The Port Washington Water District is proud to announce that Commissioner Mindy Germain was recently awarded the Recognition for Service to the Water Profession Award by the New York Section of the American Water Works Association.
Since her election to the PWWD Board of Commissioners in 2012, Commissioner Germain has been a strong advocate for the protection of the Port Washington Peninsula’s water source.
She has spent the last decade working hard to increase awareness of the importance of water conservation and the protection of Long Island’s sole-source aquifer within her community, displaying a passion for her environment that is not rivaled by many.
“I am truly honored and humbled to have been recognized by the AWWA with this award,” said Germain. “Water is our most precious natural resource and it is absolutely crucial that all of us do everything we can to protect it. Everything I do in my role as Water Commissioner is to protect the community I love, and to have been acknowledged for these efforts by the AWWA is one of the great honors of my life.”
While she has dedicated herself to environmental advocacy throughout both her professional life and as PWWD Commissioner, 2022 was a very special year for Germain.
Last year, she led the district in launching its Do It For Port! campaign, a series of educational events dedicated to teaching different members of the community about the necessity of water conservation and the ways in which they can help protect their water source.
The 2022 campaign consisted of both virtual and in-person events, with a particular highlight being the Sustainable Garden Tour in June.
Alongside ReWild Long Island, Germain helped arrange a tour of different homes throughout Port Washington that showed over 100 attendees how they could use plants native to Long Island to conserve water while still beautifying your garden.
The Do It For Port! campaign yielded genuine results in summer of 2022. Although it was one of the driest summers Long Island has seen in years, when compared to all similarly dry summers since 2010, the PWWD saved an average of approximately 45.5 million gallons of water pumped. Do It For Port! is set to continue with more events through 2023, and Germain is looking forward to working alongside Commissioner David Brackett and Commissioner Peter Meyer towards another summer of water savings.
