This year will be the 13th annual ExtraGive in Lancaster County, benefitting over 400 non-profits and adding to the total of over $100 million in donor dollars given since the ExtraGive was established by the Lancaster County Community Foundation in 2012. Donations will be accepted from 12 a.m. on 11/22/24 until 11:59 p.m. that evening, when residents — and those who want to be Lancastrians — can donate to their favorite organizations.

The Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association (LSRA) is one of the organizations participating in the ExtraGive. Donor dollars given to the LSRA go directly to support its efforts to protect the Lower Susquehanna River from various threats to habitat, fish, and aquatic species, among other things. The stakes are high if we are to reduce water quality impairment and keep pollution out of the Susquehanna and the Chesapeake Bay.

Sources of pollution include concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and slaughterhouses, landfills, combined sewer overflow (CSO), coal ash, plastics and microplastics, and other industrial facilities whose effluent returns to the river. In addition, hydroelectric dams, like the Conowingo, and the sediment, nutrients, and debris they contribute, as well as agricultural runoff from non-point sources, threaten the Susquehanna River.

As someone who loves to drink clean water and boat, swim, and fish in a healthy river, I support LSRA’s dedication to improving the ecological health of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. Improvement comes about through Education, research, advocacy, and insistence upon compliance with the law, all of which require a lot of funding.

Won’t you join us in our quest? Make an ExtraGive donation on 11/22/24 and put your money into clean water.

Thank you for reading!

pam lazos – 11.18.24

Originally Published on https://greenlifebluewater.earth/feed/

Pam Lazos

Pam Lazos is an environmental lawyer and the author of the enviro thriller, "Oil and Water," about oil spills and green technology; of a collection of novellas, "Six Sisters," about family, dysfunction, and the ties that bind us; creator of the literary and eco blog www.greenlifebluewater.earth; a blogger for the Global Water Alliance (GWA) in Philadelphia; on the Editorial Board for the wH2O Journal, recently rebranded as the International Journal of Water Equity and Justice (University of Pennsylvania); an editor and ghostwriter for the newly published book, "Finally Home" by Deacon Mike Oles; author of a children's book, "Into the Land of the Loud"; and former Senior Assistant Regional Counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she protected water and wetlands for over 33 years. Pam continues this work through her writing. She practices laughter daily.