On a day that found civic leaders aggressively preparing for floods that could rival the worst in the region's history, organizers of United Nations World Environment Day unveiled the theme of an event that will include six weeks of activities stretching from Earth Day in April through June 5: "Water Matters."

The irony wasn't lost on those making the announcement.

"Like it or not, we will focus on it this weekend," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said Thursday prior to disclosing the World Environment Day theme that planners came up with months before the region was pounded with record-setting snowfall that could trigger widespread flooding over the next few days.

Pittsburgh was selected last fall to serve as North American host city for World Environment Day, an event launched by the United Nations in 1972 and held annually at sites worldwide.

The event is designed to commence on April 22, Earth Day, and include a series of environment-related forums, symposiums, competitions and arts activities that lead up to World Environment Day in June.

During a briefing in the lobby of the Regional Enterprise Tower, Downtown, officials said more than 65 events would take place around the region, ranging from outdoor cleanups and hazardous waste collections to a global water conference June 3 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Because World Environment Day coincides with the opening of the annual Three Rivers Arts Festival in June, the festival will feature interactive art focusing on the environment, including a 200-gallon tank filled with local species of fish and a free concert by a band known for its environmental consciousness, said Marguerite Jarrett Marks, festival coordinator. She declined to name the band until a contract is signed.

Among the events expected to be heavily promoted is "Paddle at the Point" on June 5 when Venture Outdoors will attempt to break a Guinness Book of World Records by assembling more than 1,000 kayaks and canoes on Pittsburgh's rivers.

Water became the theme early in the planning stages, said Bill Flanagan, executive vice president of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

He said Court Gould, executive director of Sustainable Pittsburgh, an agency that promotes the integration of economic, social and environmental issues, pulled together representatives from the business sector and foundation community to collaborate on ideas for the event.

The group included officials from Alcoa, Bayer Corp., the Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Benedum Foundation.

"We kicked around what would set Pittsburgh apart," said Mr. Flanagan. "We have great water resources but water challenges, too," including how to address the effects of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling on local water supplies.

The water theme was easy to rally around, he said. With three rivers here, "It is not a tough sell" to those outside the region who may come to visit or participate in the World Environment Day events.

The June 3 "Water Matters" conference -- set to include hands-on exhibits and experts on water from industry, universities and watershed groups -- could attract 2,000 attendees from throughout North America, said Deborah Lange, of Carnegie Mellon University's Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research.

"Water in our region is a blessing and a curse," she said.

Besides the one-day conference, CMU is involved with launching a consortium to address water issues in the region and will conduct an assessment of how water can be more effectively used as an economic driver.

"World Environment Day is a catalyst to looking at how to move [Pittsburgh] forward as a water innovation capital," said Jeanne VanBriesen, CMU professor of civil and environmental engineering.

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