Click for 2012 Communities for Clean Water Program (PDF)

The theme for the community water events planned by the Communities for Clean Water is "Weaving Our Rio Grande Communities Together." The three public education programs will be held in Santa Fe and Espanola on Thursday, July 26th and in Espanola on Friday, July 27th. The programs are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, July 26th from 8:30 am to 1 pm, a Community Water Forum will be held at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, located at 201 Marcy Street. Its main topic will be the Buckman Projects and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). International and local experts will make presentations to address public concerns about the Buckman wells and the Direct Diversion Project, which currently provides about 60% of the drinking water for those in Santa Fe County. The Buckman Projects are located about three miles downstream from the juncture of Los Alamos Canyon and the Rio Grande, with the canyon carrying pollutants from the many LANL dumps.

On Thursday, July 26, from 6 to 8 pm, a second program called "Runoff, Risk and Community Empowerment - Your Role in Cleanup at LANL" will begin at the Salazar Center for Performing Arts at Northern New Mexico College in Espanola. Santa Clara Pueblo Forestry Department representatives will speak about how the Las Conchas fire in the Pueblo watershed has created a situation where the recent storms have resulted in dangerous levels of water flowing through the Pueblo to the Rio Grande.

Later, Dr. Michael Barcelona, an expert on hydrogeology, will give a presentation about the LANL impacts to groundwater. On Friday, July 27th, from 8 am to 4:30 pm, there will be presentations about the stormwater and hazardous waste permits for LANL and impacts to our health. Youth from Honor Our Pueblo Existence and the Tewa Women United Environmental Justice Group will present in their own way about their concerns for the future.

Dr. Camilla Bustamante, Dean of the College of Community, Workforce and Career Technical Education at Northern New Mexico College, will give a keynote address about risk.

Marian Naranjo, Executive Director of Honor Our Pueblo Existence, said, "We are hoping that folks take time to attend this two day event. Weaving our communities together at this time in our history is vital to our future, especially when it comes to our precious water and our health. We hope that this can be a beginning to weave in more communities and more of the issues of concern."

Please RSVP to CCNS at ccns@nuclearactive.org so that we can prepare a packet for you.