Watershed Bill of Rights

Stay informed. Report hazards.

Clean water not only is essential for all living things, but also improves quality of life and saves taxpayer dollars. (That\'s right, clean water saves you money!) It is both difficult and expensive to remove pollutants from water to use it for drinking, manufacturing, energy production, etc. As a watershed citizen and a taxpayer, you have reason and a right to report water polluting activities that you see. Learn how through the Friends of Deckers Creek Watershed Bill of Rights.

1. You have the right to clean water.

2. You have the right to know the kinds of pollutants that affect clean water and understand the sources of those pollutants.

3. You have the right to report sources of illegal pollutants to the correct authority.

4. You have the right to know how to report illegal pollutants and to whom.

How Can YOU Help?

Become informed. Know what types of surface water pollution are illegal and how to report issues. You can learn more about illegal dumps, littering, untreated sewage, stream/wetland dredge and fill, construction stormwater, oil and gas drilling and more on the Deckers Creek Dog web site.

Report issues. Know who to contact or use the Deckers Creek Dog application when you see surface water pollution issues in your watershed. You can call or submit web reports anonymously.

Become a Citizen Scientist. FODC is looking for volunteers to become Citizen Scientists. We will train and equip you to monitor local streams for potential pollutants related to the extraction of natural gas in the area and how to submit this data to a central, online database. This data is very important to indicate baseline stream conditions in order to accurately document pollution sources. Citizen Scientist volunteers will learn how to calibrate monitoring equipment and receive their very own monitoring kit to monitor a specific stream location every other week on their own time. They will learn how to recognize potential pollution sources using stream water chemistry measurements and visual assessments of the stream and surrounding area, along with who to call to report these issues. Citizen Scientist volunteers also will be trained in entering their data online.

For more information or to become a citizen scientist, please contact info@deckerscreek.org.