World Water Day Events Celebrate Groundwater
In celebration of World Water Day 2022, GRIP’s Silver City Watershed Keepers is organizing a number of activities that highlight the importance of water to our community and environment.
Observed on March 22 every year, World Water Day is an international celebration of water, raising awareness of the need for access to safe water for everyone. This year’s theme “Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible” focuses on groundwater as a vital resource for meeting water needs in a changing climate.
Local World Water Day celebrations kick off on Tuesday, March 22nd at 6:00 pm with an online presentation by licensed geologist and hydrologist Dylan Duvergé entitled “Using Online Tools to Understand Your Watershed.” Part of the Watershed Keepers’ Get to Know Your Watershed speaker series, Dylan’s presentation will introduce attendees to selected online resources and tools available to critically examine any watershed of interest. The Silver City Watershed will be used as an example to walk participants through the wide array of online resources available to better understand the watershed from a hydrogeological perspective, including groundwater resources, surface water flows, and more. To join the Zoom presentation, click on the link at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87942694251?pwd=Y3A1bmUxS0FIa096OTlMRWhTam9nUT09 or watch live on the Silver City Watershed Keepers Facebook page at facebook.com/SCWatershedKeepers.
Outdoor activities are also planned for World Water Day on Saturday, March 26th.
From 9:30 – noon, Dylan Duvergé will follow up his online presentation with a field trip on “The VIPs of Stream Morphology.” Participants will hike down San Vicente Creek and learn about the “Very Important Points” in stream morphology. Attendees will gain an understanding of how streambed materials and other physical characteristics of the riparian corridor inform the behavior and evolution of a stream channel. How do these concepts relate to formation of the Big Ditch? What is the connection between groundwater and surface water? Participants will learn how to take stream measurements if time and conditions allow.
Field trip participants will meet at the Murray Ryan Visitor Center at 9:30 am for bagels and coffee before hiking down the San Vicente Creek trail. Please bring waterproof shoes or boots and a water bottle.
The Silver City Watershed Keepers is also organizing a Volunteer Planting Day as part of its Big Ditch Park Revitalization Project. With funding from New Mexico Clean and Beautiful and The 30Something Grant and in partnership with the Town of Silver City, Silver City MainStreet, Lone Mountain Natives Nursery, Aldo Leopold Charter School Youth Conservation Corps, and Stream Dynamics, rain gardens have been constructed in the park to capture storm water runoff and prevent erosion on steep slopes. Volunteers will assist with establishing plantings using drought tolerant, native species that are beneficial to pollinators and birds and help build a resilient and climate-adapted greenway. Participants will also learn about the value of rainwater harvesting to recharge groundwater, conserve water, and create healthy gardens.
Volunteers will meet at Big Ditch Park at 9 am for bagels and coffee before starting to work in planting areas. Volunteers should wear closed-toe shoes and bring gardening gloves, hat, sunscreen, and water bottle. Gardening tools will be provided.
For more information, contact the Silver City Watershed Keepers at 575.538.8078 or silvercitywatershedkeepers@gmail.com.
Coordinated by the Gila Resources Information Project, the Silver City Watershed Keepers program is a citizens’ water resources stewardship program that engages community members in protection and restoration of the Silver City watershed.
