The Clean Water Act passed in 1972. Great progress has been made. In many large cities, rivers and harbors that served as sewers behind industrial lands now serve as amenities facing residential and commercial lands, bringing economic development, water access, and jobs.
But a lot of work remains. While many of these waterways are no longer severely polluted, they are still far from being safe for fishing or swimming.
Clean water solutions rely in part on regulatory approaches like the Clean Water Act. But they also rely on voluntary approaches like the Urban Waters Federal Partnerships.
The Urban Waters Partnerships convene 14 agencies of the federal family to partner with state, local, and NGO partners to develop place – based solutions to water quality. The Partnerships are active in 19 cities.
Beth Strommen, Director of the Baltimore Office of Sustainability, presents on a project creating green jobs and green infrastructure through building deconstruction
We’re grateful for the federal commitment to the promise of the Clean Water Act and the inclusion of voluntary solutions to water quality issues in cities. We also appreciate the commitment of 28 national NGOs and of SavATree to these efforts.
US Forest Service members of the Urban Waters Partnerships
The Consulting Group at SavATree provides project support to the US Forest Service Northern Research Station and the Baltimore Urban Waters Partnership.
