Clean Water Week is June 7- 13, 2026
Dive Into Clean Water Week! 🌊
Clean Water Week is officially back from June 7th through June 13th, 2026, and we have an incredible lineup of informative, hands-on, and fun community events planned all week long!
Our daily choices have a massive impact on the health of our local ecosystems. Clean Water Week is our collective chance to come together as neighbors, learn how our actions affect local water quality, and discover simple, real-world steps we can take to protect Portland’s streams and the beautiful Casco Bay.
Whether you want to get creative with community stenciling, unwind with forest bathing, or catch an award-winning documentary screening, there is something for everyone. Check out the full schedule of events below and find out how you can dive in and make a splash for clean water!
Tuesday 6/9 | 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Storm Drain Stenciling
If you see Portland Water District staff volunteers in their reflective safety vests, be sure to thank them for participating in this community service event! Volunteers will be stenciling storm drains in our roadways to help remind everyone that only rain goes down the drain. Stormwater discharges directly to our streams, rivers, and the bay and we can all help keep stormwater clean! Reach out to Jodie Keene (jkeene@portlandmaine.gov) or Doug Roncarati (dar@portlandmaine.gov), the City Stormwater Program Coordinators, if you would like to host your own storm drain stenciling event!
Wednesday 6/10 | 11:30am - 1:00pm
Forest Bathing
Ranger Liz from the City of Portland Parks, Recreation, & Facilities Department has partnered with the Portland Parks Conservancy to host an immersive, moving mediation at the Presumpscot River Preserve for the Woodfords Family Services community. Forest bathing (or shinrin-yoku) was developed in Japan in the 1980s and has shown to bring psychological and physiological benefits to participants. Forest bathing is not simply a walk in the woods, it is the conscious and contemplative practice of being immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of the forest environment.
Friday 6/12 | 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Watershed Model at Children’s Museum
Join the Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District at the Maine Children's Museum and Theater to use our hands-on, interactive watershed model to explore how water from your street connects to the ocean where fish eat. The “Enviroscape” model allows people of all ages to explore the sources and effects of water pollution and the best ways to prevent it. Participants will learn how storm water runoff carries pollutants through the watershed to a pond, lake, river, bay, or ocean. (Free with museum admission)
Friday 6/12 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Lunch & Learn - Clean Water & the Casco Bay Watershed
Come by the Portland Public Library to learn about the Casco Bay Watershed and ways you can help keep our waters clean and healthy. Doug Roncarati (Stormwater Program Coordinator, City of Portland) will give a presentation about threats to water quality and real-world solutions that we can all use! Doug will also discuss approaches the City is using to manage and reduce stormwater and wastewater pollution in order to protect and restore our inland and coastal waters. For more information, visit the Portland Public Library website. Be sure to also check out the Clean Water Week Reading List curated by library staff for inquiring minds and clean water based literary enjoyment.
Saturday 6/13 | 12:30pm - 2:45pm
Film Screening & Panel Discussion - Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong
We are thrilled to offer a screening of the widely-acclaimed, award-winning film, “Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong,” by Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alex Wolf Lewis. This documentary-style film features our very own hometown heroes doing all they can to stay afloat as America’s aging wastewater systems begin to fail. The film runs for 90 minutes, followed by a 30-minute panel discussion and Q&A with Scott Firmin (General Manager, Portland Water District), Bill Boornazian (Water Resources Manager, City of Portland), Troy Moon (Sustainability Director, City of Portland), Matt Grooms (Deputy Director of Planning & Urban Development, City of Portland), Curtis Bohlen (Executive Director, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership), moderated by Ali Clift (Education & Outreach Coordinator, Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District).
