Video series promotes river awareness

A video campaign designed to protect Western Nevada watersheds is available for viewing at iamcarsonriver.org.

The Carson Water Subconservancy District partnered with One Truckee River on the video campaign called “Your Actions Matter” to promote best practices for maintaining and protecting the integrity of the adjacent watersheds.

The six 30-second public service announcements begin with “Pitch In,” which illustrates how litter can negatively impact the quality of our waters. “Pitch In” features Chelsea Kincheloe, president of Muscle Powered, a nonprofit that advocates safe walking and biking. The video highlights an example of waste left behind in Carson City by Nevada Day Parade revelers. The 2022 Nevada Day Parade produced between 1-2 tons of trash, according to estimates from the Muscle Powered Trash Mob and other cleanup crews.

CWSD watershed program manager Brenda Hunt emphasized residents need to “Pitch In” every day. “We take our role to educate the public about their effect on our shared watershed seriously and hope these videos will go a long way toward protecting the health of the Carson River for decades to come,” she said. “We’ve all seen imagery of trash left behind on beaches like Lake Tahoe, including this year’s three tons of trash left from July 4th celebrations. Although people create these problems, people are also the solution. This film series provides information on the simple, everyday actions everyone can take to protect our families, pets, the quality of our waters, and our watershed. Your actions matter!”

CWSD has led multiple social media campaigns to illustrate the connection between residents in northern Nevada and watershed health. According to Hunt, it was important to release videos in advance of this year’s October 28 Nevada Day Parade and celebration to underscore how people’s actions can impact our watershed.

The videos were jointly funded by CWSD and a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act grant administered by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. OTR is adding financial support to ensure the videos are broadcast throughout northern Nevada.

"This campaign reflects our dedication to the preservation and protection of our watersheds for the benefit of future generations," said Jason Kuchnicki, chief of the Bureau of Water Quality Planning at NDEP. "We are pleased to provide support to initiatives like these, which play a pivotal role in educating Nevadans about the importance of safeguarding our surface waters."

The five other PSAs highlight the following actions Nevada residents and visitors alike can take to help prevent polluted runoff from getting into our waterways:

Bag and properly dispose of your pet waste (Bag It)

Clean your vehicles in a car wash (Use A Carwash)

Properly recycle used motor oil (Recycle Your Motor Oil)

Pack out human waste, pet waste and trash when enjoying the outdoors (Recreate Responsibly)

Use thoughtful landscaping to capture and absorb runoff from your yard (Make Your Yard a Sponge)

To view the entire campaign, visit iamcarsonriver.org and follow Carson River Watershed on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. For media inquiries, contact Rachel Gattuso, APR at rachel@gattusocoalition.com or (775) 336-9453.