Reclaiming Our Right to Clean Water

50 years ago, the United States recognized that access to clean, safe water is a critical human right and passed the Clean Water Act.

This powerful law ended the culture of dumping raw sewage and untreated industrial waste into our waters and led to a dramatic improvement in the health and safety of waterways across the country. 2022 marks a monument year in which we can celebrate the power and promise of this revolutionary law to protect communities around the country and in our region and demand equal justice and access to clean water.

Lift up your voice, tell your story.

Passage and implementation of the Clean Water Act is a quintessentially American story that reshaped our country for the better. The heroes of this story are you – everyday people who have used their power to enforce this law for the protection of their communities and families.

Through storytelling, the CWA50 Campaign will lift up the stories of and start conversations with local clean water champions in communities across our region who stood up to polluters and lax regulators, and won. CWA50 will provide a platform for stories of low-income and marginalized communities still experiencing the effects of flooding, polluted waterways, and historical disinvestment, and the barriers they face in achieving solutions that must be addressed in order to fulfill the promise of the Clean Water Act. Read all stories here.

Vote for Clean Water

ShoreRivers Lawsuit Leads to Settlement with Failing Chicken Rendering Plant

Story Behind Success of Cleaning Up Coal Ash at Possum Point

Join the Celebration!

What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act than getting out on the water to play, paddle, swim, fish, boat, or surf. We invite you to host events on your own or in partnership with our Waterkeepers.

The CWA50 Campaign offers toolkits and resources to make your event a reality. Events can be broader than on-the-water events, including events like river and beach cleanups, workshops, community forums, spoken word events, water-side chats, and podcasts on the most important water pollution impacts facing our communities and their solutions. With an online calendar of events, your event will join a multitude of other events to highlight the vision of fulfilling the promise of the Clean Water Act—fishable and swimmable waters for everyone.

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