Rivers and Watersheds

Web Sites

• American Heritage Rivers
  The American Heritage Rivers initiative is an innovative response to help river communities obtain federal assistance with the minimum of red tape and regulations. The website is hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• American Rivers
  North America's leading national river-conservation organization whose mission is to protect and restore America's river systems and to foster a river stewardship ethic. Includes a list of most endangered rivers and links to related sites
• International Rivers Network
  The leading organization working to halt the construction of destructive river development projects and to promote sound river management options worldwide.
• Izaak Walton League of America
  Founded in 1922 by Chicago anglers to combat stream pollution, IWLA's top goal continues to be water quality. Currently with more than 330 local chapters nationwide, including a Greater Pittsburgh Chapter.
• National Park Service: National Center for Recreation and Conservation (NCRC)
  Serves as the National Park Service's focal point for working with an array of public and private partners in providing close-to-home recreation opportunities throughout the nation.
  • Rivers, Trails & Conservations Assistance Program
    "The Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (Rivers & Trails) program of the National Park Service helps local groups and agencies undertake conservation projects -- like protecting rivers or developing trails -- in their community." The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the Ohio Greenways have received their support.
  • Land & Water Conservation Fund
    Provides matching grants to States and local government for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities.

• National River Cleanup Week
  http://www.nationalrivercleanup.org/
  National River Cleanup Week traditionally occurs during the second or third week of May each year. It was originally conceived in 1991 by America Outdoors® in response to a recognition that America's streams and rivers were in need of cleaning due to the careless disposal of trash and other debris.
• National Wetlands Research Center
  http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/
  Part of the US Geological Survey providing information and research for the understanding and conservation of the nation's wetlands. Headquartered at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

• National Wild and Scenic Rivers
  http://www.rivers.gov/
  The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the US Congress in 1968 to protect rivers from abuse and preserve the character of the river.
  • Allegheny
  • Clarion
• River Network
  http://www.rivernetwork.org/
  River Network and River Watch Network combined forces to provide support and advocacy to local grassroots watershed organizations.
• USGS: Water Resources of the United States
  http://water.usgs.gov/
  Information from the US Geological Survey
• US Geological Survey: Ecological Status and Trends of the Upper Mississippi River System 1998
  A detailed report on the condition of the Upper Mississippi, including the Illinois River.
• The Waterkeeper Alliance
  The Waterkeeper Alliance is a grass roots organization with individual waterkeeper programs both nationally and internationally. Riverkeepers are citizen river advocates who monitor rivers by means of a patrol boat and bring attention to problems such as illegal dumps, abandoned vessels, sewer overflows, pollution sources, etc.
• The Waterfront Center
  A non-profit education and urban planning organization, headquartered in Washington DC, whose mission is to assist communities and professions in making the wisest and best long-term uses of waterfront resources for maximum public benefit.

Pittsburgh Region

• 3 Rivers 2nd Nature
  This is an interdisciplinary team of artists, engineers, landscape architects, policy experts, and scientists, collaborating on a study of the natural (green and blue) infrastructure of our river systems. They are located at the Studio for Creative Inquiry, Carnegie Mellon University.

• 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program
  a partnership of ALCOSAN and the Allegheny County Health Department established to provide county communities with the institutional, technical and financial tools to eliminate wet weather sewer overflows.
• Find the Rivers
  Find the Rivers! is an effort to expand the Hill District's economic, social and cultural opportunities by linking residents and Hill-based organizations to Pittsburgh's three rivers. The project is a collaboration between Hill House, Community Partners Institute, Carnegie Mellon University and the Riverlife Task Force.
• Friends of the Riverfront
  A membership based organization dedicated to improved public access and appreciation of Pittsburgh waterfront and the continued expansion of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail.
• Montour Run Watershed Association
  The MRWA has as its purpose the protection, remediation, and long-term stewardship of the Montour Run Watershed. This includes land, water, and biological resources of the watershed, as we strive to make the Montour Valley healthier for all its residents.
• Mountain Watershed Association
  The Mountain Watershed Association, Inc. is a non-profit, tax-exempt community-based Pennsylvania corporation concerned with the preservation and remediation of the Indian Creek Watershed from Jones Mills, Westmoreland County to the Youghiogheny River, Fayette County.
• Nine Mile Run Watershed Association
  The Nine Mile Run Watershed is a small urban watershed located in Pittsburgh's East End. The 6.5 square mile Nine Mile Run watershed includes the boroughs of Edgewood, Swissvale, Wilkinsburg, and part of the City of Pittsburgh. It is home to close to 48,000 people as well as 250 plant species, 22 different mammals, and 189 types of birds. Water from the Nine Mile Run Watershed flows into the Monongahela, then the Ohio, then the Mississippi River, and eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
• Pennsylvania Water Resources Education Network (WREN)
  Lists local projects by county for the state. Below are links to counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
  • Allegheny
  • Butler
  • Fayette
  • Greene
  • Lawrence
  • Washington
  • Westmoreland
• Pennsylvania Environmental Council
  The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) is a statewide, non-profit, education and advocacy organization devoted to promoting the protection of watersheds.
  • Southwest Office
• Riverlife Task Force
  The Riverlife Task Force is a public-private partnership established in 2000 to guide and advocate for the redevelopment of Pittsburgh's riverfronts.
• Sewickley Creek Watershed Association
  The Sewickley Creek Watershed is a 168 square mile area in southwestern Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, drained by Sewickley Creek and it's major tributaries.
• Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition
  Located in Cranberry Township, north of Pittsburgh, the SRWC works to protect the watershed of the Slippery Rock Creek.
• Streets Run Watershed Association
  The Streets Run Watershed Association (SRWSA) is a joint Municipal organization compromised of 8 participating municipalities, including the boroughs of Baldwin, Brentwood, Homestead, Munhall, West Homestead, West Mifflin, Whitehall and the City of Pittsburgh.
• Three Rivers Habitat Partnership (TRHP)
  is a cooperative effort among corporations, landowners, conservation groups, intergovernmental agencies, and the public to integrate and enhance efforts to conserve the natural environment of our rivers and their urban watersheds.
• Turtle Creek Watershed Association
  The Turtle Creek Watershed Association is dedicated to promoting the conservation of the natural resources of the Turtle Creek watershed, east of Pittsburgh.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District Water Management
  Check here for current river conditions.
• US Environmental Protection Agency Surf Your Watershed: Pennsylvania
  Learn about Pittsburgh Region watersheds
  • Lower Allegheny
  • Middle Allegheny - Redbank
  • Middle Allegheny - Tionesta
  • Upper Allegheny
  • Beaver
  • Conemaugh
  • Kiskiminetas
  • Lower Monongahela
  • Upper Ohio
  • Shenango
  • Youghiogheny
• Watershed Atlas of the Allegheny River
  The land drained by the Allegheny River covers 11,770 square miles including most of Western Pennsylvania and part of southwestern New York. At this site you can learn how the Allegheny River watershed was formed and learn about its stream habitats. The site is a project of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Western Pennsylvania Region.
• Western Pennsylvania Watershed Protection Program
  The Western Pennsylvania Watershed Protection is a small grants program dedicated to the preservation and the restoration of our water resources and our watersheds. Guided by an independent board of advisors, all of whom are watershed restoration experts, the Program provides much needed matching funds for state and federal grants and provides guidance to local watershed and volunteer-based organizations.

