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to protect, preserve, and restore one of North America’s most biologically diverse river systems

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Our Program Areas

Advocacy

From local development plans to state water laws, CRBI is an advocate for fishable, swimmable, & drinkable water in the upper Coosa River basin & across the state.

Education

In the classroom and on the water, we connect people with their local rivers, mountains, and forests while educating about wildlife, history, & current issues.

Water Monitoring

We train citizen scientists to become the eyes and ears of their own local waterways.  Monitoring data and citizen concerns help direct our focus to streams that need help.

Restoration

Each year, CRBI removes tens of thousands of pounds of trash through clean-ups while working to restore vegetated stream banks that fight erosion and sediment pollution.

promoting fishable, swimmable, drinkable water

The Importance of Macroinvertebrates

What Are Macroinvertebrates? Macroinvertebrates serve as the ecological cleaning services in aquatic ecosystems. While the name may sound unfamiliar at first glance, Northwest Georgia is home to many macroinvertebrates you likely know, such as Crayfish, Mayflies, Dragonflies, Clams, Mussels, and more! While here these small and sometimes bothersome creatures may seem like little more than pests, they’re actually crucial to our rivers’ ecosystems. These organisms affect even our local water sources such as the Coosa River Basin and serve an…

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Coosa River Basin Initiative Launches Campaign to Raise Awareness on the Impact of Microplastics on Freshwater and Public Health

Rome, Ga.- In commemoration of their 30th anniversary as the Riverkeeper of the upper Coosa River basin, Coosa River Basin Initiative (CRBI) proudly announces the launch of a campaign aimed at educating the community about the detrimental effects of microplastics on freshwater ecosystems and public health. As a part of the microplastics campaign CRBI will co-host a ‘River Junk Sculpture’ class with Kingfisher Art Co. on November 2nd. The workshop will allow participants to make sculptures using plastic collected from…

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Breaking Down the Facts About Microplastics

Imagining a world without plastics may feel impossible considering what a staple they are in today’s society, yet their large scale production and use only dates back to the 1950s. Since then, their production has surpassed most other man-made materials. It has been estimated that between the 1950s and 2015, approximately 6300 million metric tons of plastic waste has been manufactured, 60% of which currently resides in landfills or the environment, including our water.  While many people have heard about…

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Why Test for E. coli? Here’s What You Need to Know…

Written by Courtnee Davenport Every year, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, CRBI sends out dedicated field techs to collect water samples from 30 boat ramps, public beaches, and rivers from Weiss Lake to Allatoona Lake for Swim Guide. The goal for collecting these samples is to find out how much E. coli is present in these popular recreational areas. In order to help our community better understand what E. coli is, where it comes from, and why it matters…

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CRBI Celebrates 30 Years With a Summer Giveaway!

2023 is CRBI’s 30th anniversary year! We’ve accomplished a lot for clean water across our 5,500 square mile river basin with the support of our dedicated members over the last 3 decades! You can read more about our history here. We want to continue to expand our community of members as we head into the next 30 years so that we can accomplish even more for river basin. That’s why we’re doing a membership drive for the month of July…

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Georgia textile mill agrees to stop PFAS pollution  

Coosa River Basin Initiative, SELC reach resolution to protect downstream communities  ROME, Ga. — In a victory for the health of Georgia’s Chattooga River, Alabama’s Weiss Lake, and downstream communities, a major textile mill in northwest Georgia has committed to permanently cease the use of PFAS and take action to reduce water pollution. Located on the Chattooga River, the textile mill discharged wastewater polluted with per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the municipal wastewater treatment plant in Trion, Georgia. Because…

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Find Us

Address
5 Broad St
Rome, GA 30161

Call Us

Phone
(706) 232-2724