Protecting Clean Water
We Can’t Afford to Lose the Clean Water Act
By Larissa Liebmann, a staff attorney at Waterkeeper Alliance, the largest and fastest growing nonprofit solely focused on clean water.
In 1972, waterways in the United States were severely polluted and dangerous. Rivers caught on fire, communities were sickened, and wildlife disappeared. In response to this devastation, Congress passed the Clean Water Act—a monumental law that prohibits pollution and requires restoration of the nation’s waters. Under this law, all waters that are defined as “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) are federally protected against pollution under strict standards that are meant to protect drinking water, wildlife, recreation, and many other uses.
Impaired Waters List Grows
From our friends at North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: The “impaired waters” list of North Carolina rivers, streams, and lakes recognized as too polluted to meet Clean Water Act standards is growing.
The list is prepared by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) every two years, as part of its job of enforcing the Clean Water Act in the state. The bodies of water in this year’s draft represent a net increase of nearly a third over the 2017 list. It includes almost 1,250 miles of previously unlisted rivers and streams.
Thank You for Your Commitment to Clean Water
We wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the generous donors who contributed to our Year End Campaign, Commit to Clean Water. Thank you for supporting Winyah Rivers Alliance and for protecting swimmable, fishable and drinkable water. Without your support and encouragement our successes would not be possible. We promise to work hard for you and for clean water for your families and their future.
Flashback February
February we will be flashing back in time; reviewing an important moment in our nations history, the Clean Water Act. History is inescapable. It studies the past and the legacies of the past in the present. It connects things through time and by taking a long view of such connections it helps us to better understand the present but also equips us to prepare for a better future.
Join us on social media and learn why the Clean Water Act mattered then and now.
Tell us more about you!
We want to get to know our donors, followers and supporters! You mean a lot to us and we want to learn more about you! On the last Wednesday of every month on social media and in our monthly Newsletters we will be asking you, to share more about yourself and your commitment to clean water! We start off our first time with this...
What interests you most about organization? Ready to let us know?
Click here and type your response! Thank you for taking the time to help us get to know you a little better.
A Tale of Two Logos
By Christine Ellis, Executive Director
When the calendar changes from one year to the next, we often talk about "out with the old, in with the new". That is particularly true in 2019...we re-branded our organization, taking on a new name...Winyah Rivers Alliance...and a new logo.
We are growing. Our nonprofit began with a focus on the Waccamaw River but over these past 18 years (we celebrated our 18th birthday on January 30th!) we've grown to take on protecting more of our greater Winyah Bay watershed. Not only do we host the Waccamaw RIVERKEEPER® Program, we have added the Lumber RIVERKEEPER® Program. We are very involved in the Black River watershed and proud of our conservation and advocacy efforts there. And we have projects in the Pee Dee and Lynches watersheds.
Our goal is to continue to grow our efforts to protect all of our greater Winyah Bay watershed and to represent all of its communities, including those most vulnerable. Everyone at Winyah Rivers Alliance, our Board of Directors and our staff, agree that we need to increase our racial and ethnic diversity to become representative of the area we serve. In 2019 and beyond, we intend to meet this need through a combination of internal and external actions. Internally, our goal is to ensure the diversity of our Board of Directors and provide direct access of diverse community concerns to our organization's strategic decision makers. Externally, our goal is to conduct meaningful outreach to diverse communities, ensuring that we are breaking down any barriers to address clean water concerns in these communities.
We at Winyah Rivers Alliance foster a climate of purposeful inclusion of all people and promote participation in all of our activities. Join us as we advance our mission to all communities throughout our greater Winyah Bay watershed.
Check out our Paddle Blog!
By Jeff Currie, Lumber Riverkeeper
The Journey of Trash and The Solution
By Cara Schildtknecht, Waccamaw Riverkeeper
By Michelle Lewis, Co-Chair Black River Scenic Advisory Council
And much much more such as, Ban on Bans Bill
