The conversation about water just got better.

Last week our application period for the Community Advisory Council ended.

I knew that we’d get a lot of applications. I just had no idea that we’d get so many.

It shows how much San Diegans care about their water. You recognize the importance of clean water. You want to protect it and make sure it’s fishable, swimmable and drinkable for your children, and your children’s children.

It shows that protecting our area’s watersheds and providing a clean local source of drinking water is doable.

Because you want to be the ones to do it.

When we build community, everyone has a role and a responsibility. Coastkeeper plays a huge role, both as a giver of information and a keeper of clean waters. But we need your voice, too.

We need to know what is going on in your neighborhood. And what matters most to you. The response to the Community Advisory Council shows me that so many of you have something to say and are willing to act.

I have a big vision for the Community Advisory Council. The members of this group will be a voice for our neighborhoods and a face for water issues among their neighbors. Nothing will slip through the cracks because you’ll make sure we know about it.

We’ll give you tools and you’ll come up with solutions.

In August, Coastkeeper teamed up with Power Scuba for a beach and underwater cleanup. The dive club members came from North Park, Chula Vista, Camp Pendleton and more. They came together to deal with the trash they see underwater. That was their biggest concern. What’s yours?

We know that in Lemon Grove the answer is different than in La Jolla. And people in Santee use the water differently than in Fallbrook. When Waterkeeper Jill Witkowski created this council she made it possible to hear a voice from every corner of San Diego County.

The Community Advisory Council is our community voice. It is a place to join forces to protect our waters for San Diego to do all the things we love.

I know that we can succeed. Because of you, I know that fishable, swimmable, drinkable…is doable.

Thank you to everybody who applied. I am excited to begin this journey with you.