Table representatives at Aqua Fest during Water Week

This article has been edited to correct previously incorrect information.

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the University of Idaho hosted the Water Week aqua fest—a row of nine tables behind the ISUB representing different businesses, student clubs, civil organizations and other groups.  

Each group spoke about the steps their group was taking to conserve water and protect wildlife, specifically in Idaho’s national forests and rivers.  

The whole week is dedicated to sustainability and promoting water conservation at the university, with other events such as the swim-up movie taking place on Friday, Sept. 18. 

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, a company that invents, designs and manufactures products aimed at protecting, monitoring and controlling electric power systems around the world, was one of the tables present.

SEL was represented by Kendall Brooks, an SEL chemical engineer who works on equipment and the water that keeps it all clean. She described her job as “very fun, and always interesting,” explaining that the company has a daily recycled water percentage of 92.9% due to their efforts.  

The civilian group Friends of the Clearwater was also tabling. Paul Busch was there representing the group; he advocates for maintaining the federal roadless rule established in 2001, the possible rescission of which is open for public comment until the beginning of October.  

This rule helps protect open wild lands from being paved over and made widely accessible. Proponents of removing it suggest that more roads would help with firefighting and land protection, while opponents claim that roads would lead to more human-caused fires and problems in the wild.  

Alongside this, Busch talked about the Friends of the Clearwater’s goal to help repopulate the big fish in Idaho’s national forest rivers, the numbers of which are declining as they are over-harvested and living in increasingly polluted waters. Their name, Friends of the Clearwater, is indicative of their motives: to keep the waters of Idaho clear and safe for both animals and humans to live in and to enjoy. 

Other organizations present at Aqua Fest included UI’s own College of Natural Resources, the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Initiative, the Society for Conservation Biology and several others.  

The tables were busy for the majority of the three hours they were out. Many were offering free bags, stickers, and other paraphernalia to help promote their united cause.  

The multitude of ways in which the natural world around us can be protected and well served was exemplified in this row of tables that hailed the students of UI.    

Selah Mathis can be reached at [email protected]