URBANWATERS FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP Restoring Urban Waters, Revitalizing Communities NATIONAL& COMMUNITY SERVICEI m ^ FEMA 'V®L US Army Corps , of Engineers The Urban Waters Program helps urban and metropolitan areas, particularly those that are under-served or economically distressed, connect with their waterways and work to improve them. Working with a diverse set of partners, we seek to help communities restore and protect water quality and revitalize adjacent rural, suburban, and urban neighborhoods throughout the watershed. Through this partnership program, communities gain economic, environmental, and social benefits,and collaborate with federal, state, and local agencies, as weli as community-led efforts, to achieve common goals. Seattle Grand New Boston ~ i I [ 1 Kansa Fil Denver Phoenix/ ¦ Tempe York City Newark Philadelphia Rapids —0^ewar|< Toledo r I NW Ind J^r Baltimore ^District of ¦"•Columbia St. Louis Hf'P 1 VI Los Angeles Albuquerque San Antonio Hi New Orleans Atlanta San Juan - National Reach, Local Results • 15 federal agencies More than 28 non governmental organization partners 20 partnership locations. Advancing Environmental Justice: • 65% of Five Star grants in iow-income/minority communities • Funded 12 U.S. EPA Environmental Justice grants in 2018 and 2019($540K) Supported four local environmental justice projects in 2020 (over S125K) Hosted two national training workshops on equity Environmental Results Snapshot: Reached Removed Prevented 164,349 258,000 500,000 community cubic yards of gallons of members contaminated stormwater through events sediment and from entering and campaigns soil waterbodies Restored Collected Engaged 155 23,139 3,550 acres of marshes. pounds of trash volunteers and wetlands and and 106 pounds participants at fields of recycling events ¦The UW Program: Funded Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grants to watershed projects that: Engaged more than volunteers across over 270 organizations implementing dozens of projects across the country, which resulted in over 10,000 trees and 20,000 marsh plants, seeds and native grasses planted, preventing over 500,000 gallons of stormwater from entering waterbodies. Facilitated Information Exchange through the Urban Waters Learning Network: More than 580 members in the online network connected to share best practices through seven webinars, five newsletters and 700 website visitors per month. Leveraged Funds: Secured more than $33 million in grants and federal funding for Urban Waters projects. vvEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency For additional information on the Urban Waters program, please visit: https://www.urbanwaters.gov/. January 2021 Document Number: 842F21001 ------- Local Efforts, Watershed-Wide Impacts Anacostia River (DC/MD) - Released a river sediment cleanup plan in an 815-acre area to make the river safer. Patapsco River (MD) - Distributed 376 trees, over 39 cubic yards of mulch and 121 recycling bins; trained community members on stormwater management practices. Bronx and Harlem River (NY) - Developed 75 watershed-wide recommendations for water quality improvement. Delaware River (PA/NJ/DE) - Restored 14 acres of wetlands and enhanced coastal resiliency. Grand River (Ml) - ,fc River habitat restoration expected to draw 500K visitors i and generate S15-19M revenue annually. Green Duwamish (WA) - Engaged students in green infrastructure practices to support salmon recovery. Lake Pontchartrain (LA) - Monitored water health by using cyanobacterial sampling to determine that waters are meeting EPA recreational water criteria. Los Angeles River (CA) - Studied how urban riverbeds can be redesigned to provide improved habitat and fish passage, and stakeholders received funding to develop partial designs. Meramec/Big River (MO) - Coordinated and developed a plan to restore 1,600 acres of degraded habitat. Middle Blue River (MO/KS) - Restored 23 acres of wetlands, engaged 150 volunteers, reached 150,000 community members through its Renew the Blue Campaign. Middle Rio Grande (MM) - Opened Albuquerque's first "Mobile Pop-up Park." Mystic River (MA) - Led watershed community meetings to discuss and begin implementing nutrient reduction strategies. Lower Passaic River (NJ) - Reduced trash in the river through an education campaign. Northwest Indiana (IN) - Remediated 24 acres, converted 40 acres of farmland to native grasslands to restore water quality, restored 16 acres of dune habitat. Installed trash capture devices to remove 80% of upstream litter through a public/private partnership. Salt and Gila River (AZ) - Developed plan to improve 14 miles of rivers, create 5 miles of trails and improve 1,485 acres of habitat. San Antonio River Basin (TX) - Advanced ozone and smog reduction planning efforts to reduce water contamination. Martin Pena Channel (PR) Created Resilient Community hubs to address resiliency challenges and engage citizen scientists in environmental monitoring. South Platte (CO) - Updated Water Quality Assessment Tool to provide up- to-date data of important water quality parameters. Western Lake Erie Basin (OH) - 300 citizen scientists entered 10 years of historical data to a new water quality database. vvEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency For additional information on the Urban Waters program, please visit: https://www.urbanwaters.gov/. January 2021 Document Number: 842F21001 ------- |