U.S. EPA Showcases Videos on Urban Water Improvements Across the United States

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Click to see the Urban Waters Voices videos.

Urban waters can provide public spaces for recreation, spur development of local businesses, and create new jobs. So, through its Urban Waters program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working to improve public access to and the quality of urban waters.

As part of the program, EPA has released a series of video interviews featuring locally led efforts to restore urban waters in communities across the U.S. The Urban Waters Voices videos feature leaders discussing their local watershed challenges and organizations’ efforts to improve the quality of their waterways. The leaders include

• Beth Stewart, executive director of the Cahaba River Society (Birmingham, Ala.);
• Bob Zimmerman, executive director of the Charles River Watershed Association (Weston, Mass.);
• Darryl Haddock, environmental education director of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance;
• Edwin Revell, a volunteer at the Village Creek Society (Birmingham);
• EkOngKar “EK” Singh Khalsa, executive director of the Mystic River Watershed Association (Arlington, Mass.);
• James Rasmussen, coordinator of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group (Seattle);
• Marjorie Mayfield Jackson, executive director of the Elizabeth River Project (Portsmouth, Va.);
• Mary Rickel Pelletier, director of Park Watershed Inc. (West Hartford, Conn.);
• Michael Byrd, executive director of the Prescott (Ariz.) Creeks Preservation Association;
• Nate Haan, project manager at Plaster Creek Stewards (Grand Rapids, Mich.);
• Sara Peel, director of watershed projects at the Wabash River Enhancement Corp. (Lafayette, Ind.);
• Shane Wright, Youth and Water Program director at Groundwork (Denver);
• Stephen Paul DeVillo, a volunteer at the Bronx (N.Y.) River Alliance; and
• Tim Fulton, executive director of Groundwork Buffalo (N.Y.).