Monitoring Our Rivers
What is a Riverkeeper
A Riverkeeper is a full-time advocate for a body of water and its surrounding community. Each Riverkeeper is an affiliate of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a grassroots advocacy organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Although most Waterkeepers are Riverkeepers, there are also Baykeepers, Harborkeepers, Coastkeepers and Lakekeepers. Internationally, there are a total of 200 non-profit, privately-funded Waterkeeper programs.
These skilled environmentalists are equal parts scientist, lawyer, investigator, educator and advocate. They advocate compliance with environmental laws, respond to citizen complaints, identify problems that affect their waterbodies and devise appropriate remedies to address these problems.
Each Riverkeeper has a boat -- ranging in size from a canoe to a research vessel -- to patrol his or her waterway. In fact, Riverkeepers spend much of their time out on the water, monitoring water quality, surveying the shoreline or talking with citizens.
What We Do
Our goal is to protect the Confluence Rivers' water quality from pollution created by man. When water quality is jeopardized, all of its uses are affected. The general public, fishermen, hunters, boaters, marinas and others who use the rivers expect that their health will not be compromised by contaminated waters.
We serve as a full time service to coordinate issues identified by other environmental groups, to provide public awareness, to monitor and investigate problems, and to negotiate solutions to protect the waterways.
If negotiations cannot be successful, we bring the matters to public attention through the media and other public means, and if still unsuccessful we use all legal methods available to stop conditions that jeopardize the Confluence.
Although most Waterkeepers are Riverkeepers, there are also Baykeepers, Harborkeepers, Coastkeepers and Lakekeepers. Internationally, there are a total of 200 non-profit, privately-funded Waterkeeper programs.
These skilled environmentalists are equal parts scientist, lawyer, investigator, educator and advocate. They advocate compliance with environmental laws, respond to citizen complaints, identify problems that affect their waterbodies and devise appropriate remedies to address these problems.
Each Riverkeeper has a boat -- ranging in size from a canoe to a research vessel -- to patrol his or her waterway. In fact, Riverkeepers spend much of their time out on the water, monitoring water quality, surveying the shoreline or talking with citizens.
What We Do
Our goal is to protect the Confluence Rivers' water quality from pollution created by man. When water quality is jeopardized, all of its uses are affected. The general public, fishermen, hunters, boaters, marinas and others who use the rivers expect that their health will not be compromised by contaminated waters.
We serve as a full time service to coordinate issues identified by other environmental groups, to provide public awareness, to monitor and investigate problems, and to negotiate solutions to protect the waterways.
If negotiations cannot be successful, we bring the matters to public attention through the media and other public means, and if still unsuccessful we use all legal methods available to stop conditions that jeopardize the Confluence.
