Protecting Rivers & Your Clean Water
Success on South Carolina's Saluda
Amy Souers Kober, Senior Director of Communications
February 12, 2013 | Dams & Dam Removal
American Rivers is helping secure key clean water protections for South Carolina's Saluda River through the hydropower dam relicensing effort. Check out this video by Andy Maser on the project.
Read more »Don't Suck the Fraser River Dry
Matt Rice, Director, Colorado Conservation
February 12, 2013 | Climate Change, Water Supply
Denver Water already sucks 60% of the annual flows from the Fraser River, and they now want to take more: another 15%. Sign the Defend the Colorado petition today and tell Denver that before they take more water, they need to protect the Fraser River. Tell Denver Water: Don’t Suck the Fraser River Dry!
Read more »Ask the Secretary of Interior to Protect the Chetco River
Jessie Thomas-Blate, Coordinator, Most Endangered Rivers
February 12, 2013 | Most Endangered Rivers, Wild and Scenic Rivers
The Wild and Scenic Chetco River is renowned for its world-class salmon and steelhead runs, and crystal clear water. However, it is still vulnerable to mining thanks to the General Mining Law of 1872 – which gives mining precedence over all other uses. Out of concern for the impact that this mining could have on this special place, American Rivers listed the Chetco as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2010.
Read more »Rebuilding Better in New York
Eileen Fretz, Flood Policy Director
February 11, 2013 | Climate Change, Floods & Floodplains
Soon after Hurricane Sandy hit, devastating much of the Northeast, politicians and experts took to the press to urge the government to help communities rebuild “better”. But what exactly does rebuilding “better” mean?
Read more »More Clean Water In The Courts – The Accotink Creek Decision
Katherine Baer, Senior Director, Clean Water and Water Supply Programs
February 8, 2013 | Urban Rivers, Stormwater & Sewage, Water Pollution
Recently we described the results of the Supreme Court’s decision in Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which was a narrow one. Another Clean Water Act case, Virginia Department of Transportation vs. Environmental Protection Agency addresses the cleanup of Accotink Creek, a tributary to the Potomac River in Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax and the Town of Vienna, Virginia. Decided by the Eastern District of Virginia in favor of the state DOT (and local governments), the case also has a limited holding.
Read more »American Rivers Opposes Raising Shasta Dam
Steve Rothert, California Regional Director
February 7, 2013 | Dams & Dam Removal, Wild and Scenic Rivers
The Bureau of Reclamation has studied the feasibility of raising its 602 ft high Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River to increase the dam’s storage capacity. For several reasons including the two we outline here, American Rivers opposes the raising of Shasta Dam as proposed.
Read more »Salmon, stormwater and streets – a toxic mix
Katherine Baer, Senior Director, Clean Water and Water Supply Programs
February 6, 2013 | Stormwater & Sewage, Urban Rivers, Water Pollution
Have you ever seen one of those fish drawings near the street on a storm drain – a stencil saying something like, “don’t dump, drains to stream.” And even though you might think of salmon as all living in pristine, beautiful rivers, it turns out that polluted stormwater runoff from developed areas and roads and highways threatens these fish too.
Read more »