World Water Day – A celebration of freshwater above and below ground

World Water Day is an annual celebration of our freshwater resources observed every 22^nd of March in communities around the world.  Wolf River Conservancy celebrates World Water Day each year with a large event focused on litter and tire removal from the Wolf River watershed.

In the last four years alone, over 400 volunteers have heeded the call to clean up our river frontage, hoisting over 52,000 pounds of trash from the water and floodplain.  Meeting at the Mud Island Greenway trailhead, where the Wolf River meets the Mississippi River, volunteers brave often cold and windy mornings to remove litter, tires, and random large objects from the banks of the Wolf River and Wolf River Harbor.  At these events, many of the Conservancy’s volunteer river guides launch canoes and kayaks into the water to gather floating litter.  The Conservancy also partners with Living Lands and Waters, which ferries dozens of volunteers on oversized jon boats to otherwise inaccessible locations smothered with litter deposited by the backwater flow of the Mississippi River.  

The collected trash comes from illegal dumping and litter carried by stormwater runoff from communities near and far.  Litter may be carried by floodwaters from hundreds of miles away and deposited on our riverbanks here in Memphis. Our annual World Water Day cleanup events, however, are making a difference! Conservancy staff and our hardworking volunteers have noticed a significant reduction in litter to remove in the area – a sign that our efforts are working.  

While keeping trash out of our rivers and other surface waters such as wetlands, streams, and lakes is very important, these are not the only freshwater resources the Conservancy and local citizens are focused on safeguarding. Memphis and much of West Tennessee is blessed to have one of the cleanest drinking water sources in the world – the Memphis Sand Aquifer.  Our exceptionally clean aquifer drinking water is a source of pride for Memphians.  Citizens of the Mid-South are thankful for the slightly sweet taste of the water and the sheer immense quantity lying beneath our feet, but we do not take it for granted.  We are willing to defend our clean drinking water from threats.  Protect Our Aquifer has emerged as a leader in helping to defend the Memphis Sand Aquifer from misuse, pollution injections, and a whole host of threats.  Sarah Houston with Protect Our Aquifer speaks about the abundance and quality of our drinking water in her “State of the Aquifer” address each year in conjunction with Wolf River Conservancy’s World Water Day celebration.  Over 550 people have tuned in to learn from these informative webinars so far; this year, Sarah will be speaking in-person at Flyway Brewing on Sat., May 29^th.

For the last 40 years, Wolf River Conservancy has been protecting lands within the Wolf River watershed focused on river frontage, streams, and wetlands that recharge the Memphis Sand Aquifer.  The Conservancy has also been educating students and adults alike on the aquifer, wetlands, water quality, and the value of conserving land – with over 33,000 people educated in the last decade.  Our land conservation and education efforts combined with the advocacy and legal work of Protect Our Aquifer and the efforts of other partners will help to ensure that the citizens of Memphis and the Mid-South can continue to celebrate our clean freshwater resources for decades to come.

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