2016 Highlights
We accomplished a great deal this year, thanks to people like you…
- Our staff patrolled the river 55 times, traveling over 12,000 miles and hosted 27 events in 9 cities to raise awareness.
- Issued 21 water quality alerts throughout the summer in our Swim Guide program.
- Get the Skinny Before You Dip! Delivered swimming recommendations to 210,000 via social media, 490+ text message subscribers, conducted direct mailing to 3,000+ families around our sampling sites and utilized radio PSAs!
- Built a larger volunteer network- 154 volunteers donated 5,000 hours of their time with an estimated value of $101,308 (according to the Independent Sector’s 2015 volunteer rate of $23.56/hr).
- Filed a lawsuit against Oxford Wastewater Treatment Plant for discharging high levels of E. coli in Choccolocco Creek.
- The University of Virginia School of Environmental Law Journal published “Who Owns Alabama’s Coosa River? Citizen’s Impact on the Tri-State Water Wars Muted by Private Ownership of Riparian Rights” written by our Staff Riverkeeper, Frank! Read here.
- Worked with Logan Martin Lake Protection Association to convince Pell City to voluntarily adopt stricter E. coli standards for their sewage plant on Logan Martin Lake despite ADEM proposing an 8x increase to allowable bacteria levels.
- Empowered 15 interns and 65+ service learning students from 4 universities working on all three programs
- Countless news articles— Fish Guide program featured in UAB magazine & our Executive Director was featured in UA College of Arts & Sciences in “Celebrating Excellence.”
- Our staff presented at two different national conferences on two of our programs.
To learn more about our work, please visit www.coosariver.org!
