Waterkeeper Alliance Welcomes Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium
New Affiliate to Protect Local Water
Warren, Pennsylvania (July 13, 2020) – The world’s largest and fastest growing nonprofit solely focused on clean water, the Waterkeeper Alliance, has welcomed the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium as a new Waterkeeper Affiliate. In its role of fighting for clean water worldwide, the Waterkeeper Alliance connects and mobilizes over 300 Waterkeeper groups. As chair of the Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium, local resident and educator Melanie Smith will lead the group’s work to protect and preserve the entirety of the Conewango Creek watershed by combining firsthand knowledge of the waterway with an unwavering commitment to the community’s rights to clean water and environmental justice.
“The Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium will have an incredibly important job,” said Marc Yaggi, Executive Director of Waterkeeper Alliance. “Waterkeeper Affiliates defend their communities against anyone who threatens their right to clean water, from law-breaking polluters to irresponsible government officials. Until our public agencies have the means necessary to protect us from polluters, and the will to enforce the law, there will always be a great need for people like the Consortium to fight for our right to clean water.”
The Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium will be an advocate for Conewango Creek, its lakes and its tributaries, working to protect and restore water quality through community action and enforcement. Smith, chair of the group, stated: “Our Waterkeeper Affiliate’s aim is to provide strong advocacy that will result in an clean water for all citizens, whether they rely on it for drinking or recreation and to maintain the ecological integrity of the waterways within the Conewango watershed.”
The Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium is sponsored by the Conewango Creek Watershed Association. The Consortium will work on water-related issues affecting the water bodies included in the Conewango Creek watershed. Those water bodies include Chautauqua, Cassadaga and Bear Lakes, the Chadakoin River, and Cassadaga Creek in New York, as well as all of the headwaters and the main stem of Conewango Creek. A main goal of the Consortium is to be the voice of protection for the region’s water, both surface and ground, and the creatures who depend on it. This will be achieved utilizing research-based materials which will guarantee factual information to the public. The Consortium will also provide a means for the public to report citizen science or improper practices. Visit the Consortium’s website at cccwaters.org for more information and to learn how to get involved.
Waterkeeper Alliance is a global movement uniting Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates around the world, focusing citizen action on issues that affect our waterways, from pollution to climate change. Waterkeepers patrol and protect over 2.5 million square miles of rivers, lakes and coastlines in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. For more information about the global organization please visit: www.waterkeeper.org
