CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:51)
Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.
All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-1-17.
TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 1, 2017.
GUEST VOICE – ~7 sec
This week, we drop in on the annual celebration of a water-focused organization created in Roanoke, Va., whose influence has spread nationwide. Have a listen for about a minute.
GUEST VOICES - ~59 sec
You’ve been listening to Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea and to Robert Stewart, the outgoing executive director of the nationwide Rural Community Assistance Partnership. Both were speaking on April 19, 2017, at the annual “Water is Life” conference of the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, better known as Southeast RCAP, or simply SERCAP. The event marked the 48th anniversary of SERCAP, whose mission is to provide affordable water and wastewater facilities, community development, environmental health, and economic self-sufficiency to low-income rural citizens. One of six rural community assistance projects in the United States, SERCAP serves Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
SERCAP began in 1969 as the Demonstration Water Project, created by the Roanoke non-profit organization Total Action Against Poverty to help bring water systems to rural residents in the region around Roanoke. In 1975, the effort expanded statewide as the Virginia Water Project, which would become a model for rural community assistance programs nationally. Among its significant accomplishments was the 1988 publication of “Water for Tomorrow,” which documented water and wastewater needs for each Virginia locality. In 1993, the Virginia Water Project became SERCAP, and today its activities include technical assistance for water and wastewater systems, financial assistance for water projects, housing rehabilitation, and a service-oriented alternative break program for students.
Thanks to SERCAP for its commitment to safe and adequate water and wastewater facilities. And in keeping with the organization’s “Water is Life” motto, we close with part of “On a Ship,” by Blacksburg musician Kat Mills.
MUSIC - ~25 sec.
SHIP’S BELL
For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The guest voices heard in this episode were recorded by Virginia Water Radio at the “Water is Life” conference luncheon held by the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, or SERCAP, in Roanoke, Va., on April 19, 2017.
“On a Ship,” from the 2015 album “Silver,” is copyright by Kat Mills, used with permission. Accompanists on the song are Ida Polys, vocals; Rachel Handman, violin; and Nicholas Polys, banjo. This song was previously featured in Episode 296, 12-28-15. More information about Kat Mills is available online at http://www.katmills.com/ at https://www.facebook.com/katmillsmusic.
Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.
PHOTOS
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| The cover of “Water for Tomorrow,” an influential 1988 report on water and wastewater needs by locality in Virginia that was published by the Virginia Water Project, the predecessor to the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP). |
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| Dr. Kelsey Pieper, a member of the Virginia Tech Flint Water Study
Research Team, speaking to the annual Water is Life Conference of the
Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project in Roanoke, April 19, 2017. |
EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT SERCAP
The Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, or SERCAP, is located at 347 Campbell Avenue, Roanoke, VA 24016; phone (540) 345-1184.
Following is the description of SERCAP’s history and work, as found on the organization’s Web site home page, http://www.sercap.org/, on May 1, 2017:
“Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc. (SERCAP) is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization which assists small rural towns and communities needing aid in upgrading their water and wastewater systems. SERCAP also provides training and technical assistance to rural residents for operation and maintenance of those systems, for capacity building and for economic development in their communities. Funding is made available to low-income individuals and communities in the form of grants and loans in order to rehabilitate housing, build water and wastewater infrastructure, assist in small business development, and to finance development projects of small rural governments. SERCAP utilizes volunteers in a variety of programs to conduct these projects, to train community leaders, and to train and recruit additional local volunteers. Created in the 1960s and with its central office in Roanoke, Virginia, SERCAP serves the seven states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. To date, SERCAP has brought clean water and wastewater facilities to more than 450,000 residents in our seven state network.”
SOURCES USED FOR AUDIO AND OFFERING MORE INFORMATION
Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), online at https://rcap.org/.
Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc. (SERCAP), online at http://www.sercap.org/, including the following specific pages:
“Agency Description,” http://www.sercap.org/AgencyDescription.htm;
“Annual Reports,” http://www.sercap.org/pub_forms.htm;
“SERCAP’s Story,” http://www.sercap.org/se_rcap_story.htm;
“VFC Alternative Break Program,” http://www.sercap.org/programs/volunteers.htm.
Virginia Water Project (now Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project), “Water for Tomorrow: A Report on Water and Wastewater Needs in Virginia,” Roanoke, Va., 1988.
RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES
All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). See particularly the following subject categories: Community/Organizations; Overall Importance of Water; and Water Treatment/Wastewater Treatment.
STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS
This episode may also help with the following Virginia 2010 Science SOLs:
Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 - Va. natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.
Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
6.7 - natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Va. watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; and water monitoring.
Life Science Course
LS.11 - relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.
Earth Science Course
ES.8 - influences by geologic processes and the activities of humans on freshwater resources, including identification of groundwater and major watershed systems in Virginia.
Biology Course
BIO.4 – life functions (including metabolism and homeostasis) in different organism groups, including human health, anatomy, and body systems.
The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 Social Studies SOLs:
Virginia Studies Course
VS.9 – knowledge of 20th and 21st Century Virginia, including transition from agricultural to industrial society, social and political events, historical figures.
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.
Civics and Economics Course
CE.8 – government at the local level.
CE.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.
World Geography Course
WG.6 - past and present trends in human migration and cultural interaction as influenced by social, economic, political, and environmental factors.
WG.7 - types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.
WG.10 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.
Government Course
GOVT.8 – state and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – public policy process at local, state, and national levels.
The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2015 Social Studies SOLs, which become effective in the 2017-18 school year:
Virginia Studies Course
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.
Civics and Economics Course
CE.8 – government at the local level.
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.
World Geography Course
WG.4 - types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.
WG.15 – past and present trends in migration and cultural diffusion, including effects of environmental factors.
WG.18 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.
Government Course
GOVT.8 – state and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – public policy process at local, state, and national levels.
Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.
