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A new water-oriented organization intends to make waves in the near future. The North American Water Garden Society (NAWGS) is a non-profit group with plans to aggressively address issues of serious concern to water gardeners across the continent.
The group plans to jump into both public education and regulatory issues on a national level. Specifically, NAWGS is hoping to focus on water restrictions, plant regulations and formalized standards for building, safety and insurance regulations.
A poll recently conducted by Taunton Press showed that “water features” are the add-ons most frequently sought by those making improvements to residential property. Thus, issues related to ponds and water gardens are likely to gain importance as such water features continue to water the map.
“Water gardens and ponds are increasingly popular but there’s a lot of misinformation out there, which can lead people to have bad experiences unnecessarily,” said Ellen Beaulieu, the organization’s first administrative director. “Our mission is to make sure everyone from homeowners to hobbyists to local and national legislators have the kind of accurate information they need to make informed choices and decisions.”
One specific issue NAWGS intends to tackle is water conservation. “Studies have shown that ecologically balanced backyard ponds, which recycle the same water through a biological filter, use less water per square yard than a comparable area planted in a traditional green lawn,” Beaulieu shared. “These types of ponds can save water.”
The new society also has detected a need to distinguish between safe and unsafe water gardening practices. As a result, NAWGS plans to compose and promote national standards for the safe construction and maintenance of installed ponds and water features to help guide government regulators and the insurance industry.
For more information about NAWGS, log on to the society’s Web site.
The author is assistant editor-Internet of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at aanderson@lawnandlandscape.com.