MORGANTOWN — Morgantown Utility Board was front and center at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s annual conference and award ceremony, receiving the 2018 Environmental Award for Stormwater Outreach.
According to MUB General Manager Tim Ball the award is important because it recognizes the priority MUB’s stormwater engineer Ken Hacker places on protecting local water resources.
“This award is especially meaningful because it serves as a testament to how hard Ken and his team work at reaching out to the public,” Ball said. “With stormwater being a primary conveyer of water contaminants, and given the area’s continued growth, the work of our stormwater team is more important now than ever.”
While MUB naturally reaches out to mass audiences, individual interactions between MUB staff and the public is a priority. This is why MUB actively partners with various community groups.
“A primary strategy of Ken’s team involves personally reaching out to the community. This places emphasis on the fact that MUB is more than an agency. We are a group of individuals committed to our mission of protecting public health,” he said.
Community partners with which MUB’s stormwater team works includes BOPARC in sponsoring pet waste stations, Friends of Deckers Creek in holding rain barrel workshops and other events, numerous county groups to provide Household Hazardous Waste Collection (HHWC) Day, and Animal Friends to reach pet owners on Dog Splash Day at Marilla Park.
Ball adds that such partnerships are critical to success. They provide targeted audiences while underscoring MUB’s primary message: Safe water is everyone’s business.
“Our stormwater program’s success comes in emphasizing the fact that protecting our water resources isn’t MUB’s job alone. It’s the job of everyone in our community. We all share in the responsibility of ensuring safe, clean water. Our goal is to lead the conversation about protecting local water resources and engage others in that conversation. What this award says is that Ken’s team is doing a very good job of accomplishing that goal,” Ball said.
