For immediate release May 24, 2007

Contact: Chuck Hersey and Sue Stetler 313-961-4266

Celebrate Southeast Michigan's vast water resources:
Water Week, June 2-10

Help protect our water resources Water Week provides the opportunity to learn about, enhance, and celebrate our abundant water resources in Southeast Michigan through education, recreation, and stewardship activities.

SEMCOG and the Southeast Michigan Partners for Clean Water announce the third annual Water Week to be held from June 2-10. Water Week activities include Rouge Rescue on June 2nd, and Clinton River Day, Livingston Waterfest, and St. Clair County River Day events on June 9th and 10th.

Rouge Rescue, on June 2, is a chance for hands-on involvement in restoring and protecting the Rouge River. Since 1986, thousands of volunteers (area businesses, local governments, school groups, service organizations, churches, homeowner groups, and concerned citizens) have come to the river on the first Saturday in June.

River Day in the Clinton River Watershed, Livingston Waterfest, and St. Clair County River Day each bring individuals, businesses, community groups, and local governments together to protect, enhance, and celebrate our water resources. Activities on this day range from nature hikes, canoe trips, fishing derbies, and flyfishing lessons, to storm drain stenciling, river clean-ups, habitat restoration, and native landscaping events.

"This is a great time to take stock of our tremendous water resources and our role in protecting them," said Paul Tait, SEMCOG Executive Director.

For the second straight year, a gubernatorial proclamation extends Water Week to a statewide event to promote "the coming together in celebration of Michigan's water; individual communities will have the opportunity to express and share unique approaches to water-related activities." [Contact Tom Occhipinti, at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, 571-373-2379.]

Additional events are also planned throughout the region. A few examples include, Anchor Bay, St. Clair River, Johnson Creek, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River. For more information on events in the region, visit SEMCOG's Water Week Web site, which also includes a list of Water Week events.

SEMCOG and the Southeast Michigan Partners for Clean Water started the "Our Water. Our Future. Ours to Protect." public education program in 2004. The Seven Simple Steps to Clean Water will help to keep our lakes and streams clean and enable Southeast Michigan residents to enjoy these resources. The seven simple steps are:

Local Governments Advancing Southeast Michigan

Read recent SEMCOG news releases

SEMCOG is a regional planning partnership of governmental units serving 4.9 million people in the seven-county region of Southeast Michigan striving to enhance the region's quality of life.

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