Reach for the tap and raise your glasses, Hampton Roads residents! The American Water Works Association, the authoritative resource on safe water, has declared May 1-7 Drinking Water Week. To celebrate, HR Green, which promotes environmental stewardship in the region, will host a daily water trivia contest this week on its Facebook page, along with an invitation for fans to “choose tap” over bottled water by taking the Tap Water Pledge.

“Hampton Roads residents have access to safe, clean, tap water whenever we need it,” said Julia B. Hillegass, public information and community affairs administrator for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, which oversees HR Green. “There are many people in the world that live without that luxury, yet it’s something we never have to think twice about.”

In addition to keeping us hydrated for just pennies a day, tap water also prevents fires and provides a high quality of life according to the AWWA.

“A safe, reliable water supply is essential to the success of any community,” said AWWA Executive Director David LaFrance. “Drinking Water Week is an opportunity to focus on the importance of water, which is too easily overlooked.”

For more than 35 years, the Association and its members have celebrated Drinking Water Week, a unique opportunity for water professionals and the communities they serve to join together to recognize the vital role water plays in our life.

With a focus on simple steps residents can take to find their “inner green,” HR Green is a region-wide public awareness campaign to be launched this summer among the 16 cities and counties in Hampton Roads. An interim resource, www.HRgreenblog.com, presently features regional news, tips and views written by a team of local experts who work in the region’s municipal utility and environmental divisions. Encouraging the use of tap water and efficient water use are among many topics covered on the blog.