Urban Water Quality and Public Health
Raising awareness in three Urban Waters Learning Network locations
It is no secret that water is essential to life; or, that clean water is essential to health. It may be less commonly known that, even with successful environmental regulations in place, water resources in the United States remain threatened. There are more than two million Americans who live without access to clean, affordable drinking water ( Dig Deep and US Water Alliance, 2019 ). And, more than 70% of all Americans live within two miles of a polluted lake, river, stream or coastal area ( US EPA, 2016 ).
Urban waterways are the lifeblood of American cities, enabling their tremendous growth throughout history. However, urban waters today are particularly vulnerable to pollution from a variety of sources—like stormwater runoff, industrial waste, and combined sewer overflows—that result in environmental hazards to public health. This is especially true in historically marginalized communities where the water resources are inaccessible for drinking, recreation, fishing and more.
To address the water issues in urban centers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began the Urban Waters Federal Partnership in 2011. Today, there are 20 designated locations across the country in which urban waters practitioners from multiple sectors work together to solve water quality, flooding, and other issues afflicting vulnerable communities.
The Urban Waters Movement
With the designation of the 20 Federal Partnership locations (marked in yellow), the EPA has joined an urban waters movement across the United States. Helping to facilitate the movement, the Urban Waters Learning Network (UWLN) is a peer-to-peer network of urban waters practitioners led by the River Network and Groundwork USA. Members of the UWLN (marked in black) are affecting change in urban areas across the country.
From coast to coast, many of these members are working to enhance water quality, raise public awareness, and improve public health in underserved communities. The locations marked in blue show members who are implementing water quality projects related to public health in their urban areas.
Three recent projects in unique UWLN locations provide important lessons. The green stars mark their locations.
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1
Denver, CO: Groundwork Denver
Groundwork Denver works to bring about the sustained improvement of the physical environment and promote health and well-being through community-based partnerships and action.
The organization is a part of the South Platte Urban Waters Partnership , which consists of over 70 organizations. The partnership collaborates to address the problems facing the South Platte and improve this vital waterway for Denverites and those who live downstream – both current and future generations.
2
Santa Monica, CA: Heal the Bay
Heal the Bay has a strong history promoting environmental awareness and advocating for public health as well as water quality improvements. In cooperation with students from Los Angeles Trade Technical College and funded by EPA’s Urban Waters small grant program, Heal the Bay expanded their work in the LA River and other freshwater areas where people recreate and swim.
3
Matawan, NJ: NY/NJ Baykeeper
The NY/NJ Baykeeper works to protect, preserve, and restore the ecological integrity and productivity of the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary.
Funded in part by the EPA Urban Waters Small Grants Program and in cooperation with Rutgers University, the organization has undertaken an analysis of plastics present in the waters within the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Watershed.
The South Platte: An Urban River and Critical Watershed , First published by Maria Brodine on Feb 19, 2019
Project Setting: South Platte Watershed
Like many American cities, Denver grew up on the banks of its local river, the South Platte. The South Platte watershed drains a total of 28,000 square miles on its way to the Missouri River. The Platte’s headwaters emerge in the South Park highland meadow basin, then flow north and east through several major reservoirs. Just after entering the Chatfield Reservoir and State Park, it flows through the outlying cities of Littleton and Englewood before entering Denver city limits.
By the time the river reaches Confluence Park in the heart of Denver, it has already picked up a number of pollutants from point and non-point sources, including stormwater runoff from nearby buildings. Drought years—such as 2017, when the river was too low to support the normal popular tubing activities—exacerbate these problems, as nutrients and other pollutants build up and deplete oxygen levels.
Groundwork Denver's Water Quality Work
Groundwork Denver leads water quality monitoring and community engagement efforts at seventeen testing sites along Lower Bear Creek, primarily in the working class town of Sheridan where many people play in or near the creek and bear the brunt of upstream pollution. Lower Bear Creek carries high quantities of E.coli, mostly from non-point sources.
Above: Andrea Savage, Project Manager, leads the Green Team as they process what they’ve learned during class time. Right: The Groundwork Denver staff team and partners in front of Bear Creek. Photos: UWLN)
Through its Green and Blue Team job training program, Groundwork Denver trains and employs youth to conduct the sampling approximately two times per month in the winter and four times per month during hotter summer months. These data serve to identify major outfall sources, inform targeted cleanup and pollution prevention efforts, and drive public education campaigns to advise people about the safety of fishing and recreating in certain areas.
Water Quality Assessment Tool
In 2016, the Water Quality Working Group of the South Platte Urban Waters Partnership—chaired by Groundwork Denver—pooled resources to develop the Water Quality Assessment Tool (WQAT) . The WQAT provides mobile-compatible online access to interactive maps, graphs and information users can bring into the field to explore water quality in the South Platte River basin. Instructors can use these tools to teach students how to read and analyze maps and graphs; scientists and advocates can use them to share the information with stakeholders in real time.
LA River Report Card: Heal the Bay Encourages Public Health and Community Engagement , First published by Renee Mazurek on March 16, 2018
Project Setting: LA River Watershed
The Los Angeles (LA) River – is a 51-mile-long system that flows through the nation’s second largest urban area before emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach. In the decades following the devastating flood of 1938, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers channelized nearly the entire river, creating a flood control structure that receives water from point discharges, storm sewers and urban run-off.
