News & Events
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National Groundwater Awareness Week
This week is National Groundwater Awareness Week and a good time to schedule your annual well water check-up.Just as periodic checks of furnaces and smoke detectors are recommended, so is an annual water well checkup. Spring is a good time to have this done before the peak water-use season begins. About half the U.S. population receives its drinking water from wells! And more than 90 percent of the fresh water in the United States and around the world is groundwater. Ground Water Awareness Week spotlights groundwater, as a valuable and renewable resource.You can obtain more well and consumer information by going to NGWA's Web site for well owners, www.wellowner.org.
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Help Restore Foss Creek!
Join the effort to restore the native plant community on Foss Creek in Healdsburg to improve wildlife habitat and make Foss Creek a healthier place! We provide tools, gloves and training - please wear sturdy shoes and long pants. We meet at Foss Creek and North Street and start at 8:30am and work until 11:30 a.m. Our next scheduled work days are March 20th, April 3 & 17,May 1, 15 & 29th. Heavy rain cancels.Call us with any questions and we hope to see you down by the Creek! More info on our Foss Creek page.
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Riverkeeper Park Volunteer Work Days
Wednesdays 8:30am-11:30am
in Guerneville
Thanks to the volunteers from Sonoma Academy
who volunteered at the Park this month!
Riverkeeper Park Plans are available for your input.
Our concept is to create a natural pedestrian park with access to the Russian River in downtown Guerneville that reflects and demonstrates the goals of restoring the native plant community and proper ecological stewardship of the river banks. Take a look at the plans here and give us your input!
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Take a look at this interesting video on the California Water Bond. "The Water Pirates" is the first of many videos that explain why it is critical to defeat the water bond that will be on California’s November ballot.
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Shop for Eco-friendly products and help the Russian River at the same time!
http://www.letsgogreen.biz/
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The 2007 & 2008 First Flush Reports are available here
Read other Riverkeeper Water Monitoring reports here.
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North Sonoma Agricultural Reuse Project (NSCARP)
NSCARP would contaminate current and future drinking water supplies.
Update: Water Agency Pulls the Plug on Reuse Project
To read more about it, visit the Clean Water Coalition of Northern Sonoma County.
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Gravel Mining Lawsuit Filed
Russian Riverkeeper and two conservation groups filed a lawsuit to overturn county approval of continued destructive open pit gravel mining along the Russian River. See Press Release here.
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Map of Polluted Waters of California
To see a map of polluted waters in California, click on map above. Select a region to learn more about water pollution in your area, where it comes from, how it can affect your health and the environment, and how you can help stop the pollution!
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Agricultural Water Stewardship Online Resource Center
The California Institute for Rural Studies issued a new report, California Water Stewards: Innovative On-farm Water Management Practices(PDF), showcasing ten California growers implementing arange of water-saving practices on their farms.These agricultural water stewardship approaches help buffer farm operations against insecure water supplies while enhancing the environment, reducing costs, and conserving increasingly scarce water resources. The report is available online at http://www.cirsinc.org/Documents/Pub0109.1.pdf
They've also made available an Agricultural Water Stewardship Online Resource Center. Especially interesting to us is an article on dry farming. With vineyards using so much water in Sonoma County, along with the current drought conditions, it may be time to return to the old methods of dry farming.
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Our updated list to report river problems is available
It includes phone numbers to report stormwater and construction site run-off, discharge of pollution w/o a permit, injury/death to wildlife, problems with vineyard development, hazardous spills, dumping along the river, dead birds, poaching, flood watches, etc. Please report any problems you may see!
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Donate Your Car to Support Russian Riverkeeper !
http://www.cars4causes.net/charity-car-donation/russian-riverkeeper.asp
Cars4Causes will pick up your unwanted vehicle and donate a percentage of the proceeds to Russian Riverkeeper. Another way to support the Russian River!
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Russian River ESA Biological Opinion released
National MarineFisheries have released their final Biological Opinion that evaluates the effects of US Army Corps and Sonoma County Water Agency activites at Lake Mendocino & Sonoma to the Russian River Estuary. This document will outline actions required to protect listed Steelhead , Coho and Chinook Salmon.
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See the Russian Riverkeeper on You Tube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CAhUHCJtuI
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New Waterkeeper Video:
The Waterkeeper Alliance has produced a new public service announcement: OURS TO PROTECT. We also invite you to preview The Russian Riverkeeper documentary available on DVD.
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