How Clean Are Your Local Waterways?
You know that creek in your backyard, or the river or lake near your town? Have any idea what kind of condition it is in, or how polluted it is? Most people probably don’t — up until now, it hasn’t been very easy to get this information. But to help people find out about the condition…
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You know that creek in your backyard, or the river or lake near your town? Have any idea what kind of condition it is in, or how polluted it is?
Most people probably don’t — up until now, it hasn’t been very easy to get this information. But to help people find out about the condition of their local waterways, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a supercool new app for your computer or mobile device that allows you to learn about the quality of the waters near you.
The site is simple: Whether on a computer, laptop, notepad, or smartphone, go to http://watersgeo.epa.gov/mywaterway/ and type in your zip code. Up will pop all the local bodies of water in your area, with detailed info about how polluted or clean they are, and a list of pollutants or causes.
If you’re like me and you find that all of your local waters are polluted, and you want to find out what your elected Congressional representatives have been doing about it, then you should check out this handy new Clean Water Report Card by our friends at the Sierra Club. Released yesterday in honor of the Clean Water Act’s 40th anniversary, this report card will tell you exactly how your House representatives have been voting on clean water-related legislation for the past two years in this 112th session of Congress.
The 112th Congress has been the most anti-environmental and anti-clean water House of Representatives in history. The House has voted an estimated three dozen times to weaken or block the Clean Water Act this term. While many friends of polluters have been busy trying to wipe away many of our protections, there are still many a great clean water champion in the House. Where do your representatives stand? Look now. If your members of Congress have stood up for clean water, make sure to thank them. If they have stood with polluters at the expense of your local waterways, let them know you won’t stand for it.
Liz Judge worked at Earthjustice from 2010–2016. During that time, she worked on mountaintop removal mining, national forests, and clean water issues, and led the media and advocacy communications teams.
Established in 1989, Earthjustice's Policy & Legislation team works with champions in Congress to craft legislation that supports and extends our legal gains.
Earthjustice’s Washington, D.C., office works at the federal level to prevent air and water pollution, combat climate change, and protect natural areas. We also work with communities in the Mid-Atlantic region and elsewhere to address severe local environmental health problems, including exposures to dangerous air contaminants in toxic hot spots, sewage backups and overflows, chemical disasters, and contamination of drinking water. The D.C. office has been in operation since 1978.