The Charles River Flood Model was developed for the upper and middle Charles River watershed, an area of approximately 280 square miles. It includes most of the watershed outside the highly urbanized areas of Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline. The two … Continued
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Mālama Maunalua and partners are using a holistic approach to restore coastal water systems in Maunalua Bay based on the traditional Hawaiian practice of ahupua‘a. In order to accomplish restoration from the mountains to the reef, local groups work together while educating and engaging the community to improve the overall water quality and decrease flooding in the entire watershed.
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Understanding Gentrification and Preventing Displacement New development projects in urban waters communities—like river restoration and the creation of greenspaces—are intended to create more sustainable and resilient communities; but the impacts often result in a reduced sense of belonging for long-time … Continued
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Using community-based research, West Street Recovery published the report Survivors as Experts: A Community Evaluation of Disaster Recovery in Northeast Houston to “identify and analyze the barriers to recovery from the perspective of residents living in low income Black and … Continued
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The American Flood Coalition and the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management convened a roundtable series with eight community based organization in 2020 to discuss the effects of flooding on historically underserved communities. The report–Conversations with Communities: Considerations … Continued
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Snapshots from the Urban Waters Learning Network Building flood resilience—like water—can take many shapes. Members of the Urban Waters Learning Network (UWLN) are working on community solutions for urban flood resilience. Community engagement and education, green infrastructure, and habitat restoration are … Continued
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Friends of the Rio de Flag (FoRio) is a small nonprofit organization in Flagstaff, AZ working on education, restoration, and river planning within their watershed. With an EPA Environmental Justice Small Grant awarded in 2017, FoRio worked strategically to strengthen relationships in the community by centering environmental justice in their work. FoRio formed partnerships with the City of Flagstaff as well as with residents of the historically segregated Southside Neighborhood where stormwater flooding is a problem.
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How to Prepare for Natural Disasters: A Pre-Disaster Toolkit for Small- to Medium-Size Communities Prepared by US EPA Urban Waters Federal Partnership, the toolkit was developed to help small- to medium-size communities jump-start their natural disaster planning process. The toolkit is … Continued
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This webinar is part of a series hosted by the Urban Waters Learning Network. This year, we are focusing on providing support to urban waters practitioners to help them build community and climate resilience through education, mitigation, and planning. We … Continued
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Created in the 1990s, the San Juan Bay Estuary Program (Estuario) is the only tropical estuary in the National Estuary Program. Estuario serves 8 municipalities in the San Juan metropolitan area, not only providing environmental and resiliency programs but also … Continued
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“This toolkit is designed to guide NAACP units and their Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Committees through the process of building equity into the four phases of emergency management: prevention and mitigation, preparedness and resilience building, response and relief, and … Continued
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When Hurricane Maria struck in September 2017, septic and power systems in the San Juan Bay Estuary failed and crucial habitats were destroyed as had been predicted by the vulnerability assessment conducted four years earlier. Although Estuario was prepared to respond, guided by the adaptation plans established in 2015, aging infrastructure, continued development in the watershed, and intense hurricane forces multiplied the impacts of flooding and water pollution. In the aftermath of the storm, it was very clear to Estuario leaders that aggressive actions needed to be taken to increase both the ecological and economic resiliency of the watershed. Estuario doubled-down on its efforts with #EstuarioRevive, an initiative designed to implement projects to monitor, restore, and increase the resilience efforts of the San Juan Bay Estuary.
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To further combat the impacts of CSOs, stormwater runoff, and pollution in urban watersheds, local organizations and businesses formed the RI Green Infrastructure Coalition (GIC) in 2014. The Coalition is made up of nearly 40 local businesses, non-profits, and government offices in the Providence-Metro and Newport-Aquidneck Island areas. They are forming partnerships and using green infrastructure to decrease stormwater flooding, address climate change impacts, enhance water quality, and promote equity in urban watersheds.
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Environmental Community Action, Inc (ECO-Action) – a grassroots organization that works with individuals and communities to fight for their rights to clean air, land, and water – provides resources and creates partnerships to support the communities they serve. They have … Continued
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Environmental Community Action, Inc (ECO-Action) – a grassroots organization that works with people to fight for their rights to clean air, land, and water – acts as a support system to the communities they serve by providing resources and creating partnerships with other organizations. They have developed many programs designed for educating and empowering the Proctor and Intrenchment Creek watershed communities to advocate for equity and environmental protections. Among their initiatives, ECO-Action is heavily involved in community education and advocacy towards the implementation of green infrastructure projects that address stormwater flooding issues and provide more livable neighborhoods for underserved communities.
