World Water Day draws attention to our groundwater and how to keep it clean

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Tuesday is World Water Day: A time for us to examine our resources for clean drinking water and how to take care of them.

Sarah Baumgardner is the spokesperson for the Western Virginia Water Authority. She joined us the Crystal Spring Pump station in Roanoke for a behind-the-scenes tour on the WDBJ7+ Digital News Desk.

The Crystal Spring pump can filter five million gallons of water a day, with some of it coming from our groundwater.

To help keep it clean, she recommends always picking up after your pets, catching oil leaking out of cars and keeping track of how much you water your lawn.

Baumgardner recommended using an empty tuna can when watering your lawn. When the can is full, your lawn is done. A one-inch watering or soaking rain can help your lawn develop deep roots and become more drought resistant.

“There is no new water on Earth,” she said. “And I think that’s one of the things world Water Day likes to call attention to is that populations may be growing, but water supply is not. We’re all using the same amount of water and we use that water over and over in many different ways.”

Another Fun Fact: Crystal Spring is one of Roanoke’s oldest water sources, but no one knows the source of the water!

Copyright 2022 WDBJ. All rights reserved.