In 1938, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers channelized the LA River, creating concrete channels for nearly its entire length. Photo: City of Los Angeles River Revitalization
For decades, Angelenos forgot that the series of concrete channels were actually a river. In 2010, EPA declared the LA River a “ traditional navigable water ” strengthening the protections it receives under the Clean Water Act.
The following year, the Sepulveda Basin section of the LA River was opened to kayakers for on-the-water summer recreation. Similarly, the Elysian Valley section was opened for summer recreation in 2013. In June 2016, the LA City Council approved a plan to restore an 11-mile stretch of the river from Griffith Park to downtown LA.
With new water uses and more revitalization on the horizon, water quality monitoring for public health and community engagement becomes chiefly important.
Water Quality Monitoring
Heal the Bay began testing bacteria levels in the LA River during the summer recreation season in 2015. In 2017, with funding from the EPA, Heal the Bay engaged 5 students from Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC) to create a water quality monitoring team. The team collected water quality samples in sections along the LA River, focusing on recreational areas.
LATTC students, with mentor Katherine Pease, sample water quality at locations along the LA River. Photos: Heal the Bay
Development of the River Report Card
With water quality data from Heal the Bay and other city and county monitoring programs, the River Report Card was released in July 2017. The River Report Card is an online interactive map that displays water quality information at multiple locations in the LA River watershed (as well as in surrounding watersheds). The River Report Card will continue to provide updated water quality information into the future.
The River Report Card tool is embedded to the left; and you can interact with the points on the map. You can also expand the map by clicking on the button in the top right corner.
Heal the Bay supports restoration and public recreation on the LA River. As recreational uses of the LA River grow, the organization wants to empower people to make more informed decisions about how to safely engage with the river. Involving students from LATTC in the development of the River Report Card is a great educational and community-driven approach. The students gain practical working experience and advocacy for water quality improvements as well as learn effective methods of communication and public outreach. In this way, both Heal the Bay and the community contribute to increasing the overall health of their environment.
Raising Awareness: Microplastic Pollution in the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary , First published on Dec 7, 2017 by Renee Mazurek
Project Setting: NY-NJ Harbor Estuary
The NY-NJ Harbor Estuary, home to the Port of New York and New Jersey, is one of the most urban estuaries in the world. It is formed by a complicated network of waterways entering into the estuary, including the Passaic, Hudson, and Raritan Rivers.
Historically, oyster reefs were prolific and an important part of the ecosystem, providing filters and habitats for other aquatic organisms. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, overfishing, and pollution, the oyster reefs in the estuary were decimated in the early 20th century.
Above: Plastic samples collected from Newark Bay include pre-production pellets (nurdles) and microplastic fragments. Right: Washed-up plastic debris is seen in Keyport, NJ. Photos: NY/NJ Baykeeper
Thanks to better regulation of pollution, water quality has improved within the Harbor Estuary. Still, the Bay faces threats fueled by the widespread production and use of plastics.
Though plastics break down to small particles quickly, those small particles are nearly indestructible. Microplastics, in turn, absorb contaminants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, and flame retardants, all of which are found within the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary in high concentrations. These pollutants can remain in the water for decades and subsequently affect natural food webs.
Monitoring Microplastics Pollution
The NY/NJ Baykeeper is the first organization to document the abundance and distribution of plastics pollution in the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary. The Baykeeper (with the help of Ironbound Community Corporation ) recruited high school student volunteers and engaged Rutgers University student interns to collect samples in locations along the Raritan and Passaic Rivers and within the Harbor Estuary.
The samples were collected using a manta trawl; and, using common techniques for quantifying synthetic particles in water, the samples were analyzed and separated by size and types.
Results of the analysis show that 5 different types of plastics are found within the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary watershed. Of the total 6,932 particles of plastic counted, 85% were microplastics (<5 mm), and 38% of those were < 1 mm in size. From this study, NY/NJ Baykeeper ( 2016 ) estimates that more than 165 million particles of plastics are floating in the estuary at any given time.
Above: Approximately 58% of the plastics within a sample taken from the East River, NYC were smaller than 1mm. Approximately 85% of all particles counted were categorized as microplastics (smaller than 5mm). Right: Rutgers University student interns use the manta trawl to collect samples. Photos: NY/NJ Baykeeper
Advocating for change starts first with quantifying and documenting the extent of plastics pollution. The NY/NJ Baykeeper study illuminates the high prevalence of plastics pollution within the Harbor Estuary and highlights the importance of both decreasing plastics consumption and increasing disposal awareness.
Each of the organizations—Groundwork Denver, Heal the Bay, and NY/NJ Baykeeper—works in vastly different settings and faces different water quality issues. Monitoring water quality, raising public awareness and working to improve the state of their urban waters fosters the growth of healthy rivers and healthy communities. Ultimately, all three organizations are working toward healthier environments for underserved communities living in and around their urban waterways.
Urban Waters Learning Network
For similar stories, resources, and more information about our network, visit our website . Explore more of our network members on our members map to the right.
