H2O Hero: Water Pollution Prevention
Our region is home to some of the most beautiful freshwater in the world. Thanks to the abundance of this natural resource, we have access to plentiful clean drinking water, are a tourism destination, enjoy year-round recreational activities, and have untapped economic development potential.
Unfortunately, the Rochester Embayment area has been identified as 1 of 43 Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes due to harmful human activity, while historical and current pollution problems continue to impair the quality of this precious resource.
With our partners at the Water Education Collaborative (WEC) and SIGMA Marketing, we are working to increase awareness and understanding regarding water quality and how individuals can make a difference. Since non-point source pollution principally comes from stormwater run-off, and is affected by people’s daily activities, the WEC’s overarching mission is to address this problem by promoting water quality education in the community and encouraging stewardship in one’s own backyard. The “H2O Hero” campaign launched in May 2007, and has seen success in the form of hundreds of additional volunteers and education delivered at the award-winning www.H2Ohero.org website, as well as rain barrel education.
