SAN FRANCISCO, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Alyse Ritvo of Oakland, Calif. was today announced the inaugural winner of the ITT Award for Excellence in Student Water Journalism (AESWJ), a program created by ITT Industries (ITT), a world leader in the development and production of technology for moving, handling and treating water and wastewater. Through this award, ITT recognizes an aspiring journalist who reports on water-related environmental issues, and in-turn raises awareness and encourages further exploration of solutions to global water challenges. Ritvo, 18, a senior at Head-Royce School in Oakland, was given the award for her feature article titled "Sure You Drink Bottled Water, But Do You Know Why?," which explores America's love for bottled water and the lack of access to safe drinking water for billions of others in developing nations. Ritvo's article was named the winner by a judging panel of top environmental, science and water journalists and industry leaders from a pool of articles submitted nationwide. The competition was administered by the Quill and Scroll Society, the international honorary society for high school journalists. "Water-borne diseases resulting from a lack of clean drinking water and poor sanitation kill more children each year than any other illness in the world. By 2030, when today's 10-year-old will be working and raising a family, experts estimate that three billion people will live in areas of severe water shortage," said Steve Loranger, Chief Executive Officer of ITT Industries. "By creating this award, ITT Industries aims to cultivate awareness and encourage future generations of leaders to voice these issues and work toward a solution that will ensure global access to clean, safe water." The winner was announced at the Journalism Educators Association (JEA) / National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Spring National High School Journalism Convention on April 22 in San Francisco. Ritvo and her faculty advisor will travel to Stockholm, Sweden to attend and report from the 2006 Stockholm Water Symposium, which takes place as part of the annual World Water Week, August 20 through August 26, 2006. Upon publication of her article about World Water Week, Ritvo will be awarded an additional $1,000 cash prize. "As noted in Alyse's article, industrialized nations are spending billions of dollars on bottled water while developing countries struggle to find access to a reliable supply of clean water," said Dick Johns, Executive Director of the Quill and Scroll Society. "By creating and supporting the ITT Award for Excellence in Student Water Journalism, we hope to encourage future journalists to report on water and the environment, moving water scarcity issues to the top of the agenda for communities around the world. Because this topic is of international significance, we plan to expand the 2007 award program to take place in additional countries that participate in activities during World Water Week." About the Award The national award recognizes a high school student for outstanding reporting - either print or broadcast media - on a water-related environmental issue. The award is being administered in partnership with the Quill and Scroll Society, an international organization founded in 1926 by a group of high school advisers for the purpose of encouraging and recognizing individual student achievement in journalism and scholastic publication. The Quill and Scroll Society has granted charters to more than 14,104 high schools in all 50 states and in 44 other countries. The World Water Week Symposium is a world-renowned gathering of international leading water experts from academia, government and industry who meet to develop effective and long-term global water resources management solutions, and is the venue for the International Stockholm Junior Water Prize, of which ITT Industries has been a global sponsor for ten years. This prize is the most prestigious international competition to recognize students for excellence in water science research. In 2006, national winners from 30 countries will compete for the international prize, which is also awarded during the Stockholm Water Symposium. The judging panel included Peter Allison, editor of Global Water Intelligence; Mariette DiChristina, executive editor of Scientific American; Melissa Jackson, editorial director of the Water Environment Federation; Dick Johns, director of the Quill and Scroll Society; Marcia Lacey, editor of Journal AWWA; and Ivan Oransky, deputy editor of The Scientist. For more information on the ITT Award for Excellence in Student Water Journalism, please log onto http://www.itt.com/. About ITT Industries ITT Industries, Inc. (http://www.itt.com/) supplies advanced technology products and services in key markets including: fluid and water management including water treatment; defense communication, opto-electronics, information technology and services; electronic interconnects and switches; and other specialty products. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, the company generated $7.4 billion in 2005 sales. In addition to the New York Stock Exchange, ITT Industries stock is traded on the Pacific, Paris, London and Frankfurt exchanges. DATASOURCE: ITT Industries CONTACT: Janice Gatti, +1-212-931-6143, Web site: http://www.itt.com/

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