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Protecting What Lies Beneath: Safeguarding Memphis’s Drinking Water

During Groundwater Awareness Week, learn how Protect Our Aquifer works to safeguard Memphis’s drinking water for generations to come.

Community Spotlight

Published: March 5, 2026

Protecting the Water Beneath Our Feet

During National Groundwater Awareness Week, we’re highlighting the vital work of Protect Our Aquifer, for whom we manage a fund at the Community Foundation.

Memphis is fortunate to sit above the Memphis Sand Aquifer, one of the purest urban drinking water sources in the country. For generations, it has provided clean, affordable water straight from the ground — naturally filtered and protected by layers of clay.

But that protection isn’t guaranteed. Industrial activity, contamination risks, and policy decisions can threaten the aquifer’s long-term safety. Protect Our Aquifer works to ensure strong safeguards, science-based decision-making, and public awareness so this critical resource remains protected.

Groundwater is invisible, but its impact is not. It supports our health, our economy, and our future growth. This week is a reminder that protecting our water requires vigilance and community engagement.

A group of smiling people stand outdoors holding a large blue sign that reads PROTECT OUR AQUIFER and ProtectOurAquifer.org. The mood is positive and energetic.

To learn more about what’s happening now — and how you can help safeguard Memphis’s drinking water for generations to come — visit protectouraquifer.org.

Contribute to the Protect Our Aquifer Fund

Support the work of the citizen group Protect Our Aquifer, a grassroots nonprofit whose mission is to protect, conserve, and preserve the Memphis Sand Aquifer.

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