Celebrating World Water Day

Photo By Anthony Housey | The Minnesota National Guard's Camp Ripley Training Center located along the Mississippi River in Central Minnesota.  

MN, UNITED STATES

03.22.2021

Story by Anthony Housey 

Camp Ripley Training Center

March 22, 2021 (CAMP RIPLEY, Minnesota) – World Water Day is celebrated today March 22, 2021 and on this day, it’s important to think about how essential water is to our homes, our health, the environments we live in, and to the world as a whole.
“Every culture, race, gender and type of people relies on water. It’s our life blood, our living resource and our sustainment,” said Katie Retka, Natural resources Specialists with the Minnesota National Guard.
Organized in 1993 and celebrated on every continent, World Water Day recognizes the world’s freshwater crisis and raises awareness for the things we all can do to help. Over 2.2 billion people, or nearly one-third of the world’s population, lives without access to clean water.
“The theme of World Water Day 2021 is valuing water, but the core focus of the observance is to support the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.” added Retka.
In Minnesota, we are fortunate to have an abundance of clean water. The Mississippi River Headwaters boasts the highest water quality in our nation. Nearly two million Minnesotans rely on the river as a source of drinking water, from St. Cloud to the greater seven-county metro area including Minneapolis and St. Paul. Boasted as “The Land of 10,000 Lakes,” the outdoor recreation and tourism add $16 billion to Minnesota’s economy. Our freshwater resources are a true treasure and something we need to cherish, conserve and celebrate.
Camp Ripley is located at the confluence of the Crow Wing and Mississippi Rivers. There are more than 18 miles of undeveloped shoreline bordering our National Guard Training Center in Central Minnesota. Additionally, Camp Ripley’s Sentinel Landscape encompasses and protects four tributaries of the Upper Mississippi River watershed. “This water resource is precious to not only the National Guard, but the agricultural community, the Native American Tribes and residents from the headwaters to the delta,” said Josh Pennington, Camp Ripley’s Environmental Supervisor.
The Minnesota National Guard has focused on renewable energy, waste diversion, and water protection for the past several years. Efforts at Camp Ripley and across the State of Minnesota directly support the Guard’s Environmental Management Systems (eMS) objectives in pursuit of energy, water, and waste resiliency goals.
The Area 22 wash rack on Camp Ripley incorporates a water recycling system, originally built in 1996 and improved in 1998. A meter installed in 2019 records the volume of recycled water the systems uses. Recycled water drains through a pre-wash basin and secondary sedimentation basin that reduces mixed water flowing directly into the watershed. Water pumps for the wash rack are controlled on site with a localized control panel to reduce unnecessary misuse.
Since 2014, overall water usage at Camp Ripley as well as across the Minnesota National Guard’s 61 different communities have shown a steady downward trend in water use. The decrease in potable water use and increase in recycled water use at the installation’s wash rack have proven their worth over the past few training years.
“Practical improvements to systems widely used by units and organizations during training are a big priority for us. It will benefit us in the long run fiscally and environmentally. All this applies to our triple bottom line: mission, environment, and the community which are paramount to success in sustainable infrastructure and design for the Minnesota National Guard,” said Jay Brezinka, Environmental Program Manager with the MN Department of Military Affairs.

• Date Taken: 03.22.2021
• Date Posted: 03.22.2021 13:42
• Story ID: 391976
• Location: MN, US