Helping Our Rivers
Clean, healthy rivers are necessary for our survival. Rivers provide water for drinking and irrigation, help sustain our economy, provide essential habitat for fish and wildlife, and offer opportunities for recreation. Healthy rivers are an integral part of the environment that supports human life.
This report provides tips on how you can help our rivers. The collective impact of our individual actions can make a huge difference. But it is imperative that we also have strong policies in place to protect our rivers, that private and governmental institutions work together effectively to improve watershed health, and that we use our resources wisely.
State agencies that work to protect and restore our rivers include the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Department of State Lands, and the Oregon Department of Forestry. Soil and water conservation districts, watershed councils, and independent nonprofit organizations such as riverkeepers groups, “friends of the creek” groups, and the Oregon Environmental Council help clean up our rivers as well.
The Federal Clean Water Act, which requires DEQ to track water quality, develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), and issue stormwater permits for cities, and Oregon's Senate Bill 1010, which requires the ODA to develop Water Quality Agricultural Management Plans, are key tools in the effort to protect and clean up our rivers. Citizens need to get involved in these efforts to make sure these agencies are doing their job well, and that they are receiving adequate funding.
Federal and state funding for natural resource protection agencies has been declining steadily. DEQ does not currently have adequate staffing levels to issue water quality permits, update standards based on current scientific data, or monitor our rivers for water quality problems. DEQ's budget is a very small portion of the entire state budget; making increases to bring the agency's budget back up to at least 2003 levels would make a significant difference for Oregon's rivers. Watershed councils and soil and water conservation districts, which bring local communities together to protect and restore watersheds, are critical leaders in efforts to clean up Oregon's rivers. They rely on funding from the state of Oregon and need adequate support for their important work to continue.
In addition to the information included in this report, many chemicals are entering our rivers that are not currently being tracked for the 303(d) list. These emerging concerns include several pesticides, pharmaceutical products, endocrine disruptors, and toxic flame retardants. We are releasing thousands of chemicals into the environment every day with very little knowledge of their impacts on human health or aquatic ecosystems. We must do a much better job of monitoring water quality and preventing pollution from entering our rivers in the first place.
This report focuses on Oregon’s longest ten rivers, all of which need help. Even those with fewer pollution problems still violate Clean Water Act standards. All Oregon's rivers need people, businesses, and governments to care about them and take steps to make them clean and healthy for people and fish.
