Get Involved: Things You Can Do to Improve the Waters You Enjoy
Protecting Our Waterways
This article on how the boating public and vessel operators
can help protect marine and coastal habitats first appeared
in the newsletter The Foghorn.
Get Involved in Beach Protection and Clean Up Programs
There are many ways to get involved in protecting the nation's
beaches from water pollution. Getting involved in a local
clean up effort of other beach protection program is a great
way to assist federal, state, and local officials in protecting
your health while swimming at the beach. Some Volunteer Clean-ups:
Protect Coastal Waters from Nonpoint Source Pollution
When rain falls or snow melts, the seemingly negligible amounts
of chemicals and other pollutants around your home and lawn
get picked up and carried through storm drains to the local
waterway. This site lists specific "dos" and "don'ts" that will
help you reduce nonpoint source pollution and become part of
the solution to keeping beach water clean.
Participate in EPA's Citizen's Voluntary Monitoring Program
Across the country, people are learning about water quality
issues and helping protect the nation's water resources by becoming
volunteer water quality monitors. Volunteers analyze water samples
for dissolved oxygen, nutrients, pH and temperature; evaluate
the health of stream habitats and aquatic biological communities;
inventory streambank conditions and land uses that may affect
water quality; catalog and collect beach debris; and restore
degraded habitats. This site explains how you can get involved
in monitoring beach water quality.
Surf
Your Watershed
Most water is polluted from pollution-generating activities
upstream. Therefore, it is important for you to know about pollutants
entering the water from other communities. Surf Your Watershed
will help you learn about pollutants and sources that affect
the water quality in your local watershed.
Adopt-Your-Watershed
Watershed groups are very effective in identifying and stopping
pollution problems by working through a local watershed group.
Join our national catalog of organizations involved in protecting
local water bodies, including formal watershed alliances, local
groups, and schools that conduct activities such as volunteer
monitoring, cleanups, and restoration projects
Information on the things everyone can do to help prevent
pollution (for
kids).
A number of resources for Children's education and environmental
stewardship.
BayScapes
BayScapes are environmentally-sound landscapes benefitting people,
wildlife, and the Chesapeake Bay. BayScaping approaches landscaping
through principles inspired by relationships in the natural
environment.