WEF Highlights

EarthEcho kicks off World Water Monitoring Challenge program with events in three cities   Students around the country have been celebrating spring by grabbing monitoring kits and heading to their local waterways to get a read on water quality. EarthEcho International (Washington, D.C.) became the official coordinator of the World Water Monitoring ChallengeTM program in […]

In response to one of the most severe droughts in U.S. history, primarily affecting California, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has released the California drought visualization website. The website presents drought data through maps, graphics, and charts, helping to relay the conditions of the area’s rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs, according to a USGS news […]

Businesses pitch innovations during the Potomac Piranhas Pitch    Many innovative, business solutions that may help improve the Potomac River watershed were presented at the Potomac Piranhas™ (Alexandria, Va.) Pitch on Jan. 30–31. More than 120 entrepreneurs, business representatives, investors, engineers, environmental professionals, and community leaders gathered to attend this inaugural event, which modeled ABC’s […]

As part of septic system demonstration program, county gives away 19 treatment systems   In areas without collection systems, Suffolk County, N.Y., encourages residents to install more advanced septic systems to reduce nutrient loading to local surface water and groundwater. To promote these installations, the county held a free advanced wastewater treatment system lottery as […]

Husband and wife team surpass their Water For People fundraising goals   Traveling to WEFTEC® 2014 took on an entirely new meaning for Gary and Linda De Kock. On July 19, the duo began a 70-day journey kayaking down the Mississippi River to raise money for Water For People (Denver). As part of the Mississippi […]

Get outside and sample your local waterway for the World Water Monitoring Challenge™ (WWMC). Through Dec. 31, anyone can help protect water resources around the world by performing a series of hands-on tests of local lakes, rivers, and oceans. The Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) and International Water Association (London) are coordinating WWMC, which builds […]

Oysters may soon be making a comeback in New York waterways. And local students are getting their hands wet to help the oysters’ ecological return. Schools, businesses, organizations, and citizens have teamed up to contribute to the Billion Oyster Project, a long-term effort with the goal of placing one billion oysters into the New York […]

Building infrastructure to handle stormwater no longer needs to focus on gray, it also can be green. To provide incentives for greening open spaces, streets, roofs, pavement, and bioretention facilities as a way to manage stormwater, DC Water (Washington, D.C.) launched the Green Infrastructure Challenge in April 2013. In January 2014, the utility announced seven […]