Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper

05/31/2026

We are thrilled to welcome our newest staff member - Weston Hepler! Weston is a recent graduate from SUNY Fredonia where he received a BS in Environmental Science, minoring in Geology. During his first week, Weston has already stepped into the role by assisting with a Buffalo YELP session to Hyde Park and water quality sampling throughout the watershed. Welcome to the team, Weston!

05/30/2026

This week our Buffalo Young Environmental Leaders Program students visited Hyde Park in Niagara Falls. The students learned about water quality issues like Harmful Algal Blooms (https://bnwaterkeeper.org/harmful-algal-bloom/) that impact Hyde Park Lake and how restoration projects, like our Living Shoreline there, work to absorb stormwater runoff and excess nutrients. The students used water quality sampling equipment to test the water quality and also engaged in tree stewardship activities by installing coco mat tree rings to control w**d growth around the tree and protect them from w**d whacker damage.

05/29/2026

Data Center Moratorium Needed! JOIN US in asking our NYS elected officials to support Senate and Assembly bills S.9144-A/A.10141-A, which establish a temporary moratorium on new data center permits while the state conducts a comprehensive assessment of their known and suspected negative environmental and economic impacts. The rapidly expanding number of proposals for these data centers has left our communities struggling to be informed and heard on these critically important local conversations and decisions.
OUR COMMUNITIES NEED TIME to ensure their air, water, lands, and utility costs are protected. The data centers’ consumptive use of water for cooling and processing, along with water discharges to freshwater resources, raises serious concerns for aquatic ecosystems and long-term water availability. The localized land use, air and waste impacts already being seen only further accentuates the need for a careful, statewide evaluation before additional facilities are considered or approved. View our letters to state leaders for more guidance and information at the link: https://bnwaterkeeper.org/data-center-moratorium-2026/. Please call your elected leaders TODAY before the legislative session ends on June 4, 2026.

05/29/2026

Thanks to your support, Waterkeeper is able to fill the information gap in government agencies and sample waterways throughout the Niagara River/Lake Erie Watershed. With your support, Waterkeeper is able to notify agencies and communities about high E. coli levels, Harmful Algal Blooms and more. Because of you, that knowledge is available when it matters most, helping people make safer choices and avoid risks they can’t see.

Please click below to make your gift today to continue being the reason our community can trust the water around them.

https://bit.ly/431cltN

05/28/2026

Thanks to Jeff Russo WKBW for covering this story about our partnership with HSBC and Waterkeeper Alliance. And thanks to the beautiful Forest Lawn for always being great hosts and partners in restoring Scajaquada Creek. https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/volunteers-plant-300-native-species-to-restore-scajaquada-creek-at-forest-lawn-cemetery

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper and HSBC planted 300 native plants along the Scajaquada Creek at Forest Lawn Cemetery to combat flooding and stormwater pollution that have long plagued the waterway.

🔗 to story in the comments

05/27/2026

Thanks to our friends at HSBC for supporting our Restore Corps program with funding and volunteers! We had a great kick off planting event in the upper wetland of Forest Lawn today to kick off the partnership. Tune into a story from Jeff Russo WKBW on 7 News WKBW tonight. Waterkeeper Alliance

05/26/2026

Last week, Jeanne and Katherine from our team, joined by Michael from , took Ryan from NOAA Restoration Center on a tour of our project work to build resiliency at this beloved WNY institution. Learn more at https://bnwaterkeeper.org/cradle-beach/

05/22/2026

What's in your water? All local drinking water suppliers are required to have their drinking water reports completed and publicly accessible in the month of May. Have you received or seen the report from your supplier? Find out more at https://bnwaterkeeper.org/drinking-water/

05/21/2026

Buffalo YELP recently conducted macroinvertebrate sampling at Buffalo Creek in West Seneca, while Niagara Falls YELP completed sampling at Cayuga Creek in Niagara County. During sampling, teams collected a variety of aquatic organisms including crayfish, blackfly larvae, dragonfly nymphs, and stonefly nymphs, among others. These macroinvertebrates provide insight into stream conditions and water quality, helping assess the overall health of local aquatic ecosystems. Learn more about our Young Environmental Leaders Programs at https://bnwaterkeeper.org/yelp/