of a ScientistTM (DILOSTM) program where we go to schools and teach children about water science. Sometimes, we take the children on field trips to local waterways such as streams to perform onsite lab activities. You can learn more about that here.
References
- Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. “What is water quality?” https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/ocean/waterquality.
