Fifteen Things You Can Do to Make a Difference in Your Watershed

Getting involved

Learn About Your Watershed Become Active in Your Watershed Help Increase Public Awareness in Your Watershed
	Learn about your watershed. Start by using the Watershed Region Information to find your watershed address and learn about its environmental health. Other useful sites include Surf Your Watershed, Envirofacts and Enviromapper. Also be sure to check out EPA's Wetlands web page to learn about the importance of wetlands.
	Use EPA's Nonpoint Source Program web pages to learn about how nonpoint source pollution affects your watershed and your coastal watershed. Identify ways you can help prevent polluted runoff from your home, ranch or farm. Check out Give Water a Hand (for students) or the National FarmASyst/HomeASyst Voluntary Assessment Programs (for farmers and homeowners), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service's Programs and Activities to find out how you can be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem.
	Go on an Estuary Walk, Lake Walk, Stream Walk, or River Walk and make observations and assessments of waterbody conditions. If you see anything abnormal (such as dead fish, oil spills, leaking barrels, and other pollution) contact your city or county environmental department right away and report the nature and location of the problem.
	Find out about our precious coastal and marine resources by reading the Coastal Watershed Fact Sheets. Learn about our pressure on ocean resources and find out 25 things you can do to help save coral reefs.
	Learn how land use and development decisions affect your water resources and how watershed planning and the watershed approach can help. Find out about model ordinances to protect water quality at EPA's Model Ordinances to Protect Local Resources web pages and the Center for Watershed Protection. Also learn about alternatives to current development patterns such as low-impact development and smart growth.
	Find a watershed organization in your community and volunteer to help. If there are no active groups, consider starting your own. Use EPA's Adopt Your Watershed's Catalog of Watershed Groups to locate groups in your community or visit the Watershed information website How to Start a Watershed Team page.
	Become a Volunteer Water Quality Monitor. Help collect water quality data and build stewardship for your local waterbody. Attend a training workshop to learn proper monitoring techniques and safety rules. Visit EPA's Volunteer Monitoring Homepage and read Starting Out in Volunteer Water Monitoring (PDF) (4 pages, 837KB). Consult the National Estuary Program's Volunteer Monitoring page for guidance in coastal areas.
	Organize or join in the cleanup of a beach, stream, estuary, or wetland. For example, participate in the National River Cleanup Week. sponsored by American Outdoors, or the International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy on the third Saturday of every September. For information on coastal debris, read Turning the Tide on Trash. Be sure to follow safety guidelines for any cleanup activity!
	Create a Wildlife Habitat in your Backyard, Workplace or Schoolyard. Certify your backyard or schoolyard as part of the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program or Schoolyard Habitat Program.
	Participate in or help coordinate a special wetlands activity during the month of May to celebrate American Wetlands Month. Visit EPA’s wetlands web site for ideas for special wetland activities. Also, celebrate International Migratory Bird Day by joining in an event to raise awareness about the importance of birds, biological diversity, and wetlands.
	Do your part to protect drinking water sources. Individuals, citizen groups, and local communities can participate in many activities that help to protect their drinking water sources. Get information about drinking water and how it can be protected at the EPA Source Water Protection Web site. Find out more about how your drinking water is tested, treated and protected by reading your utility's yearly water quality report. Check out the National Source Water Collaborative – a coalition of 19 national organizations with a shared recognition of the importance of protecting drinking water sources.
	Prepare a presentation about your watershed for a school or civic organization. Explain what a watershed is. Discuss water quality threats, including polluted runoff and habitat loss. Highlight things people can do to protect water quality, including limiting fertilizer use and eliminating herbicides and pesticides. Be sure to provide case studies from other watersheds and to highlight success stories. Research your presentation using a variety of water education materials.
	Organize a Storm Drain Marking Project in your neighborhood. Produce and distribute a flyer or door hanger for households to remind residents that storm drains dump directly into your local waterbody. Click here for guidelines on how to conduct a project. Visit EPA’s Stormwater Website for door hangers, videos and publications that can be downloaded or ordered for free.
	Sponsor a World Water Monitoring Day Event or Watershed Festival in your community to raise awareness about the importance of watershed protection. Organize the event around a water body in your watershed (e.g., estuary, lake, river, etc.), an issue (protecting drinking water sources), or a national event. Find out how to get involved in or start planning your own monitoring event using the Water Environment Federation’s World Wide Monitoring Day Web site . The Groundwater Foundation's "Making Waves: How to Put on a Water Festival" and "Making More Waves: Ideas from Across the US and Canada for Organizing Your Water Festival” guidebooks can help you organize a festival in your community.
	Learn how to fund your watershed outreach and public education efforts. Use the following EPA resources to get started: the Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection, Environmental Finance Program, and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program.

Click here if you'd like to receive a Certificate of Recognition for your watershed protection activities.

This is not a complete list of available resources and mention of these products does not constitute endorsement by EPA. Visit the Office of Water Homepage or the Watershed Homepage for for more information.

Water | Wetlands, Oceans & Watersheds

Fifteen Things You Can Do to Make a Difference in Your Watershed

Learn About Your Watershed

Become Active in Your Watershed

Help Increase Public Awareness in Your Watershed

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