Volunteer Baywatchers like this one help keep an eye on the health of Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound every summer.

Update (8/1/16): The state legislature has overridden the governor’s veto and restored $125,000 in funding for water quality monitoring in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound! Thank you for your calls and emails to your elected officials. Your actions truly made a difference for Buzzards Bay! And thanks to the 18 state senators and representatives who came together to override this veto.

Gov. Charlie Baker has vetoed $125,000 in critical funding to support water quality monitoring in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound through the Coalition’s Baywatchers program.

The governor’s veto puts the future of the Baywatchers program – and clean water in your community – at risk. And we only have until tomorrow to set things right.

Contact your senator and representative NOW and ask them to override the governor’s veto of funding for coastal water quality monitoring in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound (identified in Section 2 in Line 2200-0100 of the FY17 state budget). This override is only possible if your elected officials hear from constituents like you!

To find your elected officials, go to the Massachusetts Legislature’s website and type in your town under “Search by Location.”

For 25 years, the Baywatchers program has monitored the health of your local waterways. And that research has formed the foundation of all our work to save Buzzards Bay. Most recently, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, and the Marine Biological Laboratory used Baywatchers data to document rapidly rising water temperatures in Buzzards Bay.

With threats like nitrogen pollution and a changing climate, the Baywatchers program is more important than ever. A quick call to your elected officials can make a difference – but we need you to do it by Thursday, July 14 before it’s too late.