MakingWaves - News from the Division of Water

This Week's Updates:

• World Water Day – Student Posters Highlight Watershed Protection
• Public Medication Drop Box at DEC Central Office
• Water Well Contractor Program Registration
• DEC Releases 2016-2018 Great Lakes Program Progress Report

World Water Day – Student Posters Highlight Watershed Protection

Today marks World Water Day, which this year focuses on safe water for all. Every time many of us turn on a faucet, clean, drinkable water comes out, so it’s easy to take it for granted. However, billions of people around the world are still living without safe water.

Everyone has a role in protecting and conserving water. In addition to avoiding waste and using water wisely, it’s important to help keep our water clean. What you do at your home and in your community affects everyone downstream of you.

DEC’s 2019 We All Live in a Watershed Poster contest invited middle school students around the state to learn about their role in the watershed they live in and how to conserve and protect our water resources.

This year’s winning posters, which will be included in a 2020 calendar distributed throughout the state, provide tips and inspiration for protecting our watersheds now and for future generations.  

Public Medication Drop Box at DEC Central Office

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos has announced that a medication collection box is now available to the public at DEC’s Central Office at 625 Broadway, Albany. The box provides an accessible downtown location where people can dispose of unwanted or unused medications.

Don’t live in the Albany area? View the Drop Box map at https://on.ny.gov/rxdropbox to find a safe disposal site near you.

Water Well Contractor Program Registration

The DEC Water Well Contractor Program is currently accepting applications for the Certificate of Registration for the period April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020. Registration is required each year for all water well contractors who drill or repair water wells in New York State. The on-site contractor must be certified for the work that they are conducting (well drilling and/or pump installation). A Preliminary Notice must be filed prior to drilling a well and a Water Well Completion Report must be filed upon completion of water well drilling. For additional information, contact Water Well Program staff at 877-472-2619 or NYSWaterWells@dec.ny.gov.

DEC Releases 2016-2018 Great Lakes Program Progress Report 

People and Communities Are Benefitting from Collaborative Projects to Restore New York’s Great Lakes Resources

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the release of the 2016-2018 progress report on the restoration and protection of New York’s Great Lakes resources. The report, released to commemorate World Water Day, highlights New York’s programs and projects in the Great Lakes watershed that are benefiting communities taking action to maintain and improve community uses of the lakes, surrounding lands and other waterways in the Great Lakes Basin.

The 2016-2018 Great Lakes Report details how DEC and its partners are restoring environmental quality, conserving natural resources, promoting resilient communities, and supporting sustainable development. Key projects include Lake Ontario flood mapping, municipal sewage system upgrades, projects that help prevent beach closures, restore habitat, and wetlands, and projects that use native plants to stabilize shorelines at Sodus Bay, Sacketts Harbor, and Irondequoit Bay.

For report highlights and for more information on getting involved in efforts to help protect and improve New York's Great Lakes at the local or regional level, visit DEC's website or e-mail greatlakes@dec.ny.gov.