IES Receives Planning Grant for Blue Crew Water Stewards
The Institute for Environmental Solutions (IES) has been awarded a $2,500 planning grant from New Belgium Brewing Company for the Blue Crew Water Stewards Pilot to reduce and prevent water pollution from households.

DENVER, CO, October 16, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Institute for Environmental Solutions (IES) has been awarded a $2,500 planning grant from New Belgium Brewing Company for the Blue Crew Water Stewards Pilot Project, which will employ community-based social marketing to reduce and prevent water pollution from households.

The effort is part of the larger Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) project, which IES is pursuing to address the growing threat to human health and the environment caused by the presence of trace amounts of chemicals from everyday household cleaners, food preservatives and personal care products in both wastewater and drinking water supplies across the nation, including here in Colorado.

"We are extremely pleased to receive this grant from New Belgium Brewing Company," said Carol Lyons, IES Executive Director. "We've heard a lot about how each of us has a 'carbon footprint.' Well, we also create a 'chemical footprint.' The Blue Crew Water Stewards will help each of us to better understand and reduce our chemical footprint."

Through the Blue Crew Water Stewards pilot project, a grass-roots network of neighborhood leaders will be recruited and informed about emerging contaminants. These leaders will then be tasked with organizing "Blue Crews" to educate their neighbors. Residents will learn about how individual choices on use of cleaning and personal care products impact the environment, and easy steps that can be taken to prevent water pollution at the household level. The pilot project will be conducted in Golden, Colorado.

The pilot project will employ Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) methods to promote success. These methods rely on existing social networks, like PTAs, neighborhood associations, and church groups, and face-to-face communication to increase awareness and motivate behavior change. The New Belgium grant supports research into CBSM methodology and development of a detailed pilot project plan during the next nine months.

The pilot project builds on previous CEC project accomplishments in Golden, which include wastewater quality sampling, surveys of public awareness and opinion about water contamination and CECs, and establishment of a CEC project Stakeholder Advisory Group.

The Institute for Environmental Solutions (IES) is a Denver-based non-profit organization dedicated to addressing complex environmental challenges. IES uses sound, independent science to find potential solutions, develop objective evaluation methods, implement strategies, and measure and demonstrate costs and effectiveness. IES's approach emphasizes integration across technical disciplines and inclusion of all potential stakeholders throughout project design and implementation.

For more information about or to participate in the Contaminants of Emerging Concern Project and IES, please visit www.instituteforenvironmentalsolutions.org.

Press Release Contact Information:

Carol Lyons
Institute for Environmental Solu
President
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Denver, CO
USA 80220
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