Chesapeake Currents|online, Summer 2010

Last fall and winter, Clean Water Fund worked with local allies in Prince William and Loudoun Counties to hold workshops on 21st Century approaches to managing our water resources. This fall, we will be organizing follow-up workshops that explore ways in which reducing water waste, including water re-use and other money-saving techniques, will help communities to develop sustainable water management practices.

There is wide-recognition of the potential for water shortages in parts of Virginia, and increasing awareness of the need to treat water as a resource that should not be wasted. The delay in implementation of Virginia's proposed stronger standards illustrates the bind of the false choice between economic development and environmental protection.

Clean Water Fund is exploring ways in which green approaches, including protecting wilderness areas, farmland and buffers around drinking water, and developing urban parks are complemented by "low impact development" techniques (such as tree canopy, green roofs, rain gardens and swales) and a suite of technologies that seek to retain rainwater on site, as opposed to channeling downstream using antiquated and destructive flood-control techniques.

Follow-up workshops will be held in Prince William and Loudoun County this fall. Please contact for additional information.