Water Resource Recovery Operator Appreciation Day

WHEREAS, the State of Rhode Island is blessed with numerous water resources; and

WHEREAS, residents of the Ocean State rely on clean surface waters as sources of drinking water, for business and recreational activities, and for healthy natural environments; and

WHEREAS, 120 million gallons of household, commercial, and industrial wastewater is produced, collected, treated, and discharged every day in Rhode Island; and

WHEREAS, this wastewater is treated to very stringent standards set by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management in order to protect the receiving waters of the State and Narragansett Bay, even providing for reuse; and

WHEREAS, the wastewater systems and their employees in communities around the State, through the provision of technical, reliable, and high-quality services, play a critical role in reducing water pollution and protecting public health; and

WHEREAS, the operators and staff of Rhode Island's wastewater collection and treatment facilities work 24/7 year-round to perform a job that is largely unseen; and

WHEREAS, Clean Water Week 2025 is April 6-12, which will celebrate the value of water in our daily lives and the public water utilities workers whose essential efforts directly contribute to the quality of life in Rhode Island.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Daniel J. McKee, Governor of the State of Rhode Island, do hereby proclaim April 7, 2025, as Wastewater Treatment Appreciation Day in Rhode Island and encourage all residents to celebrate the important role that wastewater treatment, and those who operate and maintain our state and local investments in clean water infrastructure, play in our communities.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Office of the Governor of the State of Rhode Island, this 7th day of April 2025.