San Diego Coastkeeper


Our History

The Coastkeeper Story

Launching of San Diego Coastkeeper San Diego Coastkeeper was launched in 1995 as San Diego Baykeeper in order to combat chronic pollution of San Diego Bay that transformed a once-thriving ecosystem into a highly toxic waterbody. A local, community-based advocacy group, Baykeeper became the 15th approved Waterkeeper program in the country.

Through our community outreach, education and advocacy efforts, thousands of San Diegans are now empowered to be stewards of clean water and a healthy coastal ecosystem. As a result of our efforts:

  • Sewage spills have decreased by 70 percent and beach closures by almost 60 percent in the City of San Diego.
  • San Diego’s regulations for stormwater and industrial discharge standards are now considered best practices for California and the nation.
  • Nearly 20,000 San Diegans have removed over 140,000 pounds of debris from beaches as part of our monthly cleanups and Coastal Cleanup Day.
  • More than 3,000 volunteers have helped gather critical data on the health of local waters and kelp beds.
  • Annually, more the 10,000 local school children receive water quality and pollution prevention lessons through the Project SWELL, our hands-on education program.

After 10 years of successfully fighting pollution of San Diego’s waterways, San Diego Baykeeper became San Diego Coastkeeper in 2005 - a new name for a growing organization whose mission now encompasses protecting all of San Diego County’s bays, beaches, watersheds and ocean.

 
The Waterkeeper Movement

The "Waterkeeper" concept dates back to a 19th century English tradition. Riverkeepers were the wardens of private streams, assuring that the waters were healthy, well stocked and free of poachers. In 1982, fishermen concerned about pollution of their beloved Hudson River started the first Waterkeeper program in the United States. The fishermen saw polluters as modern day poachers. The Hudson Riverkeeper proved so effective at stopping the theft of our public resources that Waterkeeper programs quickly spread across the nation's rivers, lakes, bays, sounds and coastal waters.

Today, the International Waterkeeper Alliance headed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is 157 programs strong, making it one of the world’s fastest growing environmental movements. Each Waterkeeper organization enforces the provisions of the 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) and other federal and state laws. The CWA states that individuals have the right to stand in the shoes of the United States Attorney in order to stop those who pollute our waterways in violation of the CWA. Despite the passage of environmental water quality laws, government agencies do not have the resources necessary to protect our national waters by themselves. Therefore, Waterkeepers work closely with agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, to accomplish mutual goals.


International Waterkeeper Alliance:

San Diego Coastkeeper is part of the international Waterkeeper Alliance. The Waterkeeper Alliance connects and supports local Waterkeeper programs to provide a voice for waterways and their communities worldwide. To champion clean water and strong communities, Waterkeeper Alliance:

  1. Supports and empowers member Waterkeeper organizations to protect communities, ecosystems and water quality;
  2. Promotes the Waterkeeper model for watershed protection worldwide; and
  3. Advocates for issues common to Waterkeeper programs.

Each Waterkeeper program reflects the needs of the water body and community it represents. The common thread is that for each waterbody and community there is a full-time person who serves as the Waterkeeper, the public advocate for that body of water. Each water body has its own unique set of challenges requiring its own unique strategy, meaning Waterkeepers are part investigator, scientist, lawyer, lobbyist and public relations agent.

The Waterkeeper Alliance is the international center of a network of Waterkeeper programs. The Alliance approves new Waterkeeper programs, licenses use of Waterkeeper names, represents individual Waterkeepers on issues of national interest, and serves as a meeting place for all Waterkeepers organizations to share information, strategy and know-how.


California Coastkeeper Alliance:

The California Coastkeeper Alliance which initially served as an informal alliance of the five southern and central California Waterkeeper programs, is now its own independent organization that coordinates and supports the work of local California Waterkeeper programs in an effort to provide a statewide voice for safeguarding California’s waters, and its world-renowned coast and ocean, for the benefit of all Californians and for California’s future. View a California Coastkeeper Alliance map.

Coastkeeper's Executive Director works closely with Waterkeeper Programs in San Diego, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, the Russian River, Humboldt, and Klamath to implement regional outreach, education and advocacy campaigns.