Blog Archives

Content Theme 1: Our drinking water-don’t dump that!

Young woman drinking from a pink refillable portable drinking water bottle with a open and close flip top spout.

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Do you know where your community’s drinking water comes from? Depending on where you live, it might come from a river, a lake, or an underground aquifer. Some local rivers such as the Clackamas, the Mollala, the Trask, the Tualatin, and the Willamette may supply your drinking water. Make a video about how pollution can get into the rivers or groundwater that provide our drinking water.

Here are some ideas and resources to help you choose a theme for your video:

We all belong to a watershed, an area of land that drains to a waterbody, directly or indirectly. And so we all live downstream from somewhere and what we do anywhere affects the river downstream. Explain this concept in creative ways using video. 

Find out where your community gets its drinking water and make a video about it. Use your address to look up your water provider, then check their website or contact them to find out where they get the water that’s piped to your home or school.

Everyday actions like washing cars, maintaining a lawn, and walking dogs can pollute rivers. Make a video about minimizing water pollution in your daily life. 

Communities use storm drain markers to help people understand that stormwater goes straight into the river. Many communities have maps showing the underground network of stormwater pipes. Explain where stormwater goes from where it enters the storm drains in your community.

What does “The River Starts Here” mean to you? Make a video that answers this question. Remember to include a call to action.

Check out past contest entries here.

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What’s Happening in Happy Valley Park?

Happy Valley artist Sarah Miller creates artwork to highlight how our everyday actions impact the health of rivers and streams.

The River Starts Here partner, Clackamas Water Environment Services, is partnering with the City of Happy Valley and Portraits in Prose, Ink. to educate the community on ways to protect our streams through ART! Local artist Sarah Miller is creating artwork at catch basins and manhole covers in the park to bring awareness to the impacts of stormwater on stream health and what residents can do in their daily lives to reduce these impacts.

In addition to the storm drain art, you can download the scavenger hunt and find all the painted catch basins in the park, and learn how to keep our streams healthy. Sarah has also created a banner for the off-leash dog park, reminding dog owners to clean up after their pets. You can also photograph friends and family members wearing dragonfly wings in front of the dragonfly wing mural on the outside wall of the restroom building! Post your photos to Instagram & Facebook and use the hashtags #ClackWES #ClackCo #cityofhappyvalley #portraitsinproseink Enjoy your park!

Learn more on Clackamas Water Environment Service’s website.

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