Anna Garleff and Shannon Frank of the Oldman Watershed Council doing a public Q and A at the Lethbridge Public Library on Nov. 23.

As the topic of clean sustainable water becomes a world-wide issue, a local organization is bringing awareness to the Lethbridge public.

On Nov. 23 at the Public Library’s main branch, the Oldman Watershed Council (OWC) presented its latest research, historical project and videos.

The OWC is a not-for-profit and community-based organization working to find practical solutions to environmental challenges.

We are all downstream was the core message. It asks in a nutshell: how did we get to where we are today? Where are we today?

To get people involved about taking care of their watershed they showed videos to get people’s attention to call, volunteer, donate and share information.

“It’s all about just raising awareness about what are, what’s happening with our water, trying to inspire people to make a change in their life and to get involved in making a change in the community as well,” said Shannon Frank Oldman Watershed Council Executive Director.

There was a behind-the-scenes look at the #oldmangoestohollywood film project and a Q&A moderated by Knud Peterson of the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs.

The vision for the council is for a healthy, resilient watershed where people and wild life can survive in the Oldman basin.

The council wants more community involvement to make better decisions about watershed management and health for clean drinking water for generations to come.

The Government of Alberta released the Water for Life action plan, the strategy focuses on healthy ecosystems, water quality for safe consumption and economic supply.

The balance between economic development and environmental preservation is in managing the watershed.

The history of the watershed includes the Blackfoot people’s input on historical events, as they were the original habitants of the Oldman basin.

There is a film being produced by the OWC that is still in production and needs the public’s input and support in order to complete it.

There are videos on the website aimed at different demographics on important information including the City’s water treatment plants along the Oldman River.

“What’s required right now is active change, we are at a point with our watershed where we can stop pussy footing around and pretending that it’s a problem for the future generations to solve. That we all need to make change and we need to do it now and together,”said Anna Garleff OWC Senior Communications Specialist.

The OWC says that the community can get involved through sponsorship, volunteering, by not using products on lawns that leech into the watershed and reducing water usage.