Water Stewardship and Replenish Report - Psddev.com

ImPRovING ECoSySTEm CoNdITIoNS ALoNG ThE RIo
GRANdE/RIo BRAvo RIvER
At Big Bend, Elephant Butte Reach, Pecos River, as well as the Río Conchos
in Mexico, this project uses an integrated river basin management framework
to bring together efforts in policy, environmental flow, pilot rehabilitation
projects, protection of crucial sites, and climate change adaptation. Activities
have included the release of Rio Grande silvery minnow along the Big
Bend, channel maintenance of the Elephant Butte Reach that supports
environmental flows for wildlife without affecting downstream water
supplies, and restoration of 14 kilometers of the Pecos River. The program
also replaced invasive plants with native species along 113 kilometers of
the Rio Grande and helped secure the designation of 340,000 hectares
of Ocampo land as a protected area, creating over 1.2 million hectares of
contiguous parks and protected areas on both sides of the border. With
the recent joint declaration of the Big Bend Region as a natural area of
binational interest, a major landmark in binational cooperation between the
United States and Mexico has been achieved. This work is part of the WWF/
Coca-Cola global partnership focused on freshwater conservation. In this
region, we are working together with a variety of partners on both sides of
the international boundary to restore the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo.
Project Type: Watershed Protection, Education and Awareness
External Partners: WWF, National and local government, International
water commission, Universities
joRdAN RIvER ECoLoGICAL RESToRATIoN
When the Jordan River ecosystem was devastated by major flooding in
the 1980s, many native trees died and the hydrologic system was altered,
decreasing vital habitat for migratory birds. TreeUtah is working to restore
riparian habitat and improve water quality by re-establishing native trees and
shrubs, and removing exotic invasive vegetation. The organization partnered
with local bottler Swire Coca-Cola in 2011 to plant over 760 native trees
along the Jordan River and transform Coca-Cola syrup drums into rain
barrels. Through this collaborative project, we will teach community members
about the importance of water stewardship and habitat restoration.
Project Type: Watershed Protection
External Partner: TreeUtah
mACkINAW RIvER SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
TREATmENT WETLANdS
The Money and Sixmile creeks are tributaries to the Mackinaw River that
feed into the watersheds of Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake, which
together provide drinking water for approximately 83,000 people in Illinois.
The watershed contains some of the most productive agricultural land in
the United States. Agricultural tile drainage from the surrounding area
is a major contributor of nitrate to Lake Bloomington, resulting in high
nitrate concentrations that periodically exceed drinking water standards.
Constructed wetlands are an important solution to this problem, with the
potential to remove up to 90% of nitrate-nitrogen that would otherwise
enter these waters. This project will identify the watershed area drained
by agricultural tiles for the creeks and construct up to six wetlands in the
headwaters of the Money Creek watershed. The effectiveness of these
constructed wetlands at reducing nutrient export will be closely monitored.
This work is part of the WWF/Coca-Cola global partnership focused on
freshwater conservation.
Project Type: Watershed Protection
External Partners: WWF, The Nature Conservancy
RAIN GARdENS
In 2011, we built rain gardens in Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan, and two
areas in Georgia, building on a successful ongoing program. By capturing
stormwater runoff from roofs, parking lots, and other urban surfaces, rain
garden programs around the United States are addressing water pollution
by redirecting stormwater runoff to specially constructed gardens. Debris
from the runoff is broken down by microbes in the rain gardens as water is
allowed to infiltrate the soil instead of directly entering storm or sewer drains
and overwhelming river systems. The gardens have been constructed using
environmentally friendly and recycled materials, and are planted with plant
species native to each area.
Project Type: Watershed Protection
External Partners: Global and local NGOs, Municipal government,
Community organizations, Railroad Park Foundation, The Upper Etowah River
Alliance