CONTACT: Julie Shaw, (800) 551-7379, ext. 554

A recent speech given by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reveals the importance the U.S. places on the issue of water management across national borders, a subject the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) also is focusing on at an international conference in December.

In a speech presented April 10 in recognition of Earth Day (April 22), Albright called for creation of a global alliance for water security. "Overall, the goals of our alliance must be to dramatically improve the management of transboundary water resources; eliminate water as a source of regional instability; and use cooperation on water as a basis for bringing nations together on other issues," she said. (For full text of speech, see http://secretary.state.gov/www/statements/2000/000410.html.)

Areas such as the Middle East, the Nile River basin, and Central and Southeast Asia face serious challenges over management of water resources shared among nations.

NGWA recognized the significance of this topic a year ago when it chose to focus on transboundary issues for the 2000 Annual Meeting and Conference for the Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers (AGWSE), a membership division of NGWA. The December 13-14 conference at Las Vegas will follow the theme "Ground Water: A Transboundary, Strategic, and Geopolitical Resource." Co-sponsors of the event include UNESCO, the World Bank, the International Boundary and Water Commission, and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation.

Participants in the AGWSE Annual Meeting and Conference will address topics such as ground water boundaries vs. land boundaries, cooperation between nations on water quality problems, and developing a geo-legal framework to deal with ground water boundary conflicts.

"Careful management and protection of water resources that cross national borders is an issue of the utmost importance to the global community," said Kevin McCray, NGWA executive director. "The National Ground Water Association is committed to fostering the study of this issue."

The AGWSE Annual Meeting and Conference will be held in conjunction with the NGWA National Convention and Exposition, the world's largest annual event in the ground water industry. For more information on the Annual Meeting and Conference, visit the NGWA Web site at http://www.ngwa.org/education/agwse2.html or call NGWA customer service at (800) 551-7379.

The leading information and education provider for the ground water industry, NGWA is a not-for-profit, 16,000-member international organization dedicated to providing and protecting the world's ground water resources.