Three Rivers Waterkeeper

On June 17th, we spent the afternoon on the Monongahela River with The Mon Water Project and Pittsburgh’s Councilmembers. It was great to talk about our ongoing work to protect and restore the water quality of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers and their relationship to our communities. Thank you to all who came out and spent the day with us talking about the amazing resources our rivers provide!

Should you swim in Pittsburgh’s rivers? A water researcher breaks down the answer A newly drafted Pittsburgh Steelers player asked whether the city’s rivers are safe for swimming. A water researcher explains what ‘swimmable’ really means regarding the three rivers.

Our weekly Swim Guide results are in! Our rotating sites this week were at Little Pine Creek and Gourdhead Run, both tributaries to the Allegheny River. This week, 5 sites passed recreational standards for E. coli levels. Learn more about Swim Guide Sampling and get results sent directly to your inbox at 3rwk.org/swim

We had the amazing opportunity to present in the Aquatic Academy Series, a hands-on, immersive experience designed for educators teaching 5th grades and up presented by Allegheny Land Trust and Pittsburgh Water. We got to chat about common types of pollution in our waterways and how to report water pollution before kayaking to Sycamore Island to conduct a nurdle patrol. Thank you so much for having us and thank you to the amazing educators that we got to meet!

On Sunday, we visited Seldom Seen Greenway with Phyllis from the Beechview Historical Society thanks to Age Friendly Greater Pittsburgh. This is a great place to explore Saw Mill Run, a tributary to the Ohio River! We talked about local water quality, the history of this greenway, and learned how to identify different plants near our waterways like jewelweed and nettle. 🌱

Amanda and Sierra joined Clean Water Action for a Lobby Day in Harrisburg. We advocated for proposed legislation that would better protect our water and communities, including bills that would ban PFAS in cosmetics and firefighting foam, impose stricter regulations on data center water usage, and encourage PA DEP to consider the cumulative impacts of industrial pollution in EJ communities. Thank you Carlos for planning our trip from Pittsburgh! 📝💧

Now that the weather has been warming up, we’ve been back out at 6 Mile Island on the Allegheny River doing stewardship and restoration work! Volunteers helped clear out some of the old tree stakes and grow tubes used to support native plants and shrubs while they grew. If you’ve helped us plant native species on the island in the past, we are happy to report they’re growing well! Thank you to our volunteers, Whole Foods Wexford, O’Hara Township, and our amazing partner River to Land Stewards!
Keep an eye out for stewardship opportunities at 3rwk.org/events or sign up for our volunteer listserv at 3rwk.org/volunteer