Sierra Sportsmen:
Clean Water for People and Wildlife

Clean water is a necessity for life on this planet, including game and fish. But today more than 40% of America's waters are unsafe to swim in, or to eat the fish that come from these waters.

Yet even that is an improvement. Prior to the Clean Water Act of 1972, more than half of America's waters were unsafe. Thirty years of the Clean Water Act has improved the quality of America's streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

Today those improvements are at risk, due to a combination of recent White House and Supreme Court decisions that have chipped away the protections of the Clean Water Act. Waters not navigable by boat, that are dry for part of the year, or are isolated from other waters are now vulnerable to pollution.

Beyond concerns about game and fish, these changes also have serious implications for people's drinking water. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 90% of surface water protection areas for drinking water are fed by streams that do not flow year-round-exactly the kinds of waterways that are losing Clean Water Act protections.

Information how changes to Clean Water Act affect people: