Clean Water Communities

Last week, the Choose Clean Water Coalition held its sixth annual conference in Harrisburg. The theme this year was Clean Water Communities, reflecting the important role local communities play in restoring clean water throughout the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Throughout the conference, we focused on how to engage communities in the Coalition’s efforts to improve and preserve local clean water because, after all, communities rely on these local waters for recreation, drinking water supplies, and as an integral part of the local economy. Sessions focused on better organizing and networking, development of more effective communications, and increasing diversity to connect with more stakeholders.

And like any good conference, there were great field trips, such as paddling on the Conodoguinet Creek; a walking tour of Gettysburg National Military Park to learn about its stormwater management efforts; a City Beautiful walking tour to introduce folks to Harrisburg’s past, present, and future; and a tour of the Conewago Creek Initiative, where multiple organizations have been working with farmers and landowners to adopt land management practices to improve water quality.

This year’s conference was a great way for folks from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, and Delaware to connect to our abundant water resources in Pennsylvania, if only for a few days, and we all returned home inspired and ready to continue the work for clean water.

Jennifer Quinn is central Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Harrisburg. She tweets @QuinnJen1.