The City of Seattle, in cooperation with community partners, the Duwamish Valley Action Plan: Advancing Environmental Justice & Equitable Development in Seattle. Priority areas include: Healthy Environment, Parks and Open Spaces, Community Capacity, Mobility and Transportation, Economic Opportunity and Jobs, … Continued
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Raising awareness in three Urban Waters Learning Network locations The story map from the Urban Waters Learning Network highlights three unique water quality projects by Groundwork Denver, Heal the Bay, and NY/NJ Baykeeper. All three organizations are working toward healthier … Continued
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With the uncertainty looming about how long COVID-19 physical distancing will last, members of the Urban Waters Learning Network are finding creative ways to keep social connections alive. While we are all effected by the coronavirus pandemic, we are each … Continued
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With a strong background in youth engagement, Rocking the Boat is a nonprofit organization in the South Bronx that supports kids’ growth through hands-on discovery. What started as a boatbuilding after-school program has grown into a multi-pronged approach for youth empowerment in an environmental justice community.
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More than two million people in the United States live without running water, basic indoor plumbing and sanitation. To close this water gap, it is first important to understand it. The report analyzes the quantitative data from the American Community … Continued
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In 2015, almost 200 United Nations member countries, including the United States, adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a unanimous commitment to address global issues by improving quality of human life, while also protecting the planet. Sustainable Development Goal 6 serves … Continued
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The South Platte River Urban Waters Partnership (SPRUWP) focuses on the headwaters and the Denver metropolitan area, and consists of over seventy organizations, including Federal and state government, municipalities, universities, NGOs and private businesses, all collaborating to address the problems facing the South Platte and improve this vital waterway for current and future generations — as well as those who live downstream of Denver.
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This resource from the Prevention Institute addresses the question: “What can people working on “healthy community” issues—like active transportation, parks, healthy food, planning, public health, healthcare, and more—do in their own work to improve community conditions without contributing to gentrification … Continued
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The guide was prepared by members of the Oregon Health and Outdoors Initiative—the Oregon Public Health Institute and the Willamette Partnership—in collaboration with the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange. The guide proposes green infrastructure solutions to improving prevalent health issues in … Continued
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Join the National Water Trails Learning Network to step through the phases of water trail development, discuss the challenges and successes faced when creating and sustaining river access, and dive into a case study of a successful national water trail.
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Drinking water crises in Flint, Detroit, Toledo, California’s Central Valley, and West Virginia have highlighted the need to invest in our natural and built infrastructure while also providing affordable water to all customers to ensure access to safe and healthy drinking water. To engage constructively as a community member and advocate, it’s important to understand drinking water systems and policies, rules, and technologies.
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With new water uses in these sections of the LA River and more revitalization on the horizon, water quality monitoring for public health and community engagement becomes chiefly important. Heal the Bay – an organization based in Santa Monica, California – has a strong history promoting environmental awareness and advocating for public health through their Beach Report Card program. Over the years they have found that when people are informed about water quality issues, they are more motivated to take care of their environment. In cooperation with students from Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC) and funded by EPA’s Urban Waters small grant program, Heal the Bay expanded this initiative to create a River Report Card for the LA River and other freshwater areas where people recreate and swim.
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This report provides the latest research on the social, health, and economic benefits of urban green space, with an emphasis on tree canopies. Research shows that more trees and green space in urban areas directly reduce pollution, reduce heat, encourage exercise and related health, lower stress, and improve longevity among residents.
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As a result of the Portland community-based collaboration funded through the EPA Urban Waters Program and led by the Oregon Operations Office, the EPA Office of Sustainable Communities provided technical assistance to the Jade District to develop community-based green infrastructure … Continued
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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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Advocating for change starts first with quantifying and documenting the extent of plastics pollution. The NY/NJ Baykeeper study illuminates the high prevalence of plastics pollution within the Harbor Estuary and highlights the importance of both decreasing plastics consumption and increasing disposal awareness.
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The EPA is offering the Local Foods, Local Places Toolkit to help communities interested in using local foods to support downtown and neighborhood revitalization. Developed by EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities, it provides step-by-step instructions for planning and hosting the … Continued
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Litter and trash from consumer goods make up the majority of marine debris that pollute our waterways and oceans. Feel like your organization needs to do more than annual clean ups to reduce trash and litter, but not sure how … Continued
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Monitoring of our waterways is critical to identify issues of concern, to evaluate restoration projects’ success, and to gauge changes over time. New technologies are continually shaping the way we collect data, providing water quality monitors with new capabilities and … Continued
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In 2012, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) received an EPA Urban Waters Small Grant, sub-granted by the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment, to study the causes of the eutrophic conditions in Lakes Hefner and Overholser and to evaluate which Best Management Practices (BMPs) could significantly reduce the nutrient load affecting water quality in the lakes. Originally, the study focused on identifying BMPs that could be implemented in the lakes themselves. However, it was found that most of the pollution was coming from urban runoff entering the North Canadian River.
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“The idea of an integrated systems approach to water is not new. Its full-scale implementation, however, has yet to be realized. There are many signs that water management in the US is entering another great era of change and innovation. … Continued
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This project combines academic research with community-based training and solutions to address real-life water quality and public health challenges. Ten students from Arizona State University-West campus, 21 K-12 students from the Phoenix Zoo Teen Conservation Team and local Girl Scouts … Continued
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Recreation in streams and rivers is a popular activity in the Los Angeles region. Yet, there is a lack of data on the water quality of these freshwater recreational areas creating possible public health risks. Heal the Bay proposes to … Continued
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This guide is a kind of “Green Infrastructure 101”. It summarizes the benefits of green infrastructure (GI), including economic, educational, and health benefits. It explains how GI can be less expensive and less difficult to maintain than gray infrastructure — … Continued
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The Wabash River, which is Indiana’s state river, has a rich economic and cultural history. As a tributary of the Ohio River, it is part of the upper reaches of the 1,245,000-square-mile Mississippi River Basin, and so was a vital navigation and trade route for French traders traveling between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico.
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The Duwamish is Seattle’s only river. It is a 5.5 mile long Superfund site that flows through Seattle’s Duwamish Valley – a highly developed urban and industrial center south of downtown. In 2014, the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition Technical Advisory Group (DRCC/TAG) founded the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps (DVYC) with support from the Forest Service’s Urban Waters Federal Partnership. The DVYC supports environmental improvement projects identified by residents in the Duwamish River Valley. With a focus on urban forestry, river restoration, and green infrastructure, the program is equal parts environmental science, job skills training, stewardship, and hands-on restoration.
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Published by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, the report reviews the health benefits of bringing urban rivers back to being an essential element of urban living.
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A guide to help communities better manage stormwater while achieving other environmental, public health, social, and economic benefits. Download this resource
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The Chattahoochee River drains more than 8,500 square miles and is the most heavily used water resource in Georgia. The river starts as a cold-water mountain stream and flows 430 miles to its confluence with the Flint River at Lake Seminole and the Florida border, traveling through the cities of Atlanta and Columbus, GA along the way.
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In 2013 and after 12 years in the making, EPA released its Proposed Cleanup Plan for the Superfund site, starting the clock on a 105-day public review and comment period. This highly technical document recommended a mix of technologies for addressing the river’s toxic sediments and meeting the four objectives of the cleanup, which include protecting the health of people who consume seafood.
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In 2012 Groundwork Denver received funding from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 319 Nonpoint Source funds. With EPA’s funding Groundwork Denver has successfully created a non-point source watershed plan for the Lower Bear Creek.
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