  Return to the top

Western Pennsylvania

• Creek Connections
  Creek Connections is a partnership between Allegheny College and regional K-12 schools in which they use the waterways in Northwest Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh area as outdoor environmental laboratories.
• Greene County Watershed Alliance
  The Greene County Watershed Alliance is a nonprofit organization which serves to educate, promote, protect and preserve the ecosystems of Greene County's Watersheds.
• Loyalhanna Watershed Association
  The mission of the LWA is to protect, conserve and restore the natural resources of the Loyalhanna Creek, which originates in the limestone aquifers of Laurel Mountain and finds its way to a confluence with the Conemaugh River in Saltsburg, on the border of Westmoreland and Indiana Counties (east of Pittsburgh).
• Raymond Proffitt Foundation
  Although this foundation is an environmental organization located in eastern Pennsylvania, it is currently fighting longwall mining in southwestern Pennsylvania. Their report on Wetlands and Longwall Mining: Regulatory Failure in Southwestern Pennsylvania, is available online.
• Roaring Run Watershed Association
  Roaring Run is near Apollo, Pennsylvania (northeast of Pittsburgh), and includes both Rattling Run and Roaring Run, which flow into the Kiskiminetas River.
• SCRIP: Stonycreek, Conemaugh Rivers Improvement Project
  a local effort in Cambria and Somerset Counties, in the Allegheny Mountains of Western Pennsylvania, to restore the Stonycreek and Little Conemaugh Rivers from over 150 years of coal mining induced pollution.

Pennsylvania

• Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds
  The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, formerly known as the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program, is a grant-making foundation that invests in efforts to protect and restore watersheds.
• PA Watersheds
  Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) is the Pennsylvania Commonwealth's only statewide river conservation and watershed networking organization. POWR works with a diversity of groups, individuals, agencies, and educational institutions to maintain and enhance Pennsylvania's 83,000 miles of streams and rivers and their associated watershed resources. Their Watershed Weekly is online.
• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources: Rivers
  Each year the DCNR provides funding for "river sojourns" on Pennsylvania Rivers. Check here for information about the sojourns in various areas of the state. June is Pennsylvania Rivers Month.
• Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection: Watershed Management
  Includes "PA Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual".
• Pennsylvania Water Resources Education Network (WREN)
  A project of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. WREN publishes a quarterly newsletter, Water Policy News, maintains a Resource Center in the LWVPA office in Harrisburg, provides funding for local coalitions to carry out community based educational projects and provides information on local water resource projects throughout the state.
• US Environmental Protection Agency: Surf Your Watershed: Pennsylvania
  Search a database of environmental resources about your local watershed. Also check the water quality throughout the state of Pennsylvania

Nearby States

• Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge
  The Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge conserves the "wild Ohio" within one of our nation's busiest inland waterways. Established in 1990, the refuge extends along 362 miles of the upper Ohio River with 22 scattered islands and three mainland properties.
• ORSANCO: Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission
  Established on June 30, 1948 to control and abate pollution in the Ohio River Basin, ORSANCO is an interstate commission representing eight states and the federal government. Member states include: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
• West Virginia Rivers Coalition
  WVRC is the second largest river conservation group in the country and the largest east of the Mississippi, with over 1,500 members and 46 affiliate organizations.

  Return to the top