Charleston Waterkeeper Partners with Groupon to raise money for the Water Quality Monitoring Program.

We are exited to announce a new partnership between Charleston Waterkeeper and Groupon Grassroots!  This morning, a Charleston Waterkeeper campaign went live as part of the Groupon Grassroots Earth Day Campaign.  The G-Team allows Groupon users to connect with local fundraisers, campaigns, and charitable causes, and we are very proud to be working with them this week.

If the Grassroots campaign raises $400, then Charleston Waterkeeper can test 16 samples of local water for bacteria contamination, with all donations matched up to $500 by Flyway SC. Each additional $50 raised will fund the testing of another water sample.  To celebrate the launch of Groupon Grassroots, Groupon has provided a $1,000 kickoff grant to the campaign.  When you donate to our campaign, we will be one step closer to raising our $400 goal, and launching the Water Quality Monitoring Program.

The Water Quality Monitoring Program is designed to collect scientific data to determine hot spots, areas of concern, and most important, information that will allow Charleston Waterkeeper to work towards a solution to pollution issues. Charleston Waterkeeper will collect water samples from tidal creeks and waterways to test levels of enterococcus bacteria to determine whether bacterial contamination threatens boating, fishing, and swimming. The organization’s goal is to track down and eliminate any sources of bacteria to ensure clean and safe areas for boating, fishing, and swimming.  Reductions in federal and state funding have severely reduced monitoring for bacteria in Charleston’s tidal creeks and rivers.  The Department of Health and Environmental Control only monitors enterococcus bacteria levels at area beaches.  Because no monitoring occurs in our tidal creeks and rivers, Charleston Waterkeeper will focus its enterococcus monitoring efforts in these areas.  This program will ensure that the fishable, swimmable, drinkable quality of the area’s waterways is protected.

In launching this important new program, Charleston Waterkeeper will be able to determine pollution hotspots and work to eliminate sources of pollution that threaten the quality of our waterways.

You can check out the Charleston Waterkeeper campaign here.  Keep checking back for updates as we approach our goal of $400!