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Regional Coalition for Clean Rivers and Streams

The Regional Coalition for Clean Rivers and Streams is partnership of eight public agencies in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area, which advocates on behalf of the local waterways within the territories through outreach and marketing.

History and background

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The Regional Coalition for Clean Rivers and Streams partnership was formed among eight public agencies in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area: City of Portland, Oregon, City of Gresham, Oregon, City of Vancouver, Washington, Clean River Partners of Clackamas County, Clark County, Washington, Clean Water Services, Metro and Multnomah County. It advocates on behalf of the local waterways within the territories through outreach and marketing. In an effort to educate the public about stormwater runoff, the Coalition for Clean Rivers and Stream (Coalition) has developed public awareness campaigns containing key messages promoting healthy stormwater management practices.

In spring 2006, the Coalition provided information about its work to students at Oregon State University (OSU) enrolled in a marketing class, titled Collaborative Processes. The students then developed potential messages about the Coalition's work. The Coalition then contracted with Campbell-DeLong Resources, Inc. to conduct four focus groups, held at locations throughout the Portland metropolitan area, to assess public awareness, behavior, and attitudes regarding water runoff and the quality of area rivers and streams, as well as to test potential messages for the public awareness campaign, including previous campaign messages and those developed by the OSU students.

Areas of focus

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Pollutants such as Mercury, DDT, PCBs and PBDEs enter waterways through storm drains and other routes.[1]

  • Lawn. Over watering and rainfall can cause lawn and garden chemicals to run off into rivers, streams and lakes. This pollution can affect the health of fish and other aquatic life. Fertilizer runoff from lawns contributes to the growth of algae in lakes and streams.[2]
  • Auto. Runoff from washing the car goes into storm drains and eventually into rivers, streams, creeks and wetlands.[3]
  • Garden. Compost has the ability to prevent pollutants in surface runoff from reaching surface water resources.[4]
  • Pets. Dog waste accounts for almost 15% of pollution in some local streams.[5]
  • Home.

Water bodies

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References

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  1. ^ Columbia River pollutants at unacceptable levels, EPA says. Scott Learn. The Oregonian Thursday January 15, 2009, 1:48 PM, retrieved September 14, 2009
  2. ^ Healthy Lawns. Healthy Families. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved September 14, 2009
  3. ^ West, Larry, About.com, Eco-Friendly Car Washing: Is It Better to Wash Cars at Home or at the Car Wash? Commercial Car Washes Treat and Recycle Waste Water, Retrieved September 14, 2009, from http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/car_wash.htm Archived 2009-02-12 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ U.S. EPA, Composting Environmental Benefits, October 7, 2008, Retrieved September 14, 2009
  5. ^ "Bacteria DNA Fingerprinting Study 2005" (PDF).
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