5.27.2008 - 12:02pm ET

(CSRwire) ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 2008 World Water Monitoring Day(TM) (WWMD) program, in partnership with Procter & Gamble (the makers of Safeguard(R) and Ivory(R)), will feature a special campaign to recognize the United Nations' "International Year of Sanitation." Beginning this spring, WWMD will distribute some 12,000 water monitoring kits, including bars of biodegradable, environmentally-friendly soap and a handwashing fact sheet, to people in over 50 countries worldwide as part of its "Wash Your Hands, Save a Life" campaign.

Coordinated by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the International Water Association (IWA) with sponsorship from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, PerkinElmer, ITT Corporation, CH2M Hill and Smithfield Foods, WWMD is an international educational program designed to build public awareness and participation in water resource protection. It is expected to surpass participation records for last year, when more than 46,000 people from 43 countries tested water quality worldwide.

"The growing interest in World Water Monitoring Day shows that people around the world are actively working to understand and protect water quality," said IWA Executive Director Paul Reiter. "We are especially pleased the program can leverage the UN's important sanitation theme in ways that can make a difference."

Using kits provided by WWMD or ordered online, participants test water quality indicators including dissolved oxygen, acidity, temperature, and turbidity (clarity). Results are reported online, tabulated, and presented in a year-end report that documents program participation. The integration of the "Wash Your Hands, Save a Life" campaign into this year's WWMD program provides an opportunity to offer a key message about basic hygiene to people around the world. In countries where adequate sanitation systems and hygiene knowledge are lacking, this message can save lives.

"As part of World Water Monitoring Day, the 'Wash Your Hands, Save a Life' campaign provides the educational leverage needed to help those who need it the most," said WEF Executive Director Bill Bertera. "We appreciate the generous support from Procter & Gamble who donated the soap for this effort and from our WWMD sponsors who help us build water quality awareness worldwide."

The 2008 monitoring period will officially launch on September 18th and will continue through October 18th. For more information about the program, site registration, and to order monitoring kits, please visit www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org.

About WEF

Formed in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with more than 34,000 individual members and 81 affiliated Member Associations representing an additional 50,000 water quality professionals throughout the world. WEF and its member associations proudly work to achieve our mission of preserving and enhancing the global water environment. www.wef.org

About IWA

The International Water Association (IWA; London (HQ), Den Haag, Singapore, Beijing) is the global network of water professionals, spanning the continuum between research and practice and covering all facets of the water cycle. IWA is promoting collaboration among its diverse membership groups, and sharing the benefit of the very best of knowledge on water science and management worldwide. www.iwahq.org