Agenda - 03-06-2025; 8-e - World Water Day Proclamation

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1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 6, 2025 Action Agenda Item No. 8-e SUBJECT: World Water Day Proclamation DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation (DEAPR) ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Proclamation David Stancil, 245-2522 Wesley Poole, 245-2513 PURPOSE: To approve a proclamation designating March 22, 2025, as World Water Day in Orange County. BACKGROUND: In 1992, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a resolution to declare March 22 of each year as "World Day for Water" or as it is commonly termed, World Water Day. In observing World Water Day, governments and organizations are invited to devote the day to the promotion of public awareness, focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and the sustainable management of freshwater resources. This year, the theme for World Water Day is `Glacier Preservation.' As stated on the World Water Day website, "Glaciers are melting faster than ever. As the planet gets hotter due to climate change, our frozen world is shrinking, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme. Glacial retreat threatens devastation. For billions of people, meltwater flows are changing, causing floods, droughts, landslides and sea level rise, and damaging ecosytems. Glacial preservation is a survival strategy. We must work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage meltwater more sustainably for people and the planet." This year's campaign will urge people to realize that glaciers are critical to life —their meltwater is essential for drinking water, agriculture, industry, clean energy production and healthy ecosystems (from https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day). Orange County is active in a variety of water resources initiatives, including the Jordan Lake One Water (JLOW) initiative and the upper Neuse River Basin Association (UNRBA).