Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper

Join us in person or online for a Feb. 24 presentation at UB called Beyond Love Canal.

It'll explore how we work with the City of Niagara Falls to steward waterways shaped by a complex environmental past.
Register/learn more here:
booking.lib.buffalo.edu/event/16285587

Thanks to our friends at Farmer Pirates Compost in Buffalo for helping our office divert over 770 pounds of trash from landfills in 2025! Here's our yearly breakdown.
farmerpirates.com

Our Riverwatch program consists of some wonderful volunteers trained to gather important water quality around WNY. In 2025, our eight teams regularly sampled 58 sites from May to October. Learn more about the group and other water quality stats below.

bnwaterkeeper.org/riverwatch/

We're hiring! This position will undertake various aspects of citizen science and restoration projects, including providing technical/scientific and advocacy support, community outreach, education, tours, special events and more.

Deadline to apply is March 2. bnwaterkeeper.org/about/careers/

We saw over 100 friends and neighbors attend our 3 workshops for our Scajaquada Creek Restoration Plan!

If you live in the Scajaquada Creek corridor and weren't able to attend a meeting, visit bnwaterkeeper.org/scajaquada/ and click "Participate Here" to learn more and fill out the survey.

Volunteers in our Solo Sweep program picked up nearly 3,500 pounds of litter in 2025. Learn how you can help build on past success and clean up around WNY throughout 2026. bnwaterkeeper.org/solosweep/

We've had two engaging workshops to discuss the Scajaquada Creek Ecological Restoration Plan. There's one more left! Monday, Feb 9; 5:30-7pm at Delavan-Grider Community Center. Stop by to learn more about the plan and offer input.

bnwaterkeeper.org/scajaquada-r...

The latest Riverwatch Water Quality Report is online! It's a resource about water quality in WNY featuring data collected throughout 2025. Lots of info in it, check it out.
Thanks to many volunteers for their efforts to collect water samples throughout WNY.

bnwaterkeeper.org/riverwatch/

NE view from Daniel Reed Memorial Pier overlooking the entrance to the harbor into Lake Erie. // Image captured at: 2026-02-02 13:54:10 UTC (about 1 min. prior to this post) // Image sourced from: youtube.com/@TownOfWestfieldNY // Current Temp in Westfield: 14.26 F | -9.86 C // Precip: broken clouds // Wind: S at 4.004 mph | 6.44 kph // Humidity: 82%

Current* conditions near Westfield, NY:

A reminder that our first workshop about the Scajaquada Creek Restoration Plan is Monday, Feb. 2 at the Anna Reinstein Memorial Library. Stop by to learn more and share input!

bnwaterkeeper.org/scajaquada-r...

In the midst of the sewage spill chaos, it’s easy to feel helpless when it comes to protecting our rivers. Join us for this free webinar to learn what YOU can do to help make change!

Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/water-wedn... 👩🏽‍💻

#toxins #cleanwater #riverkeeper #potomacriver #shenandoahriver

World Wetlands Day is Feb 2! 🌱

Wetlands are some of the most diverse & important ecosystems on the planet. They provide:

💧 Water Filtration
💧 Flood Prevention
💧 Groundwater Recharge

Join us for a day among our local wetlands on Saturday, Feb 7.

Learn more: stjohnsriverkeeper.org/event/2026-0...

In 2025, volunteers in our local Nurdle Patrol collected and removed over 10,000 nurdles from around WNY. That's a lot of plastic not going into our waterways. Want to learn more about Nurdle Patrol? We have two trainings in May. Sign up here: bnwaterkeeper.org/nurdle-patrol/

Film Screening at Aquarium You’re invited to view a free screening of The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery. at the Aquarium of Niagara on Thursday, Feb. 5 from 5 - 8 p.m.

Check out a screening of The Fish Thief documentary @ Aquarium of Niagara on Feb. 5. We'll be there to chat with the public along with other orgs. Learn how to register below.

bnwaterkeeper.org/event/film-s...

Hot off the press: @wqmgreatlakes.bsky.social SOE Great Lakes report, incl. an indicator for #groundwater quality. Status is Good based on chloride & nitrate concentrations, but the 10-year trend is Undetermined due to insufficient spatial coverage binational.net/wp-content/u...

A note that our first Scajaquada Creek Restoration Plan workshop for today has been postponed. The meeting at Anna Reinstein Memorial Library will now be Feb. 2, 5:30-7pm.

bnwaterkeeper.org/scajaquada-r...

