Cape Fear River Watch

Founded in 1993, Cape Fear River Watch is a 501c nonprofit based in Wilmington, NC. CFRW's mission is to protect and improve the water quality of the Cape Fear River Basin for all people through education, advocacy and action. Working with our partners, we have a history of proven success in protecting our watershed. We have been instrumental in requiring Duke Energy to clean up power plant coal ash. We dissuaded Titan America from building a potentially significant pollution source in the form of a cement plant along the banks of the Cape Fear River. We are the region’s go-to source for information, advocacy and legal action related to GenX and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) discharged into the environment from a DuPont/Chemours facility located in Fayetteville, NC. In February 2019, our lawsuits culminated in a signed Consent Order between CFRW, the NC Department of Environmental Quality and Chemours which will drastically reduce the release of PFAS into our environment. Additionally, CFRW plays a key coordination role in the Cape Fear River Partnership which is focused on fisheries restoration in the Cape Fear River. We offer multiple opportunities for citizen engagement through our citizen science Creekwatchers program, monthly seminars, paddles and clean-ups. We provide education to both children and adults through eco-tours and summer camps. We also manage the Greenfield Lake boathouse at a Wilmington city park, which gives the community access to the lake on paddle boats, kayaks and canoes. CFRW is an active member of the worldwide Waterkeeper Alliance, the world’s largest and fastest growing nonprofit solely focused on clean water. Our full time RiverKeeper®, Kemp Burdette was recently recognized by the alliance as a “Waterkeeper Warrior” as an individuals that has fought and won some of the most significant clean water battles of the past 20 years. We were honored in 2019 to be named “Conservation Organization of the Year.”