Department of Ecology News Release - Oct. 12, 2000 00-204
Progress and successes to be trumpeted at groundwater symposium
OLYMPIA - Next week scientists throughout the Pacific Northwest will meet in Tacoma to discuss new technologies, progress and successes for protecting Washington's primary source of drinking water: ground water.
The third Symposium on the Hydrogeology of Washington State is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 16, through Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Landmark Convention Center, located at 47 Saint Helens Ave. in Tacoma. The conference is co-sponsored by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology), the Washington Hydrololgic Society and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Of the 5 percent of drinkable water available on earth, 95 percent of it is in the ground. In Western Washington, 65 percent of the citizens get their water from the ground, and in Eastern Washington the numbers are closer to 85 percent.
"Getting and keeping ground water clean will be a central discussion at the symposium," said Kirk Cook, a hydrogeologist with Ecology. "Scientists in this state are doing impressive research that is helping businesses and governments resolve major policy issues around water."
At the symposium, Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons will award Barrie and Jim Wilcox, co-owners of Wilcox Farms in Pierce Co., with the agency's highest honor, an Environmental Excellence Award. The award honors organizations and individuals that employ exceptional efforts and actions to improve the state's environment.
"The incredible determination, diligence and perseverance of the owners and workers at Wilcox Farms have made it a leading example of an agricultural business that can mind the farm and also clean and protect the environment," said Fitzsimmons.
The 100-year-old dairy and poultry operation has become a model for water quality and solid-waste management in the past 10 years. The 1,500-acre farm stopped land applying chicken manure, improved its control and management of waste water, and sharply reduced the amount of fecal coliform bacteria in its ground water.
"My hope is to see more and more farmers be as conscientious and environmentally responsible as Wilcox Farms," said Fitzsimmons.
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