Drink water & be inspired by Nobel Prizes for rivers

Awakening with a dry mouth offers clues to why you may dream more about water. You may ask yourself how climate change affects rainfall and community water catchments that connect to your rusty faucet. Are you drinking the water you should each day? Did you know your water knowledge and choices affect more than your health? You can learn about national and international initiatives and nominate water management projects for prizes. This gives new reason to moisten your lips!

As for your own health, a university study reveals one glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters. Lack of water is also a huge trigger of daytime fatigue and restless sleep. Preliminary research indicates 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on computer screens. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and you'd be 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Your water drinking habits clearly affect your health and well-being. They also connect you to the state of ecosystems, reminding you of interdependence.

Dreaming about the shrinking sources of water may also cause you to ask what is being done by politicians and water experts to adapt to droughts and find ways to restore and preserve water resources. Conservation authorities are designated to manage specific bodies of water. They decide what can be done where and how, based on interest and budgets. What is being done in your local area?

Initiatives like The International Riversymposium have evolved to recognize and promote better water management. This forum assembles river and catchment experts.  They share knowledge about how good science, community action and management can conserve, protect, restore river systems and fresh water supply. Learning more may help you sleep easier. You learn about ways you can contribute to solutions and support initiatives.

This symposium has become an key part of Brisbane, Australia's annual environmental and artistic celebration, called the Riverfestival. The prestigious International Thiess Riverprize is a global award or 'Nobel Prize for Saving Rivers. It is presented each year for outstanding achievements in river repair and management. Projects usually demonstrate a combination of successful restoration, education, management and scientific action, by multi-disciplinary teams and communities.

In 2006, finalists for the International Thiess Riverprize award for excellence in river and waterway management included, f our large river restoration projects; Kissimee River (USA), Lake Macquarie (Australia), South Saskatchewan River (Canada) and Sha River (China) . Sha River was the international winner Torbay Catchment, Western Australia was selected the national winner. Past international prize winners include river management organisations in England, Canada, United States, Israel, South-East Asia, Australia and France.

As of 2007, the organizing committee recognizes that increased environmental issues mean higher financial costs for water management. The international prize has been raised from AUD$225,000 (2006) of AUD $300,000 and the National Thiess River prize has been raised from AUD$75,000 to AUD$100,000. Both prizes are funded by the International Riverfoundation, established to advocate protecting and restoring the world's rivers and waterways for future generations. Winners are honoured at a special award ceremony during the International Riversymposium. Brisbane will also host the 10th water festival in September.

One of the grass roots projects to come out of Riversymposium is twinning programs. Strong links are understood between a nation's water management and its economic health. The International River Foundation sets up ‘twinning programs to partner a country knowledgeable about effective water management to assist developing nations to better manage river catchments. They learn from each other. Reflect on your water usage and choose to learn more about water projects.  Its a question of sustaining more than only human life. Change begins in you.