ore than 50 cities and 18 million people rely on drinking water from the Mississippi River and its tributaries. As an ecosystem, a transportation corridor, and a revitalizing community amenity, the Mississippi provides fish and wildlife, economic development, and recreational opportunities.

Each summer, however, a "Dead Zone" roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts forms in the Gulf of Mexico at the river's south end. The zone is caused by fertilizers and chemicals flowing downstream from farm crops in the Upper Midwest. Accumulating all along the journey south, the chemicals cause ocean plants to overmultiply and decay, which starves the Gulf's waters of oxygen and kills fish, shrimp, and other sea life.

Government laws are major factors in most efforts to reduce pollution. State agencies carry out much of the work through the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is the primary federal law governing water pollution. At the center of its watershed, which includes portions of 31 states, the Mississippi flows through a 10-state corridor. Unlike any other river in the nation, most of the Mississippi's 2,300-plus miles lie between state boundaries, posing unique challenges for implementation of the CWA.

Since 1992, The McKnight Foundation has focused on the 10-state corridor from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico as a funding priority, seeking to maintain and restore the Mississippi River for future generations. The Foundation supports nonprofits that work to restore lands, reduce pollution, and strengthen advocacy for restoration.

In 2005, the Foundation initiated a Water Quality Collaborative, designed to strengthen efforts to reduce all types of pollution entering the river. Two years in the making, the Collaborative harnesses the resources and expertise of more than 20 nonprofit organizations.

Why this, why now?

ecause of McKnight's long-term investment and depth of involvement in the river's protection, the Foundation had a keen interest in better understanding the impediments to restoring the river's water quality.

In 2004, McKnight engaged Headwaters Group Philanthropic Services, LLC, to assess a range of water quality issues along the Mississippi. After two years of research and interviews with state and federal agencies and nonprofits, Headwaters produced the report Traveling Upstream: Improving Water Quality of the Mississippi River.

The report revealed that the regulatory system and the government's current tracking data and oversight are inadequate to measure existing conditions and progress in restoring water quality. This problem is exacerbated by a lack of coordinated, strategic work by existing Mississippi River institutions. The report also determined that the CWA and associated regulations do not recognize some of the most critical pollutant sources.

The report's findings concerned the National Academies, based in Washington, DC, which engages scientists to address complex technical and policy issues. With support from The McKnight Foundation, the National Academies' National Research Council has undertaken a separate two-year study of the Mississippi River and the CWA. The group plans to publish a report and recommendations in 2007 that will also inform the Water Quality Collaborative's ongoing work.

Agricultural runoff from farm fields is the primary source of excess sediments and nutrients in the river's water. And, according to Traveling Upstream, these pollutants are among the most damaging factors in the river's health. Although practices to address agricultural runoff are not government-regulated, farmers have access to voluntary pollution reduction incentives. However, the federal government has not sufficiently funded those programs to make them effective.

A call for teamwork

o address pollution along the river's length, in 2005 McKnight invited almost two dozen organizations already working in farm policy or water quality protection to share knowledge and resources around their independent work. Participants' expertise ranged from state regulatory matters to regional- and national-scale advocacy to improve federal farm programs and reduce pollution.

The diversity of the collaborators—in backgrounds, regions, strategies, and points of view—showed early promise to strengthen the group. The organizations jointly vetted the Headwaters' report and its possible ramifications for the field, and began to explore methods to work more cohesively toward shared goals. Deliberations about the findings of Traveling Upstream, as well as grantee assessments of their own organizational capacities, led McKnight to commit roughly $5 million to the Collaborative's work through 2009.

Although the Water Quality Collaborative is a new strategy for McKnight along the river, almost all participants were current recipients of McKnight funding. Of the 23 organizations that compose the Collaborative, 13 are receiving additional funding to increase staff capacity for broader work and coordination. These "state-focused" organizations include legal and technical advisors.

Mississippi River Water Quality Collaborative State-focused organizations
Gulf Restoration Network, New Orleans, LA Iowa Environmental Council, Des Moines, IA Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Munfordville, KY Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Baton Rouge, LA Midwest Environmental Advocates, Madison, WI Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, St. Paul, MN Missouri Coalition for the Environment Foundation, St. Louis, MO Prairie Rivers Network, Champaign, IL Tennessee Clean Water Network, Knoxville, TN		Legal organizations— Environmental Law & Policy Center of the Midwest, Chicago, IL Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, New Orleans, LA Washington University, St. Louis, MO Scientific/technical organization— Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Washington, DC, and Nashville, TN

The other 11 organizations have expertise, primarily in farm and/or water policy, at regional and national levels. These groups will advise the state-focused organizations to develop farm program strategies, with costs incurred by the nine groups being partially underwritten by the state-focused organizations. All Collaborators will look for new ways to learn from each other's work and gather knowledge to inform their own strategies.

Mississippi River Water Quality Collaborative Regional or national-focused organizations
American Rivers, Washington, DC Environmental Defense, New York, NY Environmental Working Group, Washington, DC Green Lands, Blue Waters, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis, MN Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY The Minnesota Project, St. Paul, MN		National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Washington, DC Northeast-Midwest Institute, Washington, DC River Network, Portland, OR Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny, IA

Building on each other's strengths

he Collaborative's organizations intersect and complement each other in interesting ways.

St. Paul, Minnesota, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are the only state capitols located along the Mississippi River. Most of the river is located far from state capitols and between state boundaries, requiring a unique diversity of expertise from the headwaters to the Gulf.

Because the state-focused partners are spread out across the states that line the river, many are familiar only with the river protection policies of their home states. Meeting at one table with shared objectives will help fill knowledge gaps, as will the input of key organizations with wider reaches along the river and in other locations. The regional and national organizations are located near the river, but also along the East Coast of the U.S.

Throughout 2006, the Collaborative is solidifying its initial goals, work plan, operational guidelines, and inaugurating five working groups as subsets of the whole. The grantees will use research and resources provided by all the collaborating organizations and advisors to educate themselves as a group. Envisioned as a true "round table," the group's activity will revolve around the various organizations engaging each other in the ways most useful for their own work and shared goals.

Of course, the Collaborative's activity will be further strengthened by the ongoing efforts of the individual partners, tailored to their own local needs and opportunities—such as the work of several to improve the development and implementation of watershed and coastal wetlands restorations plans.

The Water Quality Collaborative presents an opportunity to mobilize talent beyond state and regional boundaries, through a self-directed initiative. As this group becomes more engaged and informed, outcomes of related studies and improved legislation will also continue to enrich efforts to restore and maintain a healthy Mississippi River for all.

Related links

Clean Water Act. The primary federal law that was designed in the 1970s to reduce water pollution in the nation's waters. Most of its provisions are administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Traveling Upstream: Improving Water Quality on the Mississippi River. Funded by The McKnight Foundation, this study by Headwaters Group Philanthropic Services, LLC was conducted in 2004-2005.

National Academy of Sciences. A two-year study is underway to address implementation of the Clean Water Act in the 10-state Mississippi River corridor.