Westport River Watershed Alliance

CONTACT:

PO 3427
Westport, MA 02790-0703
508-636-3016
www.wrwa.com

Gay Gillespie, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

The Westport River Watershed Alliance was founded in 1975 in response to threatened construction of a sewage lagoon on the River. Its purposes are: "to protect the environmental integrity of the Westport River watershed and its coastal environs of Buzzards Bay; to advocate wise use and preservation of natural resources for the aesthetic, recreational, and economic benefit of area citizens; to educate the public about the interrelationship of our waters, soils, plants, animals, and people; and... to study, teach, promote research and publications, and advise and work with town, state, and federal government, and interested organizations." WRWA won that first battle, and today has over 1,000 members, a staff of 5+, and more than 100 volunteers who do most of the work—office administration, sponsoring events, publishing a newsletter, developing teaching materials for K-12 school students, and monitoring the water at 22 mid-stream locations on the River, and 24 individual tributaries, so they can alert regulators to any pollution problems and keep an eye on the effectiveness of remediation projects. Private donations are crucial, and very much needed.

(1999: NATURE: Environment: Land, Air, Water, Climate)