{"id":12310,"date":"2019-12-10T12:02:47","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T17:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paawwa.org\/?p=12310"},"modified":"2019-12-10T12:02:47","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T17:02:47","slug":"awwa-connections-swamp-water-and-science-boost-utilitys-community-engagement-by-matthew-junker-municipal-authority-of-westmoreland-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/awwa-connections-swamp-water-and-science-boost-utilitys-community-engagement-by-matthew-junker-municipal-authority-of-westmoreland-county\/","title":{"rendered":"AWWA Connections: Swamp water and science boost utility\u2019s community engagement by Matthew Junker, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Swamp water and science boost utility\u2019s community engagement<\/h2>\n
December 5, 2019
\nConnections Article<\/span><\/a>, Publications<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nThe following is an excerpt from a November 2019 Opflow article<\/a> by Matthew Junker, public relations specialist with the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County in New Stanton, Pa.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A bucket of swamp water and a classroom science demonstration are helping a Pennsylvania water system engage its community in the importance of safe drinking water.\"Matt<\/p>\n

Matthew Junker (pictured right)<\/em> of the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) periodically visits local schools to talk about water science and safe water delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decant some muddy water, usually from a nearby swamp, into a clear bucket,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter explaining that drinking this water would likely make us sick because of bacteria, parasites or viruses, I add a packet of water treatment chemicals formulated jointly by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Procter & Gamble to reduce waterborne disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junker tells students that the treatment process they just witnessed is basically what happens at many surface water filtration plants. Then he explains that \u201cbecause our customers need water every day, we can\u2019t stop treating and delivering it when the water turbidity is high.\u201d<\/p>\n

His presentation continues with a history lesson about advancements in water treatment. \u201cI present a graphic from the CDC that illustrates the drop in waterborne disease in the United States, then correlate it with the adoption of chlorine as a disinfectant after its first use in the country in 1908,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Throughout his demonstration, Junker said, he emphasizes that “the safe and clean water we take for granted today wasn\u2019t always available and still isn\u2019t in many places around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MattA key objective of Junker\u2019s outreach effort is to gain community support for water initiatives by educating young consumers. (Pictured at left during school presentation)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to projects to replace old infrastructure, meet new regulations, or upgrade our systems,\u201d he said, much of the funding will likely come from \u201ccustomers opening their wallets a little wider\u2026and these young people are our future customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another objective is to attract future leaders to the water sector by mentioning the American Water Works Association\u2019s Water Equation<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talk to older students about the fact that there aren\u2019t enough young water treatment plant operators in the pipeline to replace those who are eligible for retirement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Junker said his community outreach approach \u201ccan be a powerful tool to adjust customer appreciation for water and wastewater services.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe point of outreach is to affect the present and win in the future,\u201d he said. \u201cEngaging young people will go a long way toward achieving these goals as they are our future customers and, potentially, future water professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Swamp water and science boost utility\u2019s community engagement December 5, 2019 Connections Article, Publications The following is an excerpt from a November 2019 Opflow article by Matthew Junker, public relations specialist with the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County in New Stanton, Pa. A bucket of swamp water and a classroom science demonstration are helping a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6,14,7,5,11,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12310"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12312,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12310\/revisions\/12312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.linnflux.tech\/paawwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}