Agraria Journal Winter 2021

• Install vegetative buffers along waterways, which can help trap and remove sediment and protect rivers and streams from farm field runoff. Agricultural runoff is not the only impact on our rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. Polluted runoff can originate from urban sources including stormwater, industry, and aging infrastructure. These pollution sources can also get into our groundwater. The Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 with the goal that all water in the US be swimmable, fishable, and drinkable. But that goal is still not met, and there is opposition to strengthening the Clean Water Act. We know what to do to keep our water safe from pollution. We aren’t making water a priority. The average US family pays twice as much on their television service as they do on their water bill—and TV is optional. Water is not. Water is not just an environmental issue. It’s an economic issue, it’s a jobs issue, it’s a health issue, and it’s a parenting issue. And someday, it may be a national security issue. We need to become water advocates. We need to make clean water a priority, in our lives and in our communities. That means spending money to fix the real problems. It means changing the way we build roads and buildings and parking lots on our land. It means strengthening the laws that protect our water and electing people who are committed to doing the same. What is water worth to you? And what are you willing to do to protect it? Sarah Hippensteel Hall, PhD, is manager of watershed partnerships for the Miami Conservancy District (MCD) and a member of the Agraria Board of Trustees. This article is adapted with permission from articles that appeared on MCD’s blog, Watershed News. Agraria's Food in the Forest campers waded in the cooling waters of Jacoby Creek last summer. KELLY HUDSON AGRARIA JOURNAL 2021 17