Riverkeeper’s fusion of science, law, and advocacy – underpinned by a commitment to environmental justice – is what makes us uniquely effective defenders and stewards. We are in the lab, in communities, in courtrooms, and on the water. This unified approach makes us mightier than the sum of our parts.
Science
From water quality monitoring to the interpretation of toxicity reports , science is the foundation of Riverkeeper’s work. We combine decades of experience and conduct novel research to arrive at thoughtful, creative solutions that help restore habitats, save imperiled species, remove dams to support fish passage, influence climate planning, support sustainable energy, clean up contaminated sites, ensure safe recreational use of the river and its tributaries, and protect drinking water sources.
Our Water Quality Portal allows the public to explore data collected as part of Riverkeeper’s monitoring program, which has been conducted in partnership with citizen volunteers and academic partners since 2008. Our Portal empowers people to use science to make decisions and to learn more about the health of the river. Our scientific rigor ensures that we are trustworthy and bipartisan. It reinforces our authority when our legal team takes action and fuels our advocacy work.
Law
Since our inception, Riverkeeper’s legal campaigns have stopped pollution, preserved habitats, protected drinking water, and initiated restoration and cleanups of polluted waterways. When Con Edison was seeking to build a pump storage facility on the banks of the Hudson that would kill millions of fish and desecrate Storm King Mountain, we sued and won. When ExxonMobil facilities leaked 17 million gallons of oil beneath Greenpoint Brooklyn and into New York City’s Newtown Creek, we sued and won. David versus Goliath does not begin to describe the odds, but we triumphed. As a result, the river and its communities triumphed. Since those early cases, Riverkeeper has stayed vigilant, taking legal action to ensure enforcement of regulation and laws like the Clean Water Act. We also use the funds we secure through legal campaigns to support projects led by other organizations that address the harms of the polluter. In addition to our in-house bench of expert attorneys, we maintain strong alliances with broad-based coalitions and key partners like the Pace Environmental Law Clinic. Our victories are healing the Hudson and securing a safer future for all the life it supports.
Advocacy
Our Advocacy team works to influence policy through activism, government affairs, and municipal planning. We collaborate with coalitions and partners on critical issues involving water pollution, drinking water source protection, environmental justice, climate adaptation, and ecological restoration. In Albany and Washington, DC, we strengthen and support the passage of legislation that protects the Hudson River and all the life that depends on it, and protects our drinking water supplies. We work to understand local needs and develop systemic policy solutions to address them.
Since the mid-1960s, Riverkeeper has spearheaded initiatives that protect habitat, stop pollution, boost environmental funding, and encourage sustainable energy use and production in New York State. At the federal, state, and local level, we work with municipalities and community members to develop plans that prioritize clean water and climate resilience. We are leaders in the ongoing work to protect drinking water sources for New York City and the wider region. For example, Riverkeeper fought successfully alongside impacted communities for NY to pass standards for removing PFAS and PFOS from contaminated water supplies even before the federal government had taken action or set a standard.
Rooted in community partnerships, science and law, our approach fights for systemic change while increasing local people’s power and effectiveness enacting decisions that impact their environment and health.
Boat patrol
Riverkeeper’s boat patrol searches out and deters polluters, monitors tributaries and waterfront facilities, supports scientific studies, and takes regional decision makers and media out on the water so the river has a chance to advocate for itself. Running from early Spring through late Fall, our patrol aboard the iconic R. Ian Fletcher covers 4,000 miles annually, from the Upper Hudson and Mohawk River all the way to New York Harbor east to Throggs Neck and south to the Verrazano Narrows. It has led to increased enforcement and improved compliance with environmental laws, as well as millions of dollars in fees, fines, and environmental benefit funding. Boat-centered initiatives also help establish and support core Riverkeeper campaigns including dam removal, habitat restoration, species protections, water quality monitoring, water infrastructure investment, citizen watchdog efforts, spill preparedness and response, limits on crude oil transport, and defeat of industrial anchorage expansion. Riverkeeper’s patrol, as well as community vigilance, allow us to be the eyes and ears of the river,
Environmental justice
Too often disadvantaged communities bear disproportionate burdens from pollution, including sewage that pollutes urban waters, and toxics that contaminate drinking water and fish. For example, PCB pollution impacts communities of color, immigrants, and economically-disadvantaged populations to a greater extent due to the fact that they rely more heavily on fishing in the Hudson River as a primary source of food, increasing their exposure to PCBs in fish and increasing cancer risk due to these “forever chemicals.” We fight to get PCBs and other persistent pollutants out of the river, and to get the word out about the health risks of consuming its fish.
Our staff serve on a wide range of community coalitions including the working groups that are pushing for a faster clean up of the PFAS-contaminated drinking water reservoirs in Newburgh and the Renewable Rikers coalition that is fighting for a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reduce incarceration and improve water quality and air quality for residents of the Bronx and Queens. Over the decades we have used funds from our successful legal actions to support the establishment of numerous funded local organizations such as the Newtown Creek Alliance, Hudson 7 and the S.W.I.M. Coalition. We are able to connect our community partners with state and federal officials and use our various platforms to support and amplify their messages and needs.
We are also working with partners to train the next generation of conservation and environmental scientists. Riverkeeper’s Water Justice Fellows program is a partnership with The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy and the Kingston YMCA Youth Farm Project that brings young people who have been historically marginalized into the environmental movement, offering paid lab work and training.
From improving green infrastructure, to increasing access to swimming in clean water especially as the climate warms, to ensuring safe drinking water for all, Riverkeeper’s commitment to environmental justice infuses all of our work.