To reach all stakeholders (including communities that may traditionally have been excluded from public participation processes or for whom water quality information may usually be inaccessible), it may be necessary for water quality programs to translate certain materials into other languages. This page contains information about what products have been translated into what languages, providing links to examples where possible. Also included is information about how translations were developed.
The examples are not intended to be comprehensive; rather, their collection is meant to facilitate the sharing of ideas among water quality programs, especially CWA 303(d) programs, and generate new ideas about how to present water quality or program information.
What Has Been Translated?
All Documents Submitted for the Public Participation Process Are in Other Languages
-
Puerto Rico (Spanish and English)
Some Program Documents Are in Other Languages
- Red Lake Nation (Ojibwe)
Fish Consumption Advisories in Other Languages
-
Colorado (Spanish, other languages as needed)
-
District of Columbia (Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Amharic, Chinese, French)
-
Georgia (Spanish)
- Maryland (Spanish)
-
Nebraska (Spanish, Vietnamese)
Beach Advisories in Other Languages
-
Hawaii (Japanese, Korean, Chinese [Simplified and Traditional])
-
Nebraska (Spanish)
Other Warning Signs in Other Languages
-
Idaho (Spanish)
Public Comment Notices in Other Languages
-
New Mexico (Spanish and non-written languages [e.g., Navajo], for which notices are published via radio ads)
Videos in Other Languages
-
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Chamorro, Carolinian [Refaluwasch], Korean, Mandarin; English version here)
- Minnesota (Hmong—several videos; one example can be viewed here)
Outreach Materials in Other Languages
-
Florida (Spanish)
-
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (We Are Water pamphlets produced in Ojibwe and Ojibwe names added to Google Earth for Reservation lakes and streams; a sign printed in Ojibwe as well as English can be viewed here)
-
Texas (The Double Bayou Watershed Partnership has created educational fliers in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese; The Rivers, Lakes, Bays ‘N Bayous Trash Bash has produced many handouts and event advertisements in Spanish, and the event website is available in Spanish)
Other Program (for comparison)
- Guam (the pesticide team translates its program information to farmers in Chinese, Chamorro, Chuukese, and other languages as necessary)
How Were Materials Translated?
In-House
- Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (usually), Idaho, Maryland, New Mexico (dedicated in-house Spanish translator), Red Lake Nation, Puerto Rico (usually
Contractor
- Guam, Texas (usually)
Both
- Colorado (depending on the language), Hawaii
