Not enougth muscle to pass Clean Water bill

The votes were very close, but our leadership in Olympia didn't flex the muscle necessary to pass the Clean Water bill which would have collected funds from the oil industry to help clean up stormwater pollution and prevent it from draining into Washington's rivers and ocean. This is an enormous missed opportunity. Despite the fact that stormwater pollution mostly comes from oil, property owners are still expected to pay for its management without much help from industry. And as a result, struggling local governments are not likely to make much headway against the number one threat to Puget Sound.

This is a loss for Surfrider Foundation and for clean water. But don't think for a second that your actions this session -- your letters, emails, phone calls, tabling, and other outreach -- were not invaluable. They were. And our continued push to educate the masses about the impacts of stormwater pollution remains critical. The take away from this session is that we need to be louder and we need to be more clear about how important clean water is -- for us, for our communities, and for Washington.

If you haven't already, take a moment to watch The Cycle of Insanity, The Real Story of Water and then send the link to your friends: http://knowyourh2o.org

Our broken water cycle

Timing couldn’t be better for the release of The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water, a short, animated film made by creative and dedicated Surfrider Foundation volunteers. With the Working for Clean Water Bill still being debated in an extended session of the Washington State legislature, now is the time to spread the word on how stormwater is polluting our oceans. Take 20 minutes to watch this important video on our (broken) water cycle. Then call the legislative hotline and ask your legislators to vote yes on the Clean Water Act of 2010 HB 3181/SB6851: 1-800-562-6000.

The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water from Surfrider Foundation on Vimeo.