WASHINGTON, DC, May 8, 2007 -- The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and Ducks Unlimited, Inc. (DU) signed an historic agreement May 8 in which both groups have agreed to collaborate to promote the preservation, restoration, and management of wetlands of value to waterfowl and other wildlife. Wetlands serve many functions in addition to providing critical habitat to a large number of waterfowl species and other fauna. More and more, clean water agencies construct them to provide nature's own treatment for wastewater and stormwater and as a method to improve water quality.
"We are here to launch a new partnership that really is an obvious partnership because our organizations are all about clean water and the huge benefits we derive from clean water," NACWA President Dick Champion, the director of the Independence Water Pollution Control Department in Missouri, said. "Two things that do the most to achieve clean water are wetlands and wastewater treatment plants."
One of the goals of the Memorandum of Understanding between NACWA and Ducks Unlimited is to draw the public's eye to the importance of wetlands and the role they play in meeting water quality objectives and providing vibrant and vital habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.
"This partnership with the NACWA to protect, restore and manage wetlands of value to waterfowl and other wildlife shows how important wetlands are in meeting society's need for clean water, as well as providing habitat for ducks," said DU Executive Vice President Don Young. "This partnership will allow us to increase the acres of wetlands we can conserve for waterfowl."
NACWA represents the interests of the nation's publicly owned wastewater treatment works, serving the majority of the sewered population in the United States, collectively treating and reclaiming over 18 billion gallons of wastewater every day.
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved.
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