Missouri American Water Presents Watershed Stewardship Awards

Missouri American Water presented Watershed Stewardship Awards to nine St. Louis-area cities and organizations for sponsoring prescription drug take-back programs that help keep drugs away from children and out of local watersheds.

The award winners were the Rockwood School District Drug-Free Coalition; the St. Louis County Police; and the cities of Ballwin, Chesterfield, Clarkson Valley, Ellisville, Fenton, Wildwood and Eureka.

Working together, these organizations sponsored prescription drug take-back programs at several St. Louis locations this spring. Residents brought more than 150 lb of expired or unneeded medications for safe disposal. Missouri American Water supported the program by including a brochure in local customers' water bills that listed the prescription drug collection dates and sites.

The Watershed Stewardship awards were presented by EPA Region VII Administrator Karl Brooks, Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Mark Templeton, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and Missouri American Water President Frank Kartmann.

"Prescription drug take-back programs give people an environmentally responsible alternative to flushing unneeded prescription drugs down the drain," Kartmann said. "These community programs help preserve the quality of our watersheds and rivers for future generations."