International Bottled Water Association Honored For Hurricane Relief

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) has been honored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) for three “Associations Advance America Awards” for 2006. These awards are given each year by ASAE to recognize outstanding programs and special accomplishments by trade associations across the United States.

IBWA won the ASAE Award of Excellence for 2006 for its “Bottled Water Emergency Relief” program, which resulted in significant benefit to American society. IBWA provided information to ASAE about extraordinary IBWA member and staff efforts to provide bottled water relief supplies to survivors of Hurricane Katrina and other storms, as well as industry action in response to terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and other drinking water emergency situations.

According to ASAE, “IBWA was selected to receive the Award of Excellence out of nearly 100 entries for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Rather than wait for the formal relief effort to become more organized, IBWA members and staff made direct contacts with officials and civic and municipal leagues in Katrina-affected towns and cities to provide bottled water to those in need.”

IBWA was also named to the ASAE 2006 Associations Advance America “Honor Roll” for two other programs: the “IBWA Hydration Calculator” and “Water: Our Most Precious Resource.”

The IBWA Hydration Calculator is an interactive, online tool designed to provide suggestions about an individual’s total fluid intake derived from both beverages and food, including water, as well as other information about water's vital role in refreshment, health and hydration. The IBWA Hydration Calculator is based on expert resources and the most current findings of the National Academy of Sciences, as reported in its February 2004 report, "Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate.” To use the IBWA Hydration Calculator, visit here.

“Water: Our Most Precious Resource,” co-produced by the U. S. Forest Service and IBWA, is an educational conservation tool to promote the importance of healthy watersheds, and other vital information about clean water sources. The presentation explains the hydrological cycle, the importance of forested watersheds, and environmental stewardship for which the bottled water is utilized as an example. It details how much water various commercial and public enterprises use and outlines steps to protect and sustain water resources. The Forest Service/IBWA partnership demonstrates a mutual commitment to protecting, sustaining and responsibly utilizing water resources. The presentation can be accessed online at www.bottledwater.org.