Dubois County residents invited to free drinking water education event

Dubois County families who turn on the tap every day may not realize how closely their drinking water is tied to the land around them. A free event in Jasper will give residents a hands-on look at that connection, with Julie Loehr and the Lower East Fork White River Watershed Partners hosting Source to Sip: The Journey of Drinking Water at Jasper Parklands Pavilion.

The event is scheduled for June 30, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern at 800 W. 15th Street in Jasper. It is designed as a drop-in gathering, so attendees can stop by anytime during the day. Organizers say the family-friendly program will include interactive demonstrations, educational displays, free resources and giveaways aimed at showing how drinking water is protected and where threats to water quality can start.

One of the most practical takeaways for homeowners is the watershed grant program’s 75 percent cost-share assistance for septic system pump-outs. That matters in a county where septic maintenance affects not just individual households, but the rivers and groundwater that serve nearby communities. Attendees also will be entered in a drawing for one of three Owala water bottles, and they do not need to be present to win.

The broader watershed stretches well beyond Dubois County. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management says the Lower East Fork White River Watershed covers 132,748.8 acres across Pike, Dubois, Martin and Daviess counties in southwest Indiana, and it is made up of nine watersheds. IDEM says the watershed management plan is intended to guide best management practices that reduce nonpoint-source pollution, the kind that often comes from runoff rather than a single pipe or plant.

That is where the federal funding behind the program comes in. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses Section 319 grants to address nonpoint-source pollution from sources such as agricultural runoff and malfunctioning onsite septic systems. Dubois County Soil and Water Conservation District materials say the cost-share program supports best management practices that improve or maintain water quality by reducing sediment, nutrient, pesticide or pathogen loads to receiving waters.

The local conservation work is already targeted to specific places. Dubois County SWCD materials say funding has been directed to Birch Creek in Dubois County, Mud Creek in Pike County and Aikman Creek in Daviess County. IDEM’s current project summary says the Pike County Soil and Water Conservation District is developing and implementing a cost-share program in the Lower East Fork White Watershed to improve water quality.

For residents weighing a single household service call against a larger environmental payoff, the event links the two directly. A septic pump-out, a watershed map and a drinking-water lesson all point to the same conclusion: what happens on the ground in Dubois County can end up in the water coming out of the tap.