We are the Ocean
Sewage Alliance

The Ocean Sewage Alliance is a diverse collective of organizations and academic scientists committed to reducing the threat of sewage and other wastewater pollution in our oceans, while increasing the health and well-being of both humans and nature.

We aim to achieve our mission through cross-sector collaboration, the synthesis and sharing of knowledge, developing solutions, and raising awareness.

Our Goals

Our OSA partners are engaged across five working groups focused on the following goals:

1

Building the case for action

Build an evidence-based case to drive action and support decision-making to reduce wastewater pollution
2

Breaking Silos Via Cross-Sector Collaboration

Catalyze and support cross-sector collaboration
3

Uniting Our Voice For Diverse, Global Representation

Be a united voice that encourages and supports action
4

Creating a Knowledge Hub For Learning & Sharing

Serve as a knowledge and learning hub to support the successful implementation of solutions
5

Funding Action For Real, Enduring Change

Expand our donor network and funding to both support the Ocean Sewage Alliance and drive funds towards action

Who Are We?

How We Began

Marine conservationists have spent decades working hard to protect our oceans. But recent studies have revealed a problem that could be making all these efforts futile: ocean wastewater pollution. No one has been talking about this well-hidden phenomenon, mostly because society has long believed that the ocean could naturally manage human waste. In reality, the ocean has been suffering unseen consequences.

Since late 2019, a growing group of organizations have been gathering to create a collaborative space to tackle the threat of ocean wastewater pollution once and for all. Together, we call ourselves the Ocean Sewage Alliance, which officially launched on World Oceans Day in 2021.

Our Steering Committee

Stephanie
Wear
The Nature Conservancy
Katie
Velasco
Rare
Helen
Fox
Coral Reef Alliance
Amelia
Wenger
Wildlife Conservation Society
Kelly
Trott
Imagine H2O

Our Partners

Academic Partners

Ben Halpern
Executive Director, National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis
University of California-Santa Barbara
Deron Burkepile
Professor, Burkepile Community Ecology Lab
University of California-Santa Barbara
Eric Hoek
Professor, Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering
UCLA, Institute of the Environment & Sustainability
Erin M. Symonds
Postdoctoral Researcher & MERA Investigation Project Manager
University of South Florida
Jacqueline Thomas
Environmental Engineer, Director of the Immersive Learning Laboratory
University of Sydney, School of Civil Engineering
Joleah Lamb
Assistant Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
UC-Irvine, School of Biological Sciences
Kirsten Oleson
Assoc Professor, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
University of Hawai'i Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
Mike Mezzacapo
Water Resources Outreach Specialist
University of Hawaii, Water Resources Research Center
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
Professor of Marine Sciences
University of Queensland, School of Biological Sciences
Rebecca Vega Thurber
Professor, Dept of Microbiology
Oregon State University, College of Ag Sciences & College of Science
Shaily Mahendra
Associate Professor, Environmental Engineering
UCLA, Institute of the Environment & Sustainability
Ocean Sewage Alliance is a project of the Multiplier, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which helps us protect and foster a healthy, sustainable, resilient, and equitable world. All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. The tax-payer identification number is 91-2166435.
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