Clean water is essential to outdoor recreation and the communities that depend on it.
From paddling and boating on rivers to swimming and surfing along our coasts, millions of Americans rely on access to clean and safe water to enjoy their time outdoors. Clean water is essential not only to our health, but also to outdoor recreation experiences and the jobs and economies they support across the country.
Unfortunately, America’s bedrock clean water protections are under attack.
A series of policy changes—from efforts to redefine which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act, to slashing funding for water quality monitoring, to expanding offshore oil and gas drilling—are chipping away at the safety of our rivers, streams, ocean, and beaches. Together, these attacks open the door to more pollution in the rivers, lakes, and coastal waters people rely on for recreation and drinking water.
What happens upstream doesn’t stay upstream.
Streams and wetlands feed into larger waterways, meaning weakened protections in one place can degrade water quality across entire watersheds. Water quality at our beaches impacts millions of Americans every year. Outdoor recreation communities expect better, and all Americans deserve better. Protecting clean water is not a partisan issue—it’s a shared value tied to public health, outdoor access, and the future of our environment and outdoor recreation. Now is the time to speak up and defend the waters we all depend on.
Take Action
Clean water is under attack from multiple directions, with threats to rivers, wetlands, streams, and coastal waters advancing across a range of issues. Our coalition partners Surfrider Foundation, American Whitewater, Winter Wildlands Alliance, and American Canoe Association are working every day to defend clean water protections, but they need your voice too. Take a minute to speak up for clean water and the outdoor places that depend on it.
