Northwest Arkansas, – Once a year for the past several decades, Beaver Water District (BWD) has observed the first week in May as Drinking Water Week.

“The ability to meet our Mission and Vision at Beaver Water District, to serve our customers’ needs by providing high quality drinking water and to meet the challenges of our community by preserving the quality of our source, Beaver Lake, is made much easier by the efforts, expertise, and commitment of our four customer cities,” said Lane Crider, CEO of BWD. “As we celebrate Drinking Water Week 2020, Beaver Water District wants to recognize the cities of Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville, and thank them for doing their part in providing drinking water to all consumers of this most valuable resource here in Northwest Arkansas.”

This year, BWD invites the public to “virtually” kick off the celebration, which is May 3-9, by participating in a Water Education Contest, led by the District’s education team.

“The first step in the drinking water treatment process is source water protection,” said Dot Neely, Education Coordinator for BWD. “In Northwest Arkansas, the source we want to take care of is Beaver Lake, which supplies water for one in six Arkansans. So that’s the focus for our Water Education Contest.” Please participate in the Water Education Contest and receive a water-themed bandana. The contest ends May 31. In addition to the contest, BWD is rolling out its updated “Your Water for Life” campaign with public service announcements (PSAs) that emphasize the connection between Beaver Lake source water protection and production of drinking water for Northwest Arkansas.

“The PSA begins with a question to get people thinking about why they should care about water,” said Amy Wilson, BWD’s Director of Public Affairs. The message goes on to explain that many of us simply expect the water to be there when we turn on the faucet, but there’s a lot that goes into making water from Beaver Lake clean and available for customers.

“Part of the PSA showcases our environmental staff at work monitoring the quality of the water in our tributaries and the lake,” she said. “It’s important to protect Beaver Lake and keep it clean. Our dedicated professionals closely monitor water quality in the lake and its tributaries. At the end of the day, it’s all about protecting our resources.”

The slogan for the campaign is “It’s Your Water for Life!”

BWD’s mission is to serve our customers’ needs by providing high quality drinking water that meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements and is economically priced consistent with our quality standards. BWD supplies clean, safe drinking water, sourced from Beaver Lake, to Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville. These cities in Northwest Arkansas then pump, store, distribute and resell the water to their customers. For more information, visit www.bwdh2o.org.