A Note from Michael Washburn: A Moment of Resolve

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These are not easy days to protect Kentucky’s waterways. Federal protections for clean water are being dismantled—wetlands stripped of safeguards, pollution limits weakened, enforcement scaled back. Here at home, we’ve seen how deep pockets speak louder than public interest. And all across Kentucky, the floods keep coming—devastating, displacing, and now arriving with yearly regularity. The work is getting harder by the day. 
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But that’s not the whole story. Across Kentucky, communities are rising—farmers, paddlers, faith leaders, and small business owners—standing up for clean water and a healthy future. That spirit is the heart of Kentucky Waterways Alliance.

We’re a member-powered organization rooted in science, but guided by something deeper. Science is not our goal—it’s our tool. We use it to serve a single agenda: to create the conditions for individuals and communities to flourish in Kentucky. In that way, our mission is a civic one. We are working to make good on the promise of what it means to live in a Commonwealth.

And what does that promise include? Safe drinking water. Clean rivers to fish and paddle. Landscapes that feed both body and soul. Too often, we think of water and land separately—but water is the landscape. It’s the lifeblood that shapes our hills, nourishes our farms, runs through our towns, and flows from our taps. When we protect water, we protect everything built upon it.

Since I joined KWA, we’ve rarely made mid-year asks. But these aren’t typical times. Last fall, we launched a full policy program to meet the mounting threats head-on. We didn’t expect it to be tested so quickly—but here we are. The passage of SB89 was a blow. It weakened core protections. But it also lit a fire. We saw people across the Commonwealth step up and say: Not here. Not now. Not without a fight.

That’s what this moment asks of us. Self-defense. Self-preservation. Self-determination.

And it’s why I’m asking you to make a mid-year gift today. Your support helps us:

• Hold the line against bad policy and hold polluters accountable.
• Monitor Kentucky’s waters so pollution never goes unseen.
• Mobilize people to speak out and protect what we love.

​This is what it means to live in a Commonwealth—to choose each other, again and again. Please, stand with us in this shared work. Let’s defend what we can’t afford to lose.

With gratitude and resolve,
Michael Washburn, Executive Director​

P.S. Members of KWA receive our NewsStreams magazine twice a year. Give now to receive the summer edition featuring a Q&A with Silas House!