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Water Monitoring Demonstration in Denton Part of Nation-wide Events

Release Date: 10/18/2002
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

      Today, government and education agencies teamed up to commemorate the national Year of Clean Water, the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA), and National Monitoring Day by testing water quality along the shores of Lake Lewisville in Texas.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the city of Denton, Texas, and the University of North Texas (UNT) sponsored the event, held in tandem with similar events across the nation.  EPA support, through the CWA, helped enhance monitoring and improve water quality in Lake Lewisville, a source of drinking water for many local communities.

      In the 30 years since its passage, the CWA has dramatically increased the number of waterways that are once again safe for fishing and swimming. Despite this great progress in reducing water pollution, many of the nation's waters still do not meet water quality goals.

      In recognition of the CWA anniversary, EPA asked citizens across the country to sample water quality on or around Oct. 18 and enter that data into a national database.

      UNT and the city of Denton have been valuable partners in improving water quality through watershed monitoring and protection.  After careful research using geographic information system technology, they began intensive monitoring of the Lake Lewisville watershed (all creeks and streams feeding into the lake). The city identified pollutants and their sources, enabling more effective processes to reduce them. UNT makes water quality data available to citizens via an Internet site: http://www.ecoplex.unt.edu/qual/.

      More information about the Year of Clean Water and National Monitoring Day is available at https://www.epa.gov/water/yearofcleanwater/.