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This project seeks to advance future green infrastructure (GI) projects through a growing partnership of municipal regulators, GI professionals, and scientists by quantifying urban runoff at commercial facilities near underserved schools. Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) will collect water samples … Continued
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In 2013, the Proctor Creek Watershed was designated by the EPA as an Urban Waters Federal Partnership location, with goals to engage the community while improving water quality, providing green spaces, and supporting green infrastructure. The Conservation Fund was awarded an EPA Urban Waters Small Grant in 2016 to work with residents and multiple organizations of the Proctor Creek Watershed to create green infrastructure solutions that benefit the community and the environment.
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El Caño Martin Peña (CMP) is a 3.75-mile-long tidal channel located within the San Juan Bay National Estuary in Puerto Rico, the only tropical estuary within the National Estuary Program. The degraded channel has threatened not only communities’ health, but the ecosystem as well. ENLACE engages in public education activities to promote an understanding of the impacts of environmental degradation, fostering critical consciousness and democratic action to support restoration efforts. The restoration of the estuarine tidal channel will allow for mangroves to flourish and increase biodiversity, improving resilience during storms and providing opportunities for tourism.
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By investigating water quality with community scientists we will have a better understanding of the severity and sources of pollution and a basis for future remediation in four of our most highly-urbanized watersheds. We will create an educated grassroots network … Continued
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The NY/NJ Baykeeper project will identify, reduce, and prevent plastic from reaching the lower Passaic River watershed and Newark Bay complex. This goal will be achieved through surface water sample collection for microplastics, followed by public outreach and education. Student … Continued
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The Conservation Fund is working collaboratively with a large number of community organizations to improve environmental outcomes in Atlanta’s Proctor Creek communities. Since 2011, the Fund has been identifying opportunities for creating green space that manages stormwater flooding, reduces pollution, … Continued
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With its roots in community struggle for environmental justice, the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA has grown into a dynamic watershed education, advocacy and stewardship organization. WAWA arose from community efforts to halt discriminatory waste water treatment practices in West … Continued
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At scales ranging from the neighborhood and city to the watershed and basin, some communities are doing the work of breaking down the silos in water management to increase sustainability and equitably maximize benefits across the community and watershed. So, … Continued
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This recorded webinar kicks-off a learning series about Integrated Water Management. The speakers for this first session provide an overview of Integrated Water Management, including context, drivers, examples and opportunities. A series of tools and resources for thinking further are … Continued
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Recorded webinar presents Kansas City’s Middle Blue River Basin Green Solutions Pilot Project and the significant role that right-of-ways along streets play in controlling stormwater runoff, including what Kansas City has learned about building and maintaining community support of Green … Continued
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This wonderful guide, developed by the Chemung Soil and Water Conservation District in Horseheads, NY, has detailed, yet extremely understandable language and graphics (as well as humor) for people to be able to really understand our love-hate relationship with streams–especially … Continued
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Developed by Prescott Creeks in Prescott, Arizona, this guide offers practical tips on creek-friendly practices that will help keep our creeks, lakes, and community healthy––starting at your home or business. The stewardship guide is a water quality primer for residents … Continued
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This Trust for Public Land study shines a light on the successes and challenges of water-smart public parks, providing case studies of cities across the country. The document looks at both the technologies and the political agreements necessary for using … Continued
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This issue of River Network’s quarterly newsletter explores the topic of turning our cities blue, of moving from gray to green infrastructure, and the related benefits to our communities of restoring the health of our urban waters. Download this resource
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Centennial Creek, a tributary of the Salinas River, begins east of the City of Paso Robles, California and flows into the Salinas River on the west side of town. The Salinas River flows into the Monterrey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This is significant because any improvements made to Centennial Creek, though miles away, will positively impact the marine sanctuary.
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Flooding in South Wilmington neighborhood is a severe and well documented issue. South Wilmington is situated in a 100-year flood plain and surrounded on three sides by the Christina River. Knowing the extent of these issues, the City of Wilmington applied for and received funding in 2013 to repurpose three brownfields sites into a wetlands park in order to alleviate flooding.
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Homeowners guide to managing water on residential property. Step-by-step “recipes” to use on properties to reduce water pollution and small-scale flooding. Download this resource
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While ECO-Action serves as the lead for the project there are many partners working together to address stormwater and combined sewer overflow impact on Proctor Creek. Green infrastructure concepts and principals are being infused into the Clark Atlanta University dual engineering courses. This marks a milestone in the efforts led by ECO-Action to increase awareness among faculty, staff, and students about the importance of green infrastructure and the type of positive impacts these practices and principals can have at a local level.
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In a city like New Orleans, community is everything. Walks down the street, one can simply speak to everyone passing by, and everyone would keep an eye out for one another. Everyone was each other’s neighbor. Eight years ago, prior to Hurricane Katrina, walking around the Lower Ninth Ward meant passing several homes on every block.
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