Celebrate Clean Water: The Clean Water Act: A Paddler's Perspective

October 18, 2007 | Small Streams & Wetlands

Katherine Baer
Senior Director, Clean Water Program

by Thomas O’Keefe, American Whitewater

Paddlers have used the nation’s waterways for exploration, travel and commerce for thousands of years, long before and after European settlement.  However, during our industrial development rivers also became conduits for waste disposal, culminating in conditions that were a threat to public safety and precluding opportunities to enjoy rivers. In the years leading up to the 1972 passage of clean water legislation that ultimately came to be known as the Clean Water Act there were many rivers that were simply unsafe to paddle.

Rivers like the Potomac just outside of Washington DC, the Cheat in West Virginia, the Menominee in Wisconsin, and the Black River in New York were so polluted that they were generally undesirable for outdoor recreation and avoided by paddlers.  Today, thanks in large part to the Clean Water Act, these rivers, and many others also too polluted for safe recreation, are now enjoyed by millions of Americans. The Clean Water Act has been a tremendous success and not only from the perspective of paddlers but from the communities through which these rivers flow.

The Clean Water Act has also had significant implications for water quantity. When a utility built dams several decades ago for hydropower, the water was free for the taking and rivers were left dry. Thanks to the Clean Water Act we are now breathing new life into these rivers by restoring flows for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and people who can enjoy the paddling opportunities that rivers provide. The law recognizes what we all know–a river can’t have high water quality if there is no water.

While the Clean Water Act has been a tremendous success both in addressing water pollution and restoring flows to dewatered rivers, significant challenges still remain.  In a recent survey of our membership, approximately 70% of respondents reported health effects from paddling polluted rivers.  Sinus and ear infections continue to be ongoing health issues for paddlers in many parts of the country where water quality still needs to be improved.  While many rivers are now regularly enjoyed that were at one time too polluted to paddle, some of our members still avoid runs like the Pigeon River in Tennessee, Difficult Run in Northern Virginia, Deckers Creek in West Virginia, and others across the country that face ongoing pollution issues.

Looking forward, we can all celebrate the successes of the Clean Water Act but recognize that many challenges remain to meeting the intent of this legislation to fully clean up our nation’s river.

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