Resource Library

Welcome to the River Network Resource Library!

Search through hundreds of publications, recorded webinars, newsletters, tools, and templates to support your water work. Explore specific topics using the icons below, or if you’re not sure what you need, use the search bar. Type in keywords like “strategic planning,” “State Revolving Fund,” or “data collection.” The resources included here are intended to help you advance your work and spark innovation and new ideas.

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Contact us.

Healthy, Resilient Rivers

Strong Organizations & Leaders

Safe, Affordable Drinking Water

Water Advocacy

Climate-Resilient Communities

Water Science

Featured Resources

Building Blocks of Trust – how community organizations and utilities can work together.
Colorado SMP – everything you’d ever need to know about stream management planning in Colorado.
Equitable Infrastructure Toolkit – learn to advocate for equitable water infrastructure in your community.
Tools for Equitable Climate Resilience – how to perform community-led research and support local leaders to advance climate resilience.
Waste in Our Waters: A Community Toolkit for Aquatic Litter Removal – one-stop shop for building a litter removal program.
The Clean Water Act Owner’s Manual – the quintessential, transformational tool on how YOU can use the CWA to protect your waters.
State Revolving Fund Advocacy Toolkit – a comprehensive guide for advocates looking to get up to speed on the SRF process.
Effective Organizations – a five-part learning series on everything from board governance, to volunteer management, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and more.

Looking for information on specific state-level water policies? Explore the State Policy Hub!

Search the Resource Library

Discover Your Nonprofit’s Path to Digital Transformation
Program: Strong Organizations & Leaders
Resource Type: Webinar
The technology landscape is constantly changing, bringing efficiency and resiliency to those that adapt. Join Felipe Reyes, Director of Customer Development at TechSoup, to learn about the TechSoup Digital Assessment Tool (DAT), a free web-based applic… View Resource ›
The Nuts & Bolts of NGO Budgeting
Program: Strong Organizations & Leaders
Resource Type: Webinar
Organizations of all sizes are facing budget challenges this decade driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting funder priorities, stimulus money and more. For this two-part series, River Network hosted The Fellows Group to talk about budget approaches t… View Resource ›
The Clean Water Act Owner’s Manual, 3rd Edition (2022)
Program: Water Law & Policy
Resource Type: Manuals, Publications, Reports
Much has changed since the Clean Water Act Owner’s Manual’s original publication in 1999, and we are at a fundamentally different time than we were in 1972 when sewage, rendering wastes, and countless industrial chemicals were often dumped directly int… View Resource ›
Addressing Racial Equity
Program: Strong Organizations & Leaders
Resource Type: Webinar
In this short video series, Jennifer Arnold (Reciprocity Consulting, LLC) and Darryl Haddock (West Atlanta Watershed Alliance) lay a helpful foundation for organizations exploring the nexus between water, equity and race. Over the course of four brief… View Resource ›
Board of Directors Development Shorts
Program: Strong Organizations & Leaders
Resource Type: Webinar
River Network brings you this ‘shorts’ series on Board of Directors Development to highlight the various needs of boards in different stages of growth. Whether you’re with a completely volunteer-run organization, a fully staffed organization, or somewh… View Resource ›
Water & Equity Mapping Tools
Program: Resilient Cities & Communities, Water Law & Policy, Water Science
Resource Type: Tools and Templates
We depend on accurate and pertinent information to address environmental pollution and issues of environmental justice to improve both public health and the health of our waterways. Data helps answer questions like: Does your community suffer from chro… View Resource ›
Farm Bill Conservation Programs
Program: Healthy Resilient Rivers, Healthy Rivers in Agricultural Landscapes, Water Law & Policy
Resource Type: Tools and Templates
A very brief Farm Bill history 1933: the first Farm Bill passed as part of the New Deal. 1985: Title II, which includes all conservation programs, was added. Reauthorization occurs every five years. The next Farm Bill is taking shape in 2023. Conservat… View Resource ›
Multi-Stakeholder Collaboratives – Better Practices for Facilitation and Coordination
Program: Strong Organizations & Leaders
Resource Type: Webinar
Leading and coordinating a multi-stakeholder collaboration takes special focus and skill. Join us for two highly interactive, 90-minute trainings led by Institute for Conservation Leadership (ICL) focused on facilitating productive virtual meetings, ma… View Resource ›
Trash to Action: Using Trash Data to Take Informed Action for Your Waterways
Program: Resilient Cities & Communities, Water Science
Resource Type: Webinar
Trash is one of the most visible and abundant forms of pollution that our waterways and communities face today. Trash is a water quality issue, yet it is rarely treated as such. Who wants to swim, paddle, fish, or live near a waterway lined with trash?… View Resource ›
The Fundamentals of SRF Administration & Influencing Equitable Infrastructure in Your Community
Program: Drinking Water
Resource Type: Webinar
The Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) form the largest source of federal funding for water infrastructure, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated historic levels to both SRFs. Watch our 3-part training series… View Resource ›
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Resources
Program: Drinking Water, Water Law & Policy
Resource Type: Tools and Templates, Webinar
View the Peer Call “What’s in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for Water” Part 1 here: Slides: What’s in the Bills? IIJA + Build Back Better Act – Julian Gonzalez, EarthJustice Infrastructure Implementation- Becky Hammer, NRDC Natural Flood M… View Resource ›
State Revolving Funds Resources
Program: Drinking Water, Resilient Cities & Communities, Water Law & Policy
Resource Type: Tools and Templates
Join the SRF State Advocates Forum here. Have a suggested resource to add? Reach out to Erin Kanzig, River Programs Policy & Research Associate at ekanzig@rivernetwork.org. The Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) form the la… View Resource ›
SCW Virtual Workshop Series: Diversion Assessments
Program: Healthy Resilient Rivers, Healthy Rivers in Agricultural Landscapes
Resource Type: Webinar
Participants explored the reasons diversion assessments are important to the SMP/IWMP process. SMP leaders from the Yampa and Mancos Rivers presented their varying approaches to diversion assessments. Phil Brink and Nicole Seltzer’s slides Gretchen Ran… View Resource ›
Stream Management Plans in Colorado: Progress at Five Years
Program: Healthy Resilient Rivers, Healthy Rivers in Agricultural Landscapes
Resource Type: Publications, Reports
Stream Management Plans (SMPs) are a priority in Colorado’s 2015 Water Plan, which calls for 80% of locally-prioritized streams to have a SMP by 2030. In 2021, River Network and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) compiled the accomplishments… View Resource ›
Building Blocks of Trust: Creating Authentic and Equitable Relationships Between Community Organizations and Water Utilities
Program: Drinking Water
Resource Type: Publications, Reports
Want to know how to build strong relationships with your local water utility for clean and safe water? Learn from successful partnerships around the country in our report with WaterNow Alliance, Building Blocks of Trust: Creating Authentic and Equitabl… View Resource ›