Coastal Blog — Water Quality
July 06 2012
Testing the Waters: NRDC’s 2012 Report
Blue Water Task Force Water Quality
The Natural Resources Defense Council has just released their annual Testing the Waters Report for 2012. The number of beach closing and advisory days reported in 2011 was 23,481 days, confirming that our nation's beaches continue to experience significant water pollution that puts swimmers and local economies at risk.
June 21 2012
Senate Briefing on Beach Act Funding
David Chokachi of former Baywatch fame spoke before a room full of policymakers in Washington, DC this week on behalf of the Surfrider Foundation. With the summer beach season fully upon us, David appealed to Congress to protect the health of the American beach-going public and restore funding for beach…
June 11 2012
Help build support for beach water testing programs!
Blue Water Task Force Water Quality
Activist Toolkit now available for our Restore Beach Act Funding Campaign. Use this toolkit at your Chapter events and meetings this summer to build community awareness and to appeal to your Senators in DC to support funding for the BEACH Act program.
April 13 2012
Danger: Stay out of the Water!
Blue Water Task Force Youth Water Quality
Read this press release by Santa Monica High School students after they measured alarmingly high bacteria levels at their ocean beach BWTF testing sites following heavy rains last week. These students continue to do a great job bringing public attention to local beach pollution problems.
April 10 2012
Restoring Clean Water and Natural Ecosystems in Ventura, CA
Know Your H20 Low Impact Development Ocean Friendly Gardens Water Quality
For the past two decades the Ventura Chapter has been working on integrated solutions to the problems that face our ocean, waves, and beaches. Learn more about the many programs and campaigns they are leading to protect and restore water quality, water supply and watershed function in the Ventura River…
March 26 2012
Senators request funding for water quality monitoring
Blue Water Task Force Water Quality
Thanks to your calls, tweets and emails and the hard work of our partners at Heal the Bay, Clean Ocean Action, NRDC, Surfers Environmental Alliance and the Waterkeeper Alliance, we were able to get 18 Senators to join Senator Lautenberg to request that the federal funding for water quality monitoring…
March 26 2012
Great Student Urban Runoff Videos
Blue Water Task Force Youth Water Quality
We love receiving videos from students who understand the connection between what we do on land and how it affects the ocean. Here is a "First Flush" video from "Team Marine" at Santa Monica High School and an Urban Runoff video from the "Green Team" at Hughes Middle School in…
March 19 2012
3 Steps to Fund Water Quality Monitoring
We have an opportunity this week (March 19th) to urge our Senators to support New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg in asking the Senate Appropriations Committee to restore funding for water quality monitoring. Here are the 3 easy steps to encourage your Senator to join him.
March 14 2012
Help Celebrate the Clean Water Act’s 40th Anniversary
The Clean Water Act was signed into law 40 years ago. Here are 5 things you can do to help celebrate the CWA's 40th anniversary.
March 14 2012
Clean Water Act 40th Anniversary
The Clean Water Act was signed into law 40 years ago in response to massive water pollution problems in this country. We rely on the Clean Water Act to make sure that our waters remain clean for drinking, swimming, fishing and of course, surfing.
March 06 2012
The Clean Water Program
Blue Water Task Force Know Your H20 Ocean Friendly Gardens Water Quality
The Clean Water Program has grown into a suite of complementary programs, campaigns and tools that Chapters and activists can use to help solve water pollution problems and to educate communities about the many benefits of responsible land and water management.
March 03 2012
Surfrider Hits the Nation’s Capital
Legal Rise Above Plastics Water Quality Oil Spill
This past week Surfrider Foundation staff visited Washington DC to promote our federal priorities on Capitol Hill. As a grassroots organization, our federal priorities stem from the work of the over 80 local Chapters in the United States. The common issues that have risen to the top of our local…
February 15 2012
Obama to end beach water quality monitoring?
Blue Water Task Force Water Quality Illness
By defunding the Beach Grant Program, the Obama Administration is about to put you and your kids at risk next time you swim in the ocean.
February 10 2012
California Coast Protected by Largest No-Discharge Zone in the Nation!
The federal Environmental Protection Agency approved a California Sewage Ban and Created the Largest Coastal No-Discharge Zone in the Nation on February 9, 2012.
February 06 2012
Safer to Play in the Sand? Maybe Not
Some parents concerned about exposing their children to polluted water at the beach may advise their kids to stay on the beach and play in the sand. According to a new EPA study, that may not always protect them from getting sick. Testing at beaches in Alabama and Rhode Island,…
January 18 2012
New Beach Water Quality Standards?
Blue Water Task Force Water Quality Illness
As surfers, swimmers and beach goers we rely on water quality monitoring to know if it is safe to go into the ocean. That monitoring relies on water quality standards to determine your risk of getting sick. EPA has reassessed those standards, and Surfrider is weighing in on them.
January 06 2012
Florida’s Coastal and Ocean Future: An Updated Blueprint for Economic and Environmental Leadership
Beachapedia Coastal Preservation Ocean Ecosystems Water Quality
This updated report is the latest from the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition, which Surfrider Foundation is a member, and addresses Florida's most challenging coastal and marine topics and recommends actions for protecting and preserving the future of Florida's coasts and oceans.
December 13 2011
More Congressional attacks on clean water & the environment
Our representatives in Congress continue to try to tack dirty water amendments onto the appropriations bills that need to pass in order to keep our government running in 2012. Final negotiations are underway now. Let's hope Surfrider and the rest of the clean water community have made our voices heard…
November 10 2011
EPA Plays Politics with Florida’s Waterways
Last week the EPA caved into political pressure and informed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection of its preliminary approval of their ineffective draft state regulations for sewage, manure and fertilizer pollution. It seems the EPA is missing a real opportunity to protect Florida's waters from algae blooms that have…
October 26 2011
National Drug Take Back Day: Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is hosting its third National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, 2011 at many local law enforcement offices and other locations across the country. Proper and safe disposal of medicine can keep these chemicals out of our rivers, lakes, streams and oceans.
