Launch of America’s Great Waters Coalition underscores commitment to restoring America’s estuaries

From Water World:

“WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 8, 2009 — An alliance representing more than 30 organizations came together today with lawmakers from across the nation to launch America’s Great Waters Coalition, representing 9 of the largest water ecosystems in 27 of the lower 48 states — and involving nearly half of the country’s population.

From the Chesapeake to Puget Sound, from the Great Lakes to the Everglades — the nation’s great waters are the backbone of America’s economy and way of life. However, America’s great waters face urgent threats, including sewage contamination, invasive species, habitat destruction and climate change. The nation’s commitment to our great waters has not kept pace with these urgent threats, impacting people, businesses, communities and wildlife.

“The degradation of our nation’s great waters has a serious environmental and economic impact on our communities,” said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). “I look forward to working with America’s Great Waters Coalition to improve these important ecosystems.”

To restore the water ecosystems that sustain people, wildlife and the economy, America’s Great Waters Coalition is speaking with a united voice to act now, before the problems get worse and the solutions more costly.

“Research has found that cleaning up the Great Lakes and its waterways — by improving water and sewer infrastructure, restoring and preserving wetlands and coastal habitats, and cleaning up toxic areas — would create jobs and inject billions of dollars into the regional economy,” said Jennifer S. Vey, fellow, Brookings Institution. “This indicates that directing public investments toward improving the health of all of the nation’s Great Waters — from the Chesapeake to the San Francisco Bay — simply makes good economic sense.” … “

Read more from Water World by clicking here.

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