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The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™
We're working with you to make a positive impact around the world in more than 35 countries, all 50 United States and your backyard. Support our work
Water
Protecting Clean Water for People and Nature
Most people in the world get our water from rivers and lakes, including the vast majority of the world’s poorest people.
But half of the world’s 500 most important rivers – water sources for hundreds of millions of people – are being seriously depleted or polluted.* Approximately 40 percent of the rivers in the U.S. are too polluted for fishing and swimming.**
Water shortages will likely be a fact of life for most people on the planet within the next ten years.*** We can’t afford to pollute and destroy our drinking water sources. But that’s exactly what we’re doing – often without knowing it.
Forests, grasslands and wetlands are nature’s water filters. They help keep erosion and pollution from flowing into our waters and they slow rainwater down, sending more water into underground supplies. But every year we lose 32 million acres of forest – that's a lot of water filters, gone, every year.
We are facing dirtier, unsafe water and more risk of water shortages and scarcity. This crisis is real, it’s happening now and it’s getting worse fast.
The Nature Conservancy partners with people communities in all 50 states and 30 countries to protect water sources. We work on the ground to:
- Prevent deforestation and destruction of grasslands – nature’s water filters
- Restore forests and grasslands that have already been lost or damaged and sending erosion into our waters
- Equip farmers with practical ways to keep harmful run-off out of our waters
- Restore floodplains that act as sponges and send water down into groundwater supplies and filter pollution out of rivers
- Create new science that helps pinpoint the greatest threats to our waters and the most effective ways to combat them
But we understand that nature won’t solve everything, so we’re finding new ways to reduce water use. More than 70 percent of water withdrawn from nature goes to agriculture, so we’re helping farmers access new technologies and practices that use less water while continuing to produce the food we need.
Below are a few examples of what The Nature Conservancy is doing to protect freshwater sources around the world.
*World Commission on Water for the 21st century
**Environmental Protection Agency
***UN Water
Learn more and take action.
Infographic: What's Your Water Footprint
Think you only need 8 glasses of water a day? Think again.
Where Does Your Water Come From?
Most of the world’s people get our drinking water from lakes and rivers. Use this interactive map to find out the water source for many cities.
20 Days of H2O
Visit our 20 Days of H2O Blog for tips on how you can save water and share them with your friends!
Freshwater-related Volunteer Opportunities
See our list of local volunteer opportunities and help protect our water sources by volunteering your time!
Women and Water
Explore an interactive ‘quilt’ of snapshots, videos and stories of women around the world, like Wangari Maathai, who are working to protect clean water.
Arizona Water Education
We are working with Arizona Project WET to educate students and teachers on the journey water makes from river to faucet.
A Vital Water Source in Danger
Almost all Californians rely on the Delta for drinking water. But, it is an ecosystem on the verge of collapse - learn why and what we are doing about it.
Use Less Water
Check out 5 tips from our California Chapter on how to conserve water outdoors.
Forest to Faucet – A Water Conservation Program
Did you know that forests play a critical role in keeping our freshwater clean? See how we are helping kids make the connection between forests and freshwater.
Rebirth of a River
Through her efforts, an Oregon ranch owner helps to provide freshwater habitat for endangered fish and other wildlife.
Investing in Nature for Clean Water
We are developing innovative ways to make sure that people and nature have enough clean water to live and to thrive.
Nature and Clean Water: It’s Elementary
A third-grader uses a homemade science project to show how nature provides clean water to people.
Rain Tanks Bring Clean Water
In Papua New Guinea new rainwater collection tanks mean villagers have clean water year-round – and no longer have to walk two miles to fetch water.
Using Fire to Protect Water
A Water Source Protection Fund enables people to protect their water supplies from pollution caused by massive wildfires. How? By funding controlled burns in forests near reservoirs.
How Can One Little Box Save Millions of Gallons of Water?
About 70 percent of water used worldwide is for growing crops. New technology is helping farmers use less water, leaving more available for people and nature.
Is Ignorance Bliss When It Comes to Our Water?
Most Americans don’t know where our water comes from. Why? And why does it matter?
Who’s Choosing Sun over Water?
Why are Americans becoming more vulnerable to facing water shortages? Scientist Jeff Opperman uncovers an unsettling trend.
Cracking the Code of Hidden Water
Scientist Brian Richter explains that most of the water we use daily is ‘hidden’ in the products we eat and buy – and what the Conservancy is doing to help save more water.
Read More
Whether scary or exciting, nature has a way of sneaking up on you. See stories
Hear some of nature's success stories and see how nature matters to us all. Watch videos
Donate to Rivers and Lakes
When you donate today, you’ll help The Nature Conservancy protect our most precious resource - clean water.
