23 Apr UpstreamPgh Seeks Community Voices for Environmental Justice Watershed Plan in Nine Mile Run
PITTSBURGH, PA (April 23, 2025) — UpstreamPgh is engaging community members in the Nine Mile Run Watershed on a plan to make environmental justice communities more climate resilient to stormwater issues. The organization is working with sustainable architecture firm, evolveEA and a steering committee composed of community leaders, water experts, government officials and water utilities on Ripple, a new plan for the Watershed to extend its reach into the upper regions of the watershed with a 10-year action strategy. The project’s watershed-wide survey launched this week.
“This is an opportunity to create a generational positive impact in our watershed that will improve ecological systems and community health,” said steering committee co-chair Rayden Sorock of Wilkinsburg. “We welcome all who live, work, worship, play and breathe in and around the Nine Mile Run watershed to be a part of planning for the benefit of future generations.”
Focused on environmental justice, Ripple will deeply engage communities of color and others who have been most affected by stormwater issues. Through the survey, the project will generate a deepened understanding of how communities such as Wilkinsburg, Homewood, and East Hills engage with and appreciate their local waterways. Watershed plans like Ripple help communities get the funding and support for green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) solutions. GSI solutions help our existing infrastructure manage stormwater and may reduce basement backups, landslides, and chronic flooding due to intense rainfall. UpstreamPgh is currently hiring Neighborhood Leaders to help drive engagement with Ripple through community events, canvassing, and promoting the survey.
“I have been excited to be a part of Nine Mile Run’s evolution, from the 3 Rivers, 2nd Nature project (2005) to the current Ripple plan,” said Christine Mondor, Principal at evolveEA. “Upstream’s success depends on vision, dedication, and a commitment to long-term goals. At evolveEA, we are eager to support UpstreamPgh as it continues to build on its generational legacy.”
UpstreamPgh’s journey began over 25 years ago with the visionary efforts of Reiko Goto, Tim Collins, Bob Bingham, and John Stephen through their groundbreaking project, The Nine Mile Run Greenway Project. As an initiative of Carnegie Mellon’s Studio for Creative Inquiry, the project prevented Nine Mile Run from being culverted and established the Nine Mile Run Greenway, a crucial connection to the Monongahela River. Their efforts also catalyzed the creation of the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, now UpstreamPgh, which has led numerous green infrastructure projects that have rejuvenated neighborhoods and enhanced the stream’s health. The Ripple Plan will help guide the organization’s work over the next decade.
“Nine Mile Run has served as a model urban watershed for the past 25 years,” said Mike Hiller, UpstreamPgh’s Executive Director. “This plan will allow us to build off those successes, and launch the next 25 years of progressive programs and projects centered around a people-first approach to watershed restoration.”
To learn more about Ripple, take the survey, or apply to become a Neighborhood Leader, visit upstreampgh.org/ripple/.