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Hi Friend,
It’s the start of May and those of us at Three Rivers Waterkeeper have been enjoying the sunshine in-between the bouts of intense rainfall we saw last month. Hopefully you have been able to get outside to enjoy the warmer weather. I would recommend checking out Raccoon Creek State Park’s Wildflower Reserve while the spring flowers are at their peak! You also get to see one of the tributaries, Raccoon Creek, that we work hard with your support to protect. I hope you’ll join us out on the water or in the community this month!
Yours for clean water,
Jess Friss Director of Community Programs |
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5/18 — 3 Rivers Watch on the Allegheny River (Boating) | 1:00 pm & 2:15 pm To learn more about how you can spot and report pollution, join us for a 3 Rivers Watch In-Person Pollution Patrol. We will have two sessions with a max of 3 people for each session as we will be going out on the Waterkeeper boat! Those who attend these events will also receive a 3 Rivers Watch manual and other fun items! RSVP Here.
5/19 — Blue Vinyl Documentary Screening (Pittsburgh) | 2 - 5 pm In a national exclusive, join filmmaker Judith Helfand for a screening of her award-winning film “Blue Vinyl” followed by a discussion of the East Palestine train derailment with experts on the ground. More information here.
5/20 — Be a Water Advocate for Your Community | 5 - 6 pm Join Three Rivers Waterkeeper and Watersheds of South Pittsburgh to learn why and how to advocate for clean water! We will discuss sources of water pollution and how to spot and report water pollution and share knowledge about our clean water laws and advocacy actions. This month we’ll be at the Carnegie Library in Carrick! Learn more here.
6/5 — Be a Water Advocate for Your Community | 6:30 - 7:30 pm Join Three Rivers Waterkeeper and Watersheds of South Pittsburgh to learn why and how to advocate for clean water! We will discuss sources of water pollution and how to spot and report water pollution and share knowledge about our clean water laws and advocacy actions. This month we’ll be at the Carnegie Library in Mt. Washington! Learn more here.
6/6 — What’s in the Water? Regulations and Advocacy in Homestead Have you ever wondered what impacts our water quality and what regulations are in place to protect it? Join Three Rivers Waterkeeper to learn how and why to advocate for clean water in your community. We will discuss sources of water pollution, share information about our clean water laws and advocacy actions, and talk about ways you can make flood-friendly choices in your daily life. Recommended for adults.
6/8 — 3 Rivers Watch (Kayaking) - Ohio River | 1 - 3:30 pm To learn more about how you can spot and report pollution, join us for a 3 Rivers Watch In-Person Pollution Patrol. We will be going out on the river in kayaks! Those who attend these events will also receive a 3 Rivers Watch manual and other fun items!
6/15 — Three Rivers Waterkeeper’s Summer Kickoff | 4 - 8 pm Join Three Rivers Waterkeeper at the Allegheny RiverTrail Park for a kickoff to the summer season and celebration of Pennsylvania's River of the Year! Register Here
6/26 — Colors of the River: Art-Based Water Research | 6 - 7:30 PM Have you ever wondered if the colors around us are more than just pretty? Join us as we venture into Pittsburgh’s waterways to explore riparian pigments and what they can tell us about water quality. We will use art-based research methods to understand abstract scientific concepts by making paintings out of the surrounding colored materials such as leaves, bark, and rocks. Register Here
More information and other events can be found on our events page! |
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This event is family-friendly and free to the public! We'll have light refreshments, games, live music from local band The Wolf Tones, free kayaking (first come, first serve), fun and educational watershed activities, door prize and raffle items, and more!
Bring your lawn chairs, yard games, family and friends, and join us for a fun time and celebrate Pennsylvania's 2024 River of the Year! |
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Food and alcoholic beverages for purchase will be available on-site with Farmer X Baker, Trace Brewing, and Kona Ice. A portion of the proceeds from Trace Brewing and Kona Ice purchases will be donated to Three Rivers Waterkeeper! |
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In April, our team spent 33 hours on the water dedicated to water sampling, patrolling, and following up on our ongoing targeted monitoring project. |
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Hannah, Koa, and Evan recently took a canoe out on the Connoquenessing Creek for a water patrol. We love getting our Waterkeeper boat out on the rivers, but it's extra fun to have the opportunity to take a non-motorized boat out. We are still keeping an eye out for plastic pollution that is pervasive in our waterways. |
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Photo credit: Colleen O'Neil / Mountain Watershed Association |
On Earth Day, we did our monthly Nurdle Patrol around the Shell plant with Mountain Watershed Association. We also conducted water sampling on the Ohio River and Raccoon Creek where our water team took almost 20 different samples. These samples ranges from grab samples to real-time samples on our YSI ProDSS. |
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This month, we explored Fall Run Park for signs of early Spring along the stream that runs through the park. Led by our Environmental Scientist, Koa, we learned about Bloodroot, Virginia Spring Beauty, Yellow Trout Lily, and more! We even saw a small snake trying to soak up the tiny bit of sunlight. We will be holding another ecology program in June. Learn more here. |
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We worked with a homeschool group at the Carnegie Library of Homestead. We talked about pollution in our waterways and shared information about our clean water laws. We’ll be back at the Homestead Library on June 6th for a program geared toward adults about water regulations and advocacy in Homestead. Keep an eye out for more information! |
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Three Rivers Waterkeeper worked with Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, Food & Water Watch - Pennsylvania, Clean Air Council, and Mom’s Clean Air Force - Pennsylvania to hold a community event in Beaver, PA. We heard from Ben at Ohio River Valley Institute who shared their updated report about the economic impacts of petrochemical development in Beaver County. You can find more information about the report here and read the full report here. The small group discussions following the presentation were very insightful and a great chance to get to know more about community member’s perspective on the economic impacts of Shell. |
