Women for Water: Water is fundamental to health
Pam Mollenhauer, director of the State Hygienic Laboratory’s Office of Public Policy, is a member of the Women for Water steering committee and attended the event.
The half-day program featured speakers and discussions from women with a broad range of personal and professional experiences with water and advocacy, including an Iowa whitewater surfer who also is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina and the Cedar Rapids flood of 2008, conservation farmers, and city and county elected officials.
“The principals of Women for Water are simple,” said Kerri Johannsen, Women for Water steering committee member. “We believe that the health of our water is fundamental to the health of Iowa, that every child deserves access to clean water and that, as women, we have the obligation and the right to preserve and protect our families, communities, land and water.”
Women for Water is a project of Iowa Rivers Revival and a collaborative effort driven by female staff members at diverse water related agencies and organizations in Iowa. It seeks to provide opportunities for women to connect with one another and build advocacy skills in order to amplify voices that may have been missing in conversations about water quality in Iowa.
“The conversations around water and water quality in Iowa have become dramatically polarized, surprisingly emotional and exhausting,” said Molly Hanson, Women for Water Steering committee member. “Women for Water is an empowering platform for female voices to raise up and be heard. Small changes in our homes, communities, schools, cities and counties, and outward it grows.”
Women for Water also provides materials for women to host small group gatherings in their communities throughout Iowa to engage friends, family, community leaders, elected officials and others in conversations about water quality.
Participants of the Nov. 21 event and other interested women plan to continue building networks focused on water quality values throughout the 2018 legislative session and beyond, as the conversation, challenges and solutions for Iowa water quality continue to evolve. More information is available on the Women for Water website.
Women for Water is made possible by a grant from LUSH Cosmetics. The Women for Water Steering Committee includes staff from the State Hygienic Laboratory, Des Moines Water Works, East Central Iowa Council of Governments, Iowa Environmental Council, Iowa Association of Water Agencies, Iowa Rivers Revival, Iowa Water Center, Land O’ Lakes and Practical Farmers of Iowa.
