The Freshwater Trust

Water quality trading & watershed analytics - The Freshwater Trust uses data to identify and illustrate The specific action or actions necessary to change The trajectory of a watershed's current condition; uses that insight to drive The policy changes, funders, and social buy-in necessary to understand and implement that optimal pathway; and then develops The operational/supply chain capacity and innovative conservation financing approaches necessary to deploy those solutions. Water quality trading is one important approach for converting this insight into high quality on-the-ground results. The Freshwater Trust's water quality trading program allows for regulated entities to achieve regulatory compliance by funding quantified restoration actions. By calculating and quantifying how much thermal energy is avoided on a river by planting streamside trees, The organization generates credits that are then purchased by wastewater facilities and power plants to offset their impacts to impaired rivers and streams. The work is done in partnership with regulated agencies, irrigators, regulators and farmers. This program can include restoration actions that generate not only temperature credits, but also credits generated from reductions of other pollutants, such as nutrients.

Flow - The Freshwater Trust restores stream flows by working collaboratively with willing landowners. The organization uses a variety of cooperative solutions, including financial compensation, technical assistance and expert advice to keep more water in our streams and rivers.

Habitat - The Freshwater Trust actively restores aquatic habitat in The western united states through its habitat restoration program. From placing logs instream to create river complexity and planting trees to stabilize streambanks and provide shade to lower water temperature, The organization advances science-based, ecologically-sound restoration projects to restore habitat function critical to salmon productivity.