Mission, History and Accomplishments

The Center for Watershed Protection works to protect and restore our streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and bays from the impacts of land use activities. Our experienced staff of scientists, planners and environmental professionals are the technical experts who help municipalities, advocates, policymakers and citizens get clean water projects in the ground.

Founded in 1992, the Center was established with the idea of creating a nonprofit organization dedicated to research and education on watersheds. With an initial focus on protecting urban streams from the impacts of land development, the organization has grown over the years to become a national leader on stormwater management and watershed planning. The Center has continued to maintain the basic premise that watersheds are a logical focus point for environmental efforts, and our services have expanded to include membership and direct assistance to communities.

Some of the Center’s accomplishments include:

• Published more than 250 guidance manuals, articles and reports to assist our national audience with their watershed and stormwater management needs
• Led or participated on Expert Panels to define the nutrient and sediment removal performance for 11 urban Best Management Practices
• Conducted performance monitoring for 7 emerging or under-studied urban Best Management Practices
• Worked on stormwater design manuals for nine states and the District of Columbia
• Reviewed local development regulations for 75 communities to evaluate how well they work to encourage environmentally-friendly development
• Developed management plans for nearly 100 watersheds in 12 states and U.S. territories
• Designed and/or oversaw construction for more than 70 stormwater Best Management Practices to treat polluted runoff from development sites with no existing treatment
• Helped over a dozen communities find and track down the sources of illegal sewage discharges to the stream
• Reached an estimated 22,000 professionals through our training workshops, institutes, webcasts and conferences
• Established the first of its kind professional membership program for watershed and stormwater professionals