The Buffalonians starter pack is now at over 100 names, mostly people who are not focused solely on sports. Want to be added? Drop a howdy in the replies!
go.bsky.app/SZiSKxz

SALES ARE OPEN for our third annual Freshwater Flicks Film Festival at The Caz! We've got a new series of short, inspirational and fun films from the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Get your tickets today for this March 1 event.

www.classy.org/event/2026-f...

The public is invited to participate in a series of workshops to learn more about the Scajaquada Creek Ecological Restoration Plan, meet the project team, and provide input on areas to enhance. There are 3 different dates and locations to choose from. More below:
bnwaterkeeper.org/scajaquada-r...

Midwest Academy Buffalo Hub 1-Day Training Saturday January 24 Clean Air is bringing the Midwest Academy to Buffalo! Midwest is a 50 year old training academy for community organizers, and an essential training for those who want to run impactful campaigns. https...

Seats are starting to fill up for our 1-day Midwest Academy framework training on Saturday January 24- be sure to sign up to reserve your seat!
actionnetwork.org/events/midwe...

Watch a time lapse of the Niagara River ice boom going in from the New York Power Authority. The ice boom helps protect the shoreline and water intakes from jamming due to large ice chunks.

iceboom.nypa.gov

A concept overview to Eighteenmile Creek and the possible ideas towards improving the waterway while protecting the golf course.

We're in the design phase to stabilize 3,000 feet of eroding shoreline along Eighteenmile Creek by 18 Mile Golf Course. The proposed idea would increase native plantings, improve water quality while still maintaining the golfing experience. See the concepts below.

bnwaterkeeper.org/18mile-creek/

Waterkeeper report: $79B of city infrastructure at risk from climate-change flooding A study prepared by Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper says that $79 billion worth of development and infrastructure in Buffalo may be at risk of "catastrophic" damage from flooding if action is not taken to...

A study prepared by Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper says that $79 billion worth of development and infrastructure in Buffalo may be at risk of "catastrophic" damage from flooding if action is not taken to protect it.
buffalonews.com/news/local/a...

Showcasing Lake Erie water levels prior to a November 2025 seiche.

Showcasing Lake Erie water levels during a November 2025 seiche.

As the shallowest Great Lake, Lake Erie is known for its seiche events. We captured before/after images at Cradle Beach from a Nov. 2025 seiche. See additional images, as well as charts showcasing spikes in water levels, here: bnwaterkeeper.org/seiche-2025/

Over the last year, our staff and volunteers continued to protect local waterways and build community connections. Work for an even better 2026 is on the way, but take a look back on the 2025 Water Wins around Western New York!

bnwaterkeeper.org/waterwins2025/

Mid-size Community Infrastructure Project: Congrats to Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper for restoring Cayuga Creek! Floodplains & wetlands are back, reducing flood risk & improving water quality. @bnwaterkeeper.bsky.social

Find and contact elected officials | USAGov Use USAGov’s Contact Your Elected Officials tool to get contact information for your members of Congress, the president, and state and local officials.

(3/3) Call your congressional representatives TODAY and ask them to OPPOSE this bill which will green-light more contamination and less protection for our community. Don't wait, as Congress may be quietly taking action on this bill in the next few days!
www.usa.gov/elected-offi...

(2/3) The Clean Water Act was approved over 50 years ago and was the foundation to cleaning our waterways & ushering in a new era of a healthy environment for families, as well as an economic renaissance in Buffalo & WNY.

IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: A federal bill (HR 3898) in the House of Representatives proposes nearly 20 provisions that are end-runs around the Clean Water Act to dramatically weaken or remove water quality protections. (1/3)

Graphic of one person speaking while at a desk and three other people in colored circles around them are listening. Text: 2025 Great Lakes Conference breakout sessions. Theme: Grassroots action and community engagement. Everyone says “incorporate the arts into the work.” How do you do that? Presentation, gallery of creative Ideas and make and take workshop; Authentic Partnerships for Water and Climate Justice; Community Engagement Methods to Adaptively Manage Nutrient Pollution in Michigan’s Western Lake Erie Basin; Innovative Approach to Engaging Women Landowners in Conservation Efforts; From Checkboxes to Change: The Milwaukee CAC Model for Community-Led AOC Engagement; Project GreenER: Reconciliation Ecology in Action ; Envisioning the Future of Participatory Science in the Great Lakes

Check out our 2025 Great Lakes Conference breakout sessions in the theme of grassroots action and community engagement. We hope you'll join us in Rochester! Get registered at bit.ly/GLConference2025 #GreatLakes #HealthyLakes #CleanWater #Rochester