Water: Office of Wetlands, Oceans & Watersheds
Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
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View the Text Version (PDF) (5 pp, 37K, About PDF) of the Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds video
Current Highlights
Fact sheet on EPA resources to facilitate watershed management (PDF) (4 pp, 3.4MB, About PDF)
National Lakes Assessment Report
Report of the State-EPA Nutrient Innovations Task Group
OWOW 2010 Annual Report (PDF) (20 pp, 5.6MB, About PDF)
Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force
Chesapeake Bay Executive Order
EPA Water Quality Video Contest
What EPA is doing to respond to the Gulf Oil Spill
We all live in a watershed — the area that drains to a common waterway, such as a stream, lake, estuary, wetland, aquifer, or even the ocean — and our individual actions can directly affect it. Working together using a watershed approach will help protect our nation's water resources. Wetlands are important elements of a watershed because they serve as the link between land and water resources. Oceans, coasts, and estuaries provide critical natural habitat and recreational areas for our nation. With coastal populations increasing, pressures on oceans and coastal waters are growing.
OWOW has launched a new outreach campaign to help spread the word about the findings from the National Lakes Assessment (NLA). According to the NLA, poor lakeshore habitat and excess nutrients are leading stressors affecting the quality of our nation's lakes. Download our new Natural Lakeshores Widget and help spread the word about clean lakes and healthy lakeshores. The widget includes a series of ten tips for improved shoreline stewardship focusing on natural lakeshores.
Recent News and Updates
- Watershed News — January 2012
- December 21, 2011 — PCB TMDL Handbook Available (PDF) (33pp, 246K, About PDF)
- December 13, 2011 — Archived Version of "Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution Series: Tools for Developing State Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution Reduction Strategies" is Now Available
- Watershed News — December 2011
- November 10, 2011 — Archived Version of "Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution Series: State and Local Policies to Restrict the Use of Lawn Fertilizers" Webcast is Now Available.