News & Updates
Florence Flooded Poultry Operations with 1.8 Million Birds
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- News
NEW BERN, N.C. – The heavy rains and high waters after Hurricane Florence flooded 35 industrial poultry operations in North Carolina housing an estimated...
An “emerging” drinking water disaster 50 years in the making
- By: Larissa Liebmann
- News
A few weeks ago we warned about the threats of “emerging contaminants” to water quality and drinking water. This week, we are focusing on one class...
New Partnership to Defend the Great Lakes
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- News
The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater system on the planet, with six quadrillion gallons of freshwater — 95 percent of the U.S. supply and 20 percent...
Raise a stink about North Carolina’s hog waste crisis
- By: Ellen Simon
- News
We’ve won a rare opportunity, starting tomorrow Nov. 27, to demand more transparency and better pollution controls from the industrial swine operations...
Waterkeeper Groups Notify EPA of Intent to Sue Under Safe Drinking Water Act
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- News
Regulator has missed Safe Drinking Water Act deadlines for toxic and carcinogenic contaminants Waterkeeper Alliance, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, and California...
Talking equity, diversity, and inclusion with Tualatin Riverkeepers
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- News
Tualatin Riverkeepers joined Waterkeeper Alliance in 1995 and has since been a leader in community-based restoration, education, and recreation in western...
Tell North Carolina: Clean Up Your Act!
- By: Ellen Simon
- News
Hurricane Florence left North Carolina awash in hog waste. We have an opportunity this year to take important steps to address our waste problem, which...
Baja Waterkeepers tackle plastic pollution
- By: Sergio Moncada
- News
There is an astounding amount of plastic in the world’s waterways. Every year, an estimated 5 to 14 tons flow into our oceans from coastal areas. Sunlight,...
Take Action for Safe Drinking Water – Dive Into Democracy
- By: Larissa Liebmann
- News
Throughout the United States, people do not feel safe drinking their tap water. Unfortunately, many of their fears are well-founded. Government’s response...
Stop a Fossil Fuel Bonanza | Dive Into Democracy
- By: Larissa Liebmann
- News
UPDATE 11/9/18: We are once again hearing that H.R. 4239 – “SECURE American Energy Act,” could come up for a floor vote soon. This bill would...
Disposable diapers overwhelm the Brantas River
- By: Brantas River Waterkeeper
- News
In Indonesia’s Brantas River basin, there is a widespread belief that the burning of baby diapers will cause sickness and skin rashes in children. It...
Words of Wisdom from Former Congresswoman and Columbia Riverkeeper Co-Founder Elizabeth Furse
- By: Columbia Riverkeeper
- News
This feature was originally published in Columbia Riverkeeper’s River Currents 2018 Issue 3 Newsletter, “The Interview Edition: Superheroes...
River Rising: A Town Hall Series by St. Johns Riverkeeper
- By: Bart Mihailovich
- News
In our troubled era of trust and communication, St. Johns Riverkeeper is riding the tide of facts and storytelling for the betterment of its community...
Rebuilding after hurricanes, rethinking where infrastructure is built
- By: Ellen Simon
- News
Hurricane season doesn’t end until November 30, but as we assess the damage done so far by 2018’s hurricanes, it’s clearly time to rethink what we...
Why roll the dice on offshore drilling?
- By: Larissa Liebmann
- News
The neverending Taylor Energy oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is just one example of how ill-prepared companies and the federal government are to address...
How the Army Corps Spreads Pain from a Toxic Lake
- By: Ellen Simon
- News
A 70-mile-long stretch of the Caloosahatchee turned into a river of blue-green slime this summer, as an algal bloom blanketing the river sludged its way...
Trump’s Misguided Coal Policies Must End
- By: Marc Yaggi
- News
Written by Marc Yaggi and Gabrielle Segal President Donald Trump and EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler (and his predecessor Scott Pruitt) have been aggressively...
Smithfield Foods’ “fix” won’t solve the biggest swine waste problems
- By: Will Hendrick
- News
At Waterkeeper Alliance, we’ve spent decades advocating for Smithfield Foods to improve its waste management. The company announced yesterday that it...
Crisis on the Nile, Pt. 2
- By: Sharon Khan
- News
Read part one of Crisis on the Nile “The water goes away all the time, we don’t know how to handle this issue. The other day I even opened the tap...
Environmental Groups Challenge Trump Administration Coal Ash Rule Rollback in Court
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- News
In wake of recent court decision, EPA’s watering down of coal ash regulations on weak footing Environmental groups have filed a petition for review...
Farmers and Waterways Need a Responsible Farm Bill
- By: Larissa Liebmann
- News
Family farmers deserve better Feeding our nation, supporting farmers, and protecting the environment are goals that can readily go hand in hand. But in...
Much-needed money for drinking water infrastructure may be on its way
- By: Ellen Simon
- News
The Water Resources Development Act, which passed both the House and the Senate and awaits the president’s signature, apportions some much-needed money...
North Carolina, we should have known better
- By: Will Hendrick
- News
One big lesson of Hurricane Florence: North Carolina has failed to learn from the recent past. As part of my job as an environmental lawyer at Waterkeeper...
The Law that Changed America
- By: Marc Yaggi
- News
Today is the 46th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the law that changed America. The Clean Water Act passed in 1972, a time when the nation’s rivers...
Eastern Europe’s Rivers and Their Advocates Fight for Life
- By: Gary Wockner
- News
Photos and text by Poudre Waterkeeper Gary Wockner In October of 2018, I had the good fortune to travel to Eastern Europe’s Balkan countries to attend...
Take Heed: Get Out the Vote
- By: Lesley Adams
- News
Last week, as Hurricane Michael quickly strengthened from a tropical depression to a life-threatening Category 4 hurricane, leading to massive destruction...
Confluir | The growing movement to protect the Marañón River
- By: Marañón Waterkeeper
- News
Many years in the making, we are proud to finally release our film Confluir for free to the public. The film directed by Henry Worobec highlights the growing...
New Map Details Extreme Rainfall and Risk of Flooding on Thousands of North Carolina’s Hog and Poultry Facilities
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- News
Analysis of Operations in and nearby Floodplains Reveals the Potential Inundations of Thousands of Waste Cesspools Holding Hundreds of Millions of Gallons...
Analysis Finds Toxic Levels of Arsenic and Selenium in Cape Fear River Following L.V. Sutton Coal Ash Spill
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- News
A water sample taken from the Cape Fear River following the Sept. 16 coal ash spill at Duke Energy’s Sutton Power Plant had arsenic levels 71 times higher...
Hurricane-Impacted Communities, Allies Challenge Factory Farm Pollution Exemption from Federal Emergency Preparedness Law
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- News
Communities, local responders threatened by deadly pollution are being kept in the dark, ill-prepared for emergencies As North Carolina communities grapple...