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We partnered with Human Services Center Mon Valley’s Youth LIFE After-School Program to do a community service project! The afterschool program building sits just along Thompson Run and Turtle Creek, and students noted how much trash they often see on their walk from the school to the afterschool building. We talked about how pollution impacts our waterways and conducted a litter cleanup where we picked up 75 pounds of trash! |
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During the month of April we worked with Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, Food & Water Watch - Pennsylvania, Clean Air Council, and Mom’s Clean Air Force - Pennsylvania, Breathe Project, and Beyond Plastics to host local free screenings of the award-winning documentary film, Blue Vinyl: The World’s First Toxic Comedy. The screenings in Ambridge in Sewickly were followed by a moderated panel discussion with residents from East Palestine, Ohio and Beaver County, Pennsylvania who were directly affected by vinyl chloride. There will be one more showing in Southwestern PA on May 19th at the Carnegie Museum of Art. More information here. |
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Earth Day Celebrations |
This year we got to celebrate Earth Day in a few different ways: |
| The Refillery is a local business that promotes plastic free shopping and they invited us to speak at their Neighbor Night event. We spoke about the impacts of plastic on our rivers and streams, what we are doing to combat plastic pollution, and how the community can get involved! |
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| We participated in the Carnegie Science Center’s Environmental Science SciTech Day to connect with middle and high school students about the work that we do on the rivers in Southwestern PA. We shared our pollution jars and got to hear what these students are interested in! |
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| It was great to get the chance to participate in Sister’s of St. Joseph of Baden’s Earth Day celebration this year! We met with local environmental organizations that we work with and talked with so many new people. |
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The first of our 4 library programs at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh premiered this month! We are working with Watershed of South Pittsburgh to share information and resources to community members about how to be a water advocate for your community! This program included neighborhood specific information about watershed issues and model pollution and run-off activities! Join us at the next one in Carrick on May 20th! |
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They [abandoned boats] pose a threat to our river's ecosystems. Many leak fuel, oil, debris, and other hazards into our rivers where in the Ohio Valley, 5 million people source their drinking water."
Captian Evan, our Waterkeeper, spoke at the Game and Fisheries Committee's Public Hearing on Abandoned and Derelict Vessels (Boats) on April 12th. While Evan was speaking, an abandoned boat actually floated down the Ohio River in view of those at the hearing! We will continue to be a voice for the protection and care of the waterways in our region. Watch the full hearing here. |
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Recently, the PA Department of Environmental Protection was accepting comments on their draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) prioritization strategy for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2022—2032 Vision for the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) Program. Three Rivers Waterkeeper submitted a comment where we expressed our support of its comprehensive approach, especially with the DEP’s proposal to address Aquatic Life Use impairments cause by siltation and Recreational Use impairments caused by pathogens. We did, however, recommend prioritizing restoration projects that reduce the pollution load on water bodies in EJ communities. You can read our full comment here. |
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Advocacy Strength in Numbers |
Read about some of the coalition letters and comments we signed onto! |
Each year, the United State Congress enacts an appropriations bill that delegates federal funding to different government operations and more. We joined with 60 organizations and elected officials in the Appalachian region to address our priorities for investments in the FY25 FY25 appropriations bills. This included things like flood resiliency, workforce development, economic development, and more. You can read the full letter here.
In response to U.S. EPA Administrator Regan’s statement on March 22nd celebrating the important of clean water, the Environmental Integrity Project wrote a letter addressing three key areas that could be strengthened in the Clean Water Act. This includes issuing an overdue national water quality report, revising outdated technology-based pollution limits, and identifying the funding that is needed and currently used to regulate our clean water laws. We joined with numerous other groups in signing onto this letter as we believe a stronger Clean Water Act will protect our waterways for generations to come. You can read the full letter here.
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Take Action! | Learn about some of the ways you can get involved! |  | | |  | We find plastic pollution all over our region during our patrols. These tiny plastic pellets called “nurdles” are being dumped into our environment all over Pennsylvania by the millions. Add your name to tell your U.S. senators to keep this plastic pollution out of our rivers, lakes and oceans! | |
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#RunForAReason with us! |
Three Rivers Waterkeeper is an official charity with the Pittsburgh Marathon. If you’re running you can choose to Run for a Reason and raise money for Three Rivers Waterkeeper. The benefits: Give your run the chance to empower change Get your registration fee refunded by reaching a fundraising goal Win prizes from Three Rivers Waterkeeper for reaching fundraising goals
Learn more on the Pittsburgh Marathon’s website here. |
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You can also directly support those who have picked Three Rivers Waterkeeper as their charity organization. The FedEx Pittsburgh Marathon Relay is happening on May 5th, and we have a team running! Support their run and our mission to protect our waterways by donating to the team here.
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Swimmable. Fishable. Drinkable. |
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3rwk.org | Support Clean Water
800 Vinial Street, Suite B314 Pittsburgh, PA 15212 © Three Rivers Waterkeeper. All rights reserved. |
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