ND Water Week

In honor of World Water Day, the Notre Dame community is invited to a week-long celebration focused on the importance of freshwater, which will take place March 20-24, 2023.

ND Water Week is sponsored by H2O@ND, an initiative of more than 50 faculty members across 10 departments, who are working to expand collaborative water research at Notre Dame. 

Additional partners include the Environmental Change Initiative, Office of Sustainability, Utilities and Maintenance Department, and Campus Dining. ND Water Week is supported through a Moment to See, Courage to Act Planning Grant.

Monday, March 20

#WhyWater

The first step to accelerating change for water-related challenges is by spreading awareness. Tell your friends and family why water matters to you by posting on social media with the hashtags #WhyWater and #NDWaterWeek. Make sure you also tag @SustainableND throughout the week to be entered in a raffle to win a Hammes Bookstore gift card!

Tuesday, March 21

Seminar: PFAS in Brazilian Waters: A Tale of Two Sources

1:00–2:00 PM, Zoom

Virtual Seminar by Juliana Leonel, Professor of Oceanography, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Register here.

Wednesday, March 22 - World Water Day

Panel: Why We Should All Know About PFAS

4:00–5:00 PM, 107 Carey Auditorium - Hesburgh Library

This panel centers around what per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are and how Notre Dame is leading the way on cutting edge methods to measure and treat these “forever chemicals”. Faculty panelists include PFAS researchers, Kyle Doudrick, Gary Lamberti, and Graham Peaslee. Moderated by Jennifer Tank.

The event will begin with an introduction to PFAS presented by ND students/postdocs, followed by Q&A session with our faculty panel members. Refreshments will be provided. 

Thursday, March 23

Operation du Lac: Bless & Serve

3:00–5:00 PM, Meet at The Grotto

Join us for an afternoon of prayer and service dedicated to our beautiful campus ecosystem. There will first be a blessing of the Lakes with Rev. Terrence Ehrman C.S.C., followed by a lake cleanup brigade. We’ll provide the gear- you bring your goodwill and energy!

Register here! (appreciated but not required).

Friday, March 24

Stormwater Badge Installation

11:00 AM–1:00 PM, Meet at Office of Sustainability -  101 Campus Distribution Ctr

Join us for an afternoon focused on regional water quality. Volunteers will help label storm drains and grates on campus. These labels spread awareness of potential impacts to our campus lakes and the St. Joseph River and help to prevent dumping of pollutants.

Register here! Volunteers will first get snacks, an overview of the campus stormwater management system, and instructions before breaking up into groups to label.

Water Week Dinner

4:30–8:00 PM, North & South Dining Halls

Head to the dining halls to enjoy the main dinner entrée, Wild Alaskan Pollock, which comes from sustainable fisheries in Alaska. 

Did You Know: Wild Alaskan Pollock filet has an impact of 3.77 kg CO2-eq per kg of protein, which is significantly lower than other protein sources such as beef which is 115.75 kg CO2-eq per kg of protein. This number comes from impact categories such as energy use, use of land and water resources, and waste outputs. Source: Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers

Originally published at environmentalchange.nd.edu.