Clean Water West

River Network's newest project is called Clean Water West. The goal of the Clean Water West Project is to protect and restore river ecosystems in the Intermountain West (Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico) by providing policy analysis and support to state and local groups in order to improve water quality on public and private lands.

Project Need

The Intermountain West is experiencing rapid population growth and as population grows, water quality issues are increasingly important and high profile.

Some of the basic water quality problems and policy issues in the West are similar to the rest of the country, so those working to address them can benefit from lessons learned elsewhere. River Network can bring the lessons learned in other regions to the West.

Intermountain West states are also faced with unique water quality threats and opportunities. Examples of important western water quality issues include water quality management on federal lands, conflicts between western water law and the Clean Water Act, and endangered species issues. These issues and others like them will benefit from a coordinated regional approach to analysis and grassroots advocacy spearheaded by River Network.

Current Work

River Network's Clean Water West Project is focused on these activities:

• Creation of a Clean Water West Needs Survey to identify the water quality information and skills needs of local and regional groups to target our work to their unique needs

• Development of a regional policy analysis of Clean Water Act program strengths and weaknesses in each state. In addition, we will analyze the current water quality situation on public lands and identify strategies to strengthen restoration and protection of rivers threatened by oil and gas development, mining, grazing, off-road vehicles and other causes.

• Creation of forums to facilitate discussion and strategy development for western water quality issues through online resources such as our Clean Water West Blog, policy and skills trainings and other methods.

• Development of partnerships with three to five state or local groups to strengthen implementation of the Clean Water Act in priority watersheds. These partnerships will be designed to allow River Network and our Partners to make real improvements for particular rivers, as well as to provide replicable examples and precedents for use around the region.