February 25, 2022

The Time to Invest in Water Infrastructure is Now!

The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign is proud to endorse the Clean Water, Healthy Families, Good Jobs campaign. We urge Governor Murphy and the state legislature to allocate $1.2 billion toward water infrastructure from New Jersey’s share of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding. This would constitute a strategic, responsible investment of ARP funding that would help make New Jersey a national model for clean, affordable water and infrastructure. The investment includes $400 million for combined sewer overflow projects, $300 million for lead service line replacements, $100 million for a statewide affordability program, and more. Join this effort at www.ourwaternj.org/take-action.

Apply Now for the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers Community Leaders Fellowship Program

We are excited to announce the Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers Community Leaders Fellowship Program. The program is for emerging community leaders from communities with combined sewer systems who want to increase their understanding of water policy, advocacy, equity, organizing, and communications while expanding their networks. Local leaders will build their capacity to affect the implementation of the combined sewer overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Plans and longer-term decisions related to climate change, flooding, and infrastructure and gain permanent skills and relationships that endure beyond this project. The program involves six bi-weekly virtual sessions (Wednesday, April 6 – Wednesday, June 15) with the potential for in-person events based on interest and availability. The program will be facilitated by experts in water policy, environmental justice, climate change, data, community organizing, and policy. Participants will receive a $600 stipend (distributed in two installments based on attendance). Space is limited, so register soon! Learn more here.

A Must Watch: Paterson Stormwater Stories

Check out the Paterson Stormwater Stories project, spearheaded by Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers partners—the Paterson Green Team, Waterspirit, and the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. Watch, share, and spread the word that "we need all of the city elected officials and everyone to come together to figure out what we can do to fix this problem.”

Lead-Free NJ Sign-on Letter

Lead-Free NJ members are asking New Jersey leaders to allocate $600 million from American Rescue Plan funds to remove lead from water and paint. Take Action! Sign on to the letter here.

CREWS in the News

This month we are featuring the “Building Resilient-led Resilience Webinar” hosted by The Kresge Foundation and the American Flood Coalition (a CREWS grantee) in partnership with community leaders in Hampton, Virginia and Kinston, North Carolina. Join the webinar at 11:00am ET on Monday, Feb. 28 to learn more about initiatives from Hampton and Kinston! The Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers campaign is funded by a generous grant from The Kresge Foundation to New Jersey Future. As part of an initiative that funds 24 grantees, the Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems (CREWS) initiative is a program working to transform stormwater and wastewater systems with climate-resilient water management practices that emphasize equity.

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About This Campaign

Sewage-Free Streets and Rivers is an action-oriented campaign that empowers community organizations to engage residents and small business owners to shape their communities’ solutions to reduce localized flooding and the raw sewage dumped into rivers and streams due to combined sewer overflows (CSOs). It is organized by its partners and an advisory board, with the support of New Jersey Future.

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