Our nation's rivers and streams are under threat. Not only does sprawl increase flooding and deplete groundwater supplies, but ill-conceived policies emanating from Washington, D.C. are undercutting the laws that have protected our waterways for decades.
Witnessing the return of herring, shad and a beluga whale may be a sign of improvements to the heath of the Delaware River. However, 70% of the streams throughout New Jersey are impaired from pollutants including: fecal coliform resulting from ill treated wastewater, geese or pets; nutrients and pesticides from over fertilizing lawns and farm practices; metals and oils from car road runoff; and sediments from erosion. In addition, there seems to be an astonishing “frequency” of hundred year floods.
State programs that address these concerns for water supply, wastewater treatment, water quality, and stormwater are dependent on strong regulations and federal assistance to be effective. However, federal rules are being revised, and funding under the Clean Water Act was reduced by one third from $1.3 billion to $850 million. Yet sewage overflows, beach closings, and fishing restrictions continue.
This is why the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association supports the Citizen Agenda for Rivers.
The major goals of the Citizen's Agenda for Rivers are to unite the voices of grassroots organizations; and to educate, promote and ensure appropriate support for local and federal programs that protect our water supplies.
Stony Brook is presenting at the River Rally in Colorado on May 20th and we would love to take your endorsements with us! Please join the twenty–six NJ groups that have signed on, and contact Laura Alex (
) to join this campaign.
Principles of the Citizens' Agenda for Rivers
Protect Water quality
Preserve riparian areas near streams and wetlands.
Reduce the discharge of untreated sewage, and continue to evaluate stream quality and loadings.
Increase enforcement efforts.
Ensure Sufficient Water Supplies
Encourage water conservation, new technologies, and incentives.
Encourage long term planning for water supplies to ensure sufficient capacities.
Restore natural flows using ecological information in water criteria, permits, and reservoir releases.
Protect Watersheds from Sprawl
Strengthen the environmental reviews of proposed development to minimize impacts.
Prioritize funding for smart growth transportation and infrastructure projects that minimize impacts to water resources.
Provide funding to protect headwaters, stream corridors, wetlands, critical habitat, recharge areas, and recreational areas.
Prioritize funding and incentives for low impact development and stormwater management.
Life depends on clean water.
Please endorse the
Citizen Agenda for Rivers by
visiting the American Rivers website at
www.healthyrivers.org
) to join this campaign. 
