The Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative, an ambitious interstate effort to protect drinking water supplies for more than 47,000 residents in Maine and New Hampshire, has been awarded the 2012 U.S. Water Prize by the Clean Water America Alliance (CWAA).

In its announcement this week, the CWAA wrote…

The selection of the Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative for the U.S. Water Prize highlights the importance of inter-jurisdictional partnerships to protect and sustain drinking water supplies. This inter-state collaborative between Maine and New Hampshire unites local, state and federal partners to protect forests and reduce stormwater pollution from anticipated development.

Created through the efforts of drinking water protection programs in both states, the Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative brings together natural resource experts, municipalities, land trusts, and local water districts.

The lead convener for the collaborative is the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP). The Wells Reserve, as a PREP partner, handles project management for the collaborative through its Coastal Training Program. CTP organized a 2010 stakeholder workshop that resulted in the development of an Action Plan for protecting clean drinking water for future generations.

Representatives of the Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative display copies of the Action Plan.

The Salmon Falls River is the largest river system contributing to the Great Bay estuary. It was recently identified by the U.S. Forest Service as the most threatened in the nation with regard to a potential decline in water quality due to conversion of private forested lands to housing.

Clean Water America Alliance President Ben Grumbles said the Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative and other "water champions are showing America how to innovate, integrate and educate for water sustainability and economic success.

Awards will be presented in Washington, D.C., on April 23.