Soon the stories below and more will be posted here.

Media from around the Basin

• Backup water: DMV Utilities seek Potomac River alternative in case of emergency
• After Obama-era Chesapeake Bay executive order rescinded, environmental groups brace for fallout
• How persistent drought is impacting fall foliage colors across the United States
• Data Centers Are Swapping Water for PFAS Cooling. The Fix Has a Catch
• Upper Potomac River Commission - Public Meeting Announcement
• After historic sewage spill, George Mason researchers monitor for long-term impacts with support from NSF grant
• Shenandoah River Report [Audio]

Fishing News

• Maryland Fishing Report
• Maryland DNR Awards 35th Fish Maryland Master Angler
• Fish Bite Again as Nor’easter Fizzles in Southern Maryland

Read more here.

In this issue:

• ACWA 2027 Spring Clean Water Act Regulators Summit – Save The Date!
• Senate Releases Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026
• 2026 National NPDES Program Efficiency Workshop - Registration Now Open!
• EPA/USACE Announce Supplemental WOTUS Rulemaking
• Save the Date-EPA’s December 2026 Virtual Water Quality Standards Academy
• Webinars, Job Opportunities, and more!

The ACWA's Weekly Wrap is a road map of the past week's events and upcoming activities. The Wrap reminds our membership of important deadlines and highlights important information.

Join Headwaters Native Plants at 10am for a workshop - Native Seeds: Collecting, Processing, and Saving

Come out to Wood Thrush Park for this free and educational event. Our Headwaters Native Plants team will guide you through the whole process of collecting, cleaning, and storing the seeds. All participants will be able to take home their own small bag of native seeds that they collected and processed themselves! All equipment required for the collection and cleaning is provided.

Our native plant nursery will be open for retail sales on this day as well. This event is free and open to everyone with no registration required. ---> Lean more here.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/WA2QTkWflbY

Connect with fellow volunteer program coordinators for an idea-sharing session focused on volunteer recruitment. During this webinar, volunteer coordinators from across the state will share their best practices and tips for finding new talent.

Special guests include: Krista Adkins, Volunteer Services Coordinator; William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital; Jenny Keener, Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator; Heart + Hand Outreach Ministries; Mark Peiffer, Operations Manager, Community Markets Inc.

Register Here

Start reading here. 

Media from around the Basin

• Additional Potomac River samples confirm water is normal after massive sewage spill
• EPA to give $90M for clean water and restoration projects in Chesapeake Bay watershed
• Leesburg Finally Opens 86-Acre Park With Direct Potomac River Access
• Rain on the way: But the rain that matters for fall colors in West Virginia already fell
• MD DNR Announces Next Steps Toward Opening of Long-Awaited Wills Mountain State Park
• See Northern Virginia’s Changing Fall Foliage with These Leaf-Peeping Activities
• Take the train to these notable parks outside of Washington DC

Fishing News

• Maryland Fishing Report
• Fall Fishing Hits Stride on the Potomac, Patuxent and Bay

Presenters: Yachen Li, Data Quality Manager, Save the Sound; Laura Parchman, GIS and Data Coordinator, Watershed Studies at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment

The webinar will be recorded and shared with the people who register and a recording will be posted to volunteermonitoring.org.

Join WSWA Monthly Meeting
First Wednesday of Month, 6:00pm

WSWA_NewsletterOct2026.pdf

We have a Riparian Mix capable of surviving wet conditions and periodic flooding, stabilizing stream banks and reducing erosion as well as offering habitat for pollinators & wildlife. We also have a Riparian Buffer seed mix to establish deep-rooted dense vegetation to help stabilize banks, filter pollutants and create wildlife habitat.

Email: greenbrierwatershed@gmail.com if you want to pick some up.

In this issue:

• ACWA 2027 Spring Clean Water Act Regulators Summit – Save The Date!
• Senate Releases Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026
• 2027 State Summit on Water Reuse - Save the Date!
• 2026 National NPDES Program Efficiency Workshop - Registration Now Open!
• Save the Date-EPA’s December 2026 Virtual Water Quality Standards Academy
• Webinars, Job Opportunities, and more!

The ACWA's Weekly Wrap is a road map of the past week's events and upcoming activities. The Wrap reminds our membership of important deadlines and highlights important information.

• Everything you’ve (n)ever wanted to know about spotted lanternfly. Learn more here.
• WVU Research Informs New Otter Management Policy Across Mountain State. Learn more here.
• All wet? Water industry group pushes back on report that ranks the highest West Virginia water bills. Learn more here.
• Millions of people enjoy West Virginia’s national forests. Trump wants to open logging just down the road. Learn more here.
• Gazette-Mail testing reveals public health risks from West Virginians' well water. Learn more here.
• Biology and Management of the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, in the United States. Learn more here.

Grants

• National Fish Passage Program - Application deadline: 04/30/2027. Grant amount: $50,000 - $300,000. Learn more here.
• Cooperative Agreement for Affiliated Partner with the Southern Appalachian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) - Application deadline: 10/30/2026. Grant amount: $1 - $330,000. Learn more here.
• Easement Restoration and Stewardship - Application deadline: 11/19/2026. Grant amount: $250,000 - $5,000,000. Learn more here.

Questions? Email: greebrierwatershed@gmail.com

---> Click here to explore the interactive map of Chessie BIBI

There also will be a Save Our Streams (SOS) assessment done for Loop Creek on October 17th. Meet at the church at 3215 Deepwater Mountain Road at 9 am. Come on out and help with this procedure on one of West Virginias' trout streams.

This free workshop is suitable for all educators working with students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Each attendee will receive a certificate of completion, the curriculum guide, and additional online resources.  The activities taught using this guide are hands-on, interdisciplinary, and tethered to Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Registration is required and will close on Thursday, October 15th at noon.  See the attached flyer to learn more and register here. Questions? Email Tomi Bergstrom.

PWET_GlenvilleWorkshop.pdf

Join WVSU Extension Service at Community Bridge in Saint Albans for an introductory workshop on composting. Participants will learn what compost is and isn't, and how it benefits the environment and their backyard. We will discuss types of composting systems and common composting issues. Then, we will investigate different kinds of DIY bins.

This workshop is free and open to the public but is limited to 35 due to space constraints. Participants will go home with a compost bucket for collecting kitchen scraps!

Learn more and register here

From 9 am to noon on Oct. 24th, communities all along the Ohio River and its tributaries will come together at cleanup sites across the basin — one big day of action to protect the river that 30 million people depend on. Registration is open now, and there are three ways to be part of it:

1. Become a Site Coordinator. Host a cleanup site in your community — it can be 5 people or 50+, every site helps. ORSANCO handles registration, supplies, planning resources, and promotion. You bring your volunteers, your local knowledge, and your love for the river.
2. Volunteer on October 24. Find a cleanup site near you and sign up for the morning. New sites are being added as coordinators come on board, so if you don't see one nearby yet, check back soon — or start one yourself!
3. Sponsor the event. Your support funds the staff coordination, supplies, equipment, and promotion that make it possible for hundreds of volunteers to show up and do this work well.

---> Sign up and learn more here.