Clean Water Network

About this grant

This grant will provides continued support to the Clean Water Network (CWN), a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council. CWN has been helping grassroots and state-level organizations protect and restore freshwater ecosystems across the United States for more than a decade. The aim of the network is to encourage members to learn from each other; take part in water quality policy discussions; monitor implementation of water quality programs at the state and local levels; and effectively communicate with the public.Multiyear funding will enable CWN to convene a biennial membership meeting; use workgroups to connect groups from across the country who are working on similar issues; hold two mini-caucuses each year, focusing on priority clean water policies; and develop a set of training sessions to build the skills and resources needed by state and local groups to advance clean water policies in their states.Achievements during the past three years included working to influence a rule-making process that would significantly reduce the effectiveness of the Clean Water Act; providing technical assistance to more than 300 members in the Great Lakes basin and southeastern United States and more than 1,000 national groups to help them understand how proposed federal policy will impact local resources and communities; supporting state efforts to develop nutrient water quality standards; and commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act through a yearlong celebration